Elon Musk: Europe to get Starlink as early as February, more U.S. invites coming soon

SpaceX's satellite-based, broadband internet service Starlink will soon be available to a lot more people.

The company's CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Monday that "several thousand more Starlink beta participation invitations" are coming this week.

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This is only for U.S. customers, however. But in answer to a couple of questions from other Twitter users, Musk said that Starlink might become available in Europe early next year.

"As soon as we get country approval. This is required for each country individually, as no EU-wide approval system exists. Probably start receiving final (there are many steps) approvals around Feb/March," he tweeted.

Canada and Norway should be among the first countries to get Starlink after the U.S.; Musk said these two countries are next after the U.S. gets out of early beta. In India, regulatory approval might come "around middle of next year," he added.

As for when Starlink is coming to Florida, the issue there isn't regulations but lower latitude.

"Lower latitude states need more satellites in position, so probably January," he tweeted.

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SpaceX quietly launched the early beta version of Starlink last week. The program, called "Better Than Nothing Beta" costs $99 per month, plus an upfront $499 charge for the starter kit with the necessary equipment.

SpaceX currently has more than 800 Starlink satellites in orbit, but it will require thousands more to be able to offer the service globally. The company hopes to rapidly expand availability in 2021, ultimately covering most of the populated world.