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SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

arstechnica.com

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Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#2
I don't understand the math. 800 satellites at 23 gbps seems to be able to provide 1 gbps to 18,400 connections at any given time. This seems to be many magnitudes off from what would be needed to have any impact. What am I missing?

Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#3
Does anyone know:

(A) the potential lifespan of these satellites are?

(B) Why has this not been done to date? I assume SpaceX expects that it'll be relatively affordable since they can reuse rockets.

(C) Will this impact the launch capabilities of future rockets (4500 satellites are a lot)? My assumption is that the low earth orbit will likely aid in destroying those satellites as opposed to leaving them up there at end-of-life

Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#4

I don't understand the math. 800 satellites at 23 gbps seems to be able to provide 1 gbps to 18,400 connections at any given time. This seems to be many magnitudes off from what would be needed to have any impact. What am I missing?

"Once fully optimized through the Final Deployment, the system will be able to provide high bandwidth (up to 1Gbps per user), low-latency broadband services for consumers and businesses in the US and globally,” SpaceX told the FCC. “Subject to additional development work, SpaceX plans to design and manufacture its own satellites, gateway earth stations, and user terminals.” Home Internet customers would receive a "low-profile user terminal that is easy to mount and operate on walls or roofs."

I guess the numbers depend on what "final deployment" means. Presumably more satellites with higher bandwidth.

Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#6

I don't understand the math. 800 satellites at 23 gbps seems to be able to provide 1 gbps to 18,400 connections at any given time. This seems to be many magnitudes off from what would be needed to have any impact. What am I missing?

SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed and very high price.

Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#7
Free, global internet access is the next step toward a smarter, more progressive planet. I don't even care about the speed - if the only thing users could access was wikipedia, I'd still personally donate to the project. I cannot emphasize how important democratizing knowledge is to me (and many others).

Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#8

I don't understand the math. 800 satellites at 23 gbps seems to be able to provide 1 gbps to 18,400 connections at any given time. This seems to be many magnitudes off from what would be needed to have any impact. What am I missing?

The full constellation would be 4,425 satellites.

Re: SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed

#10
post #6

I don't understand the math. 800 satellites at 23 gbps seems to be able to provide 1 gbps to 18,400 connections at any given time. This seems to be many magnitudes off from what would be needed to have any impact. What am I missing?

SpaceX plans worldwide satellite Internet with low latency, gigabit speed and very high price.

I was wondering about the price too. If the bandwidth is actually going to be as limited as the numbers in this article imply then it'll probably be out of reach for most of the people who need it.
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