News

SpaceX Announces That Starlink Now Has Over 1 Million Users

It seems that Elon Musk’s internet service is proving extremely popular.

Published

1 month ago

December 21, 2022

Nour Nasir

Starlink

SpaceX has just revealed via a Tweet that its satellite internet service, Starlink, now has over 1 million active users. Despite the recent controversy surrounding CEO Elon Musk’s recent Twitter antics, it seems that the public still sees enormous value in the entrepreneur’s tech offerings.

Starlink now has more than 1,000,000 active subscribers – thank you to all customers and members of the Starlink team who contributed to this milestone ❤️💫🌎 https://t.co/5suNxFvtEH pic.twitter.com/E1ojYarcEA

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 19, 2022

Although the subscriber figures sound impressive for a relatively young company, Starlink still has a few teething problems. According to a September report by speed test gurus Ookla, the satellite internet company’s download speeds have continued to drop since mid-2021, with figures ranging from 9% to 54% being measured at various intervals.

Ookla believes that the dropouts and general sluggishness are probably due to Starlink’s infrastructure straining under the weight of its growing user base, which along with a fair use policy introduced in November 2022, means that the company is almost certainly throttling internet speeds. Starlink’s service went from 400,000 active users in May to the 1 million+ figure we’re hearing about today, so existing users may need to spend more to get speeds back to what they’ve been used to so far.

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Back in August, SpaceX announced that it was entering into a partnership with T-Mobile that would allow the mobile phone giant’s customers to connect directly to Starlink satellites, potentially adding even more users to the platform — though testing will continue well into 2023.

Future plans for SpaceX include the addition of their second-generation satellites, which may ease some of the strain when they launch at the end of the year. However, astronomers will no doubt be less than thrilled at this news, as Musk’s company currently has over 3,000 craft in orbit, a figure which will eventually reach 42,000 once future plans are approved.

News

ABB E-mobility Delivers Its Millionth EV Charger

Continued growth has been facilitated by doubling production capacity after the launch of the company’s new DC fast charger facility in Valdarno, Italy.

Published

15 hours ago

January 31, 2023

Nour Nasir

abb e-mobility delivers its millionth ev charger

ABB

ABB is a leader in electrification and automation solutions and has just announced the delivery of its millionth electric vehicle charger — the latest milestone in the company’s ongoing mission to create an emission-free future using smart and reliable EV charging solutions.

ABB currently boasts a presence in over 85 markets. After the launch of the company’s new $30 million, 16,000 squared meter production facility in Valdarno, Italy, production capacity has doubled over the last two years. The cutting-edge manufacturing plant recently set a new benchmark for the EV sector, producing a fast charger unit every 20 minutes, thanks to the high-tech factory’s seven simultaneous production lines.

abb e-mobility ev charger factory

“While our continual investment in research and development shows our ongoing commitment to enhance the field of e-mobility, the global delivery of these solutions at scale is integral to the realization of our goals. I want to thank our customers globally for their continued collaboration in hitting this one millionth charger milestone. I look forward to the millions yet to come, and to the cleaner, greener world they will help create,” says Frank Mühlon, ABB E-mobility CEO.

In the United Arab Emirates, ABB has installed over 80 fast and high-power DC charging stations, making it one of the largest projects from a single brand in the region. The biggest station is in Yas, Abu Dhabi, and offers 20 DC fast and high-power chargers for owners of emissions-free vehicles.

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“We are proud that ABB chargers are today powering electric vehicles across strategic locations in the country, including the sites of the Dubai Utility provider, DEWA, and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Most of the car manufacturers and dealers in the UAE have ABB chargers in their showrooms and as well as car parking areas. We are confident ABB’s technical know-how, products, and research in the field of E-Mobility will continue to support the decision-makers in the Middle East to drive the transition to an emission-free future,” says Ahmed Abdu, E-mobility division lead, MENA region.

In addition to its Italian facility, ABB E-mobility has continued its global expansion. Earlier this month, the company announced a new United States facility that will eventually turn out over 10,000 chargers per year for the public sector, providing power to school buses and other fleets. As well as expansion into the USA, ABB E-mobility’s stake in Chinese charging provider, Chargedot, opens up another lucrative market for the EV charging giant.