This week, SpaceX unveiled a report on how the company is working to reduce delays in data transfer within the Starlink satellite internet system. Published information shows that ping on the Starlink network for US customers has decreased by more than 30% recently.

“In the US alone, we reduced average latency during peak hours by more than 30%, from 48.5ms to 33ms. Maximum peak hour latency was reduced by more than 60%, from 150ms to less than 65ms.”The Starlink report says.

Data latency has also decreased for Starlink customers outside the US; average latency decreased by 25% and peak latency decreased by 35%. SpaceX’s ultimate goal is to reduce Starlink network latency to 20 ms or less.

The report is consistent with measurements made by independent experts, showing that the average data transfer latency on the Starlink network in the US was 38 ms in January, while in September 2022 this figure was 60 ms. According to Ookla, the company that owns the Speedtest service, the average data transfer latency on US cable internet providers’ networks is 13 ms.

SpaceX states that reducing latency is important to ensure a stable gaming experience in online games as well as video calls. The company monitors the level of latency by collecting “Anonymized data from millions of Starlink routers every 15 seconds”. It also states that data travels from the user’s router to the orbiting satellite and then to the ground station in about 10 ms. But the delays are compounded by a number of software limitations that the company is currently trying to overcome.