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Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

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Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#211

Post by sunshinekitty »

modeless wrote: post #197
devin wrote: post #126

I've written it elsewhere, but: it is such a shame that the United States saw fit to run electricity _everywhere_, no matter how rural your location, but instead of do the same for rural internet we had to wait for... a private company to launch a global network of satellites. Yes, this post is about internet access while traveling 500mph, which is a different problem, but it is so messed up that people fall over the…

You have it exactly backwards. It is far less complex and expensive and resource intensive to build Starlink than to run a new copper or fiber line with associated telecom equipment on both sides to every rural residence in the US, let alone worldwide. Yes, despite the large cost of launching satellites. And it's especially good that we don't have to force everyone to subsidize inefficient monopoly utilities with our…

The HN groupthink is to hate on anything Elon adjacent, satellite internet included.

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#212

Post by lxgr »

throwaway132448 wrote: post #94
lxgr wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Host a “phones off” party, go to a sauna, go for a hike with friends with self control etc., but please don’t hold me hostage (connectivity wise) in a cramped metal tube for your sense of nostalgia. Planes are just about the least pleasant space to experience involuntary offline-ness. (That said, people scrolling reels with the speaker on (or the display at brightness levels making me consider sunscreen) should immed…

Nobody is holding you hostage. Sounds like you need the timeout more than anyone. And the assumption that this view was drawn from nostalgia is completely invalid.

> What’s nice is not that it’s just me, but that it’s everyone.

This made it sound like you enjoy me being offline, and that seems pretty selfish (as long as I don't annoy you somehow with my Internet connection, and on that, see my original comment).

I'm a big fan of offline gatherings (ideally in nature, which is pretty much the opposite of economy class on many dimensions), but I think this should be a choice.

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#213

Post by Tempest1981 »

GMoromisato wrote: post #187
devin wrote: post #126

I've written it elsewhere, but: it is such a shame that the United States saw fit to run electricity _everywhere_, no matter how rural your location, but instead of do the same for rural internet we had to wait for... a private company to launch a global network of satellites. Yes, this post is about internet access while traveling 500mph, which is a different problem, but it is so messed up that people fall over the…

I don't think the math works. There are 23 million rural homes in the US and about 3 million miles of rural public roads. Let's say you wired just the public rural roads (ignore going from the road to the house). It costs $30,000 per mile to put up aerial wiring. $60,000 per mile underground. So we're already at $90 billion for wired poles and $180 billion for underground. And that's just for the wires--we're not inc…

Doesn't Starlink have some annual upkeep costs? Maybe $1-2 billion per year to replace aging satellites?

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#214

Post by jjmarr »

pibaker wrote: post #202
jjmarr wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Countries subsidize rural living because it enforces their control over the frontier. The United States is difficult to invade because of the oceans surrounding it and the many people with guns in the interior that'll take shots at armies. If you put everyone in a few cities on the coast, the USA becomes easier to invade.

No country capable of landing a single troop on the lower 48 is scared of undisciplined men with AR-15s. In fact I am not sure if any country can get a troop transport near the US coast without being nuked to the ground first.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Mexico wanted to invade Texas and reverse the Mexican American war.

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#215

Post by andrewharvey »

modeless wrote: post #197
devin wrote: post #126

I've written it elsewhere, but: it is such a shame that the United States saw fit to run electricity _everywhere_, no matter how rural your location, but instead of do the same for rural internet we had to wait for... a private company to launch a global network of satellites. Yes, this post is about internet access while traveling 500mph, which is a different problem, but it is so messed up that people fall over the…

You have it exactly backwards. It is far less complex and expensive and resource intensive to build Starlink than to run a new copper or fiber line with associated telecom equipment on both sides to every rural residence in the US, let alone worldwide. Yes, despite the large cost of launching satellites. And it's especially good that we don't have to force everyone to subsidize inefficient monopoly utilities with our…

this.

Except it's no longer only in rural areas, grid connected utilities are now costing more than being off grid in the cities too. Starlink residential 100 Mbps is cheaper ($69/mo AUD) (ignoring hardware and setup costs) than 50 Mbps fixed line internet ($80/mo AUD). Depending on location, home solar + batteries will usually work out cheaper than being on the grid within the battery warranty period too.

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#216

Post by infinitewars »

DarmokJalad1701 wrote: post #185
infinitewars wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't In-Q-Tel directly... https://scheerpost.com/2025/02/11/the-pentagon-is-recruiting... https://web.archive.org/web/20241213051851/https://historyco...

Yea .. so new that I have only worked in the industry for 5+ years now. Your link doesn't support anything you said. What passage in that interview says anything about "In‑Q‑Tel invested in SpaceX" or "CIA funded SpaceX"? That interview is a NASA oral history of Mike Griffin’s career. It mentions his time at In‑Q‑Tel and later NASA, but it never says In‑Q‑Tel or the CIA funded SpaceX. You’re conflating "this guy once…

You just created the straw man argument about the CIA directly funding SpaceX. Not that simple. Read the articles.

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#217

Post by rjh29 »

fdghrtbrt wrote: post #70
throwaway132448 wrote: post #66

No internet on flights is one of my favourite features.

Right. I don't know what I find more disturbing: that people are this addicted, or that they don't care. Either way, I'm with you.

For normal people the presence of wifi on airplanes is not a problem; they can simply not use it. It's not a threat to them.

I use the internet more than I'd like, and I agree that the lack of wifi (on a long international flight) can be a really nice experience.

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#218

Post by rjh29 »

tombot wrote: post #43
HPsquared wrote: post #39

Looking forward to Starlink on UK trains. I frequently have to go basically without internet for a couple of hours.

Here’s a hack, get yourself a cheap eSIM data only plan from an alternative UK network (VOXI, Talkmobile etc) if you main network doesn’t have connectivity; they will!

Or if your main sim is an eSIM, there seem to be 500GB/month business sims for effectively £2 a month online. You can't port your existing mobile phone number over, but it's fine for data.

I was introduced to it by another HN poster: https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/three-500gb-preloaded-5g-da...

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#219

Post by fdghrtbrt »

deathanatos wrote: post #192
fdghrtbrt wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I don't know what I find more disturbing: that people are this addicted, or that they don't care. Either way, I'm with you.

… or maybe I have 6 hours to kill? Would you look at someone reading a book and be like "it's so disturbing that people are this addicted"? Is something Internet connected really that different? (That said these days I'm thrilled if there is power on a flight.)

It IS different. Because scrolling is effortless, reading a book takes effort.

Do you understand?

Re: Show HN: Will my flight have Starlink?

#220

Post by edgyquant »

iknowstuff wrote: post #127
devin wrote: post #126

I've written it elsewhere, but: it is such a shame that the United States saw fit to run electricity _everywhere_, no matter how rural your location, but instead of do the same for rural internet we had to wait for... a private company to launch a global network of satellites. Yes, this post is about internet access while traveling 500mph, which is a different problem, but it is so messed up that people fall over the…

People in the United States can choose to live in very rural and sparsely populated areas, far more remote than most OECD countries. It’s not clear to me that we should necessarily massively subsidize their choice to live in the sticks these days. Starlink and 5G are great for this, as is solar energy and batteries. We already subsidize sprawl’s expensive-per-person infrastructure with tax revenue from dense cities.…

I don’t think we should subsidize internet, but your framing here rubs me the wrong way. People in these rural areas usually live among family and have lived there for generations, reducing this to a choice feels very elitist. People aren’t “choosing” to not pack up their entire lives and move to a city or town.
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