SpaceX has secured regulatory approval to operate Starlink dishes with an even larger field of view to help them maintain a connection with an orbiting satellite for a potentially longer period.
On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission granted SpaceX’s request, which was filed last month for the Starlink dish antennas, including for the current model, the Starlink Mini, the second-generation dish, and the original first-generation model.
The change deals with the authorized “minimum elevation angle” for the Starlink antennas. The dishes are designed to face upward toward the sky to receive the signal from satellites circling above. But under SpaceX’s previous approvals, the dishes can only receive a Starlink signal until a minimum of 25 degrees above the horizon.
A simulated view of Starlink satellites flying over San Francisco, with many flying near the horizon. (satellitemap.space)
(SpaceX/FCC)
The company set the limit to prevent radio interference, particularly with other satellites. But back in October 2024, SpaceX requested to lower the minimum elevation angle as part of its proposal to deliver gigabit speeds to Starlink, which the FCC largely greenlit this past January. The same FCC order also gave the company permission to orbit 15,000 satellites to as low as 340km.
At the time, SpaceX requested to lower the minimum elevation angle to “10 degrees for satellites operating below 400 km altitude and to 20 degrees for satellites operating between 400 and 500 km altitude.”
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“Reducing the minimum elevation angle in this way will improve network latency and performance by allowing satellites to connect to more earth stations directly and to maintain connections with these earth stations for a longer period of time while flying overhead,” the company told the FCC. This also suggests more Starlink satellites will be able to start communicating sooner or stop later.
(Starlink.com)
Last month, SpaceX then formally filed several applications to modify the Starlink dish models with the lower elevation angles for Ku-band operations, (10.7-12.7 GHz, 14.0-14.5 GHz), which the FCC has now approved in seven grants. Interestingly, the grant for the current standard Starlink dish and Mini says SpaceX can lower the minimum elevation angle to 5 degrees for “all user terminals located at or above 62 degrees north latitude,” which would apply to northern Canada and much of Alaska.
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The company hasn’t elaborated on the enhancement. But it occurs as the FCC has been trying to unleash even higher performance for satellite internet systems by revamping decades-old rules.
SpaceX’s application filings also suggest existing Starlink dish models will be able to reap the benefit, but only when more Starlink satellites reach lower orbits. For now, it appears a majority of Starlink satellites operate in the 400 to 500km range when the company has been moving thousands of satellites to the 480km orbit. To deliver gigabit speeds, SpaceX plans on deploying thousands of next-generation V3 satellites, which will presumably fill orbits at the 300km range.
That said, a Starlink dish might not be able to receive a signal at lower elevation angles if trees or buildings are blocking the way. An astrophotographer told us that a Starlink satellite usually takes about 8 minutes to cross from east to west at 10 degrees above the horizon.
(Starlink.com)
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Principal Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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