
To expand broadband offerings to commercial airlines, shipping vessels and trucks, the US Federal Communications Commission has authorise Elon Musk's SpaceX to use its Starlink satellite internet network with moving vehicles.
Echoing plans outlined in SpaceX's request for approval early last year, the FCC said in a statement that Starlink has long sought to grow its customer base to enterprise customers in the potentially lucrative sectors.
Since 2019, SpaceX has steadily launched some 2,700 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit and with a fast-growing constellation of internet-beaming satellites in orbit it has amassed hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
Having inked its first such deals in recent months with Hawaiian Airlines and semi-private jet service JSX, California-based space company 'Hawthorne' has focused heavily in recent years on courting airlines around Starlink for in-flight WiFi.
Jonathan Hofeller, Starlink's commercial sales chief, said at an aviation conference earlier this month that "We're going to be on planes here very shortly, so hopefully passengers are wowed by the experience."
Under an experimental FCC license, SpaceX has been testing aircraft-tailored Starlink terminals on Gulfstream jets and US military aircraft.
CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, has previously said that he didn't see "connecting Tesla cars to Starlink, as our terminal is much too big."
Satellite operator OneWeb, and Jeff Bezos' Kuiper project are giving fierce competition to SpaceX in the low-Earth orbiting satellite internet sector.
(With inputs from agencies)
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