Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s (SpaceX) Starlink satellite internet service has struggled due to the tight supply of semiconductors. And the semiconductor shortage has impacted the company’s ability to fulfil its customer’s pre-orders for the internet connection.
Starlink is currently in its beta testing stages and has been aggressively launching itself to build a constellation with more than a thousand small satellites; however, the aggressive ramp has been brought to a halt as only a few launches of the satellite has taken place in the second half of this year.
And the reason is anybody’s guess which is the shortage of semiconductor chips. Customers who have submitted pre-orders for their internet equipment are seeing estimated coverage times extend and have even reported witnessing a long waiting period for their user dish and other equipment to arrive.
Starlink has just made a recent revelation, and it has joined the list of company’s that are suffering from the global semiconductor shortage. It posted a note in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, which reads as:
Silicon shortages have delayed production, which has impacted our ability to fulfil orders. Please visit your Account page for the most recent estimate on when you can expect your order to be fulfilled.
Once a customer pre-orders service from the SpaceX subsidiary, the company then ships several items once the coverage is established. The items include the user dish for connecting to the orbiting satellites, a Wi-Fi router to provide the user with internet coverage, a power supply brick, and a stand to install the dish on, along with cables.
The company has recently paused the regular launches of Starlink to build out its internet constellation, and this called for concern. However, the admission of Starlink in the list of companies being affected by the semiconductor shortage is a worrying situation.
