April 2026: Starlink users will soon be unable to access their location on their communications terminals, leaving many confused and upset. The gRPC API on Starlink terminals lends users an opportunity to pull the coarse location generated by the terminal, even in the presence of spoofing and jamming. “Starlink PNT, as it’s called, has a cheat code for those who know [it],” says the RNL’s Dr. Todd Humphreys. “And it has been getting increasingly accurate, from 100 meters a few years ago to about 20 meters now.”
As to why Starlink decided to end Starlink PNT, Dr. Humphreys has a few theories. “SpaceX might not want the liability of providing a location service whose accuracy is decent but variable… They also might be preparing to launch a fee-based version of Starlink PNT and so are ending free access.”
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