Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

Starlink: Elon Musk's satellites to beam high-speed broadband to remote areas of UK in government trial

Starlink: Elon Musk's satellites to beam high-speed broadband to remote areas of UK in government trial

Three locations will have the equipment installed to begin with, allowing them to link up to the satellites and access broadband 10 times faster than previously available.

Elon Musk's Starlink satellites will be used in a UK government trial aimed at helping remote areas of the country get high-speed internet connections.

Three locations will have the equipment installed to begin with, allowing them to link up to the satellites and access broadband 10 times faster than previously available.

The technology allows broadband signals to be beamed down to Earth, in places where there is limited infrastructure on the ground, or it would expensive or difficult to put in.

Starlink boss Elon Musk.

Rievaulx Abbey in North Yorkshire Moors National Park, Wasdale Head in the Lake District and two sites in Snowdonia National Park, including an outdoor activity centre, will be involved in the trial.

"High-speed broadband beamed to Earth from space could be the answer to the connectivity issues suffered by people in premises stuck in the digital slow lane," said Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan.

"These trials aim to find a solution to the prohibitively high cost of rolling out cables to far-flung locations."

Starlink satellites can deliver internet speeds of up to 200 megabits per second (Mbps) - four times faster than the current UK average broadband speed of just over 50Mbps - according to the government, citing recent tests.

The government will begin with Starlink because of "the readiness and availability of its technology".

But it said it was also talking to other provider, such as British satellite company OneWeb, about their possible involvement.
Advertisement

Starlink already has hundreds of thousands of internet users in around 40 countries.

Following the trial, ministers will consider the viability of using satellite technology to connect "very hard to reach" locations.

These are the less than 1% of sites too difficult to upgrade using expensive physical cables, such as small islands or mountainous areas.

Starlink was activated over Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February this year.

Billionaire Musk's system has provided Kyiv with thousands of terminals, allowing Ukrainians to connect to the internet in places out of reach of the domestic system.

Last month, the world's richest man, who also heads up Twitter and Tesla, indicated his SpaceX company will continue funding its Starlink internet service in the war-ravaged country, a day after the 51-year-old tycoon said he couldn't fund the project.

Along with the satellite trial, the UK government has announced a contract, worth more than £100m, with Northern Ireland-based provider Fibrus to build gigabit-capable broadband connections for up to 60,000 rural homes and businesses in Cumbria.

It is the largest contract so far as part of the government's £5bn Project Gigabit scheme to roll out faster internet to all parts of the UK.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
×