Google Cloud Inks Deal With Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Internet Service
The partnership could last up to seven years.
Google has officially partnered with SpaceX’s Starlink. The tech giant’s cloud business has joined forces with Starlink to bring businesses in remote areas access to Google Cloud’s services.
The deal with Google, which is expected to last up to seven years, gives Starlink the opportunity to deliver data reliably and with low latency to customers through Google Cloud. CNBC explains that SpaceX will be installing ground stations at Google data centers that are said to connect to the Starlink satellites.
The partnership is a major victory for Google which is evidently working towards taking a share from competitors Microsoft and Amazon when it comes to the fast-growing cloud computing market. It should be noted that this deal is unusual for Google or any other cloud provider since it relies heavily on Google’s own internal network rather than outsourcing functions like data storage. With Google and Starlink working together, it means customers’ devices will be communicating directly with the satellites linked to Google’s data centers. The data centers will then send to the data back to them through Starlink satellites.
Google’s head of global networking Bikash Koley said, “This is one of a kind. I don’t believe something like this has been done before. The real potential of this technology became very obvious. The power of combining cloud with universal secure connectivity, it’s a very powerful combination.”
In other SpaceX news, the agency plans to set a path for Starship’s first orbital test flight.
