By NewsGram Staff Writer

Entrepreneur Elon Musk has requested permission from US Federal Communications Commission to let his company SpaceX test a project to beam internet using satellites.

The test involves 4,000 satellites being sent up into the orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket. The Independent reported that these satellites would communicate with ground stations in the US and establish whether those connections would be enough to send information from the ground to the satellites with enough speed and consistency.

Reportedly, Musk has been hoping to surpass conventional Internet companies by providing cheap and fast internet to people in remote locations who have always struggled to get the facility.

However Musk is not the only one interested in this technology; Virgin Group founder Richard Branson has supported OneWeb, a company that's also developing a satellite constellation capable of delivering internet access from space.

Reportedly the filing has asked the government to allow the company to start testing the satellites next year. After that, the service could start in about five years.