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Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

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Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#11

Post by govideo »

elmerfud wrote: post #6

Starlink is a futurist project which is really what Elon Musk wants to be. For something like Google they wouldn't do this typically because as a company and their leadership they aren't futurists. Google has typically invested in existing viable technologies and forced them into a lower price point to make them more available. Google fiber was introduced 14 years ago when that kind of speed was unheard of. At the ti…

your comments remind me of some related, potential factors. I was at Google in the early aughts... definitely had some mega futuristics visions (including later with moonshot).

But their CFO (excellent, loved by everyone) had major traditional telco background, so GoogleFi was natural idea, despite it's limited market traction. And you are right -- Google dominant mindset was "ad supported" everything.

Separately, Musk of course was physics major. Google 99% CS. So mindsets and ideas vary (with plenty of overlap too)

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#12

Post by bwock »

paxys wrote: post #10
jakartaInd wrote: post #5

No. They could not even get fiber rolled out to the US. They started well but it requires immense power in local and federal level that takes decades (yes, decades) to accommodate. Starlink would have then their focus out of search and AI which they clearly understand better and dominate. Also, there is nothing innovative from Musk itself as far as starlink goes. More than half of research and implementation is funde…

Google Fiber's real purpose was to give large ISPs the kick they needed to take high speed fiber rollout seriously. And they (partially) succeeded at that, at least in urban areas.

A lot of Google's best products was based around giving competitors a much needed kick, it seems (Gmail, Nexus One, even Chrome originally).

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#13

Post by bwock »

orionblastar wrote: post #3

Rockets are expensive Google should team with Blue Horizons or SpaceX to use their rockets to launch their version of Starlink or rent Starlink's satellites for cheaper to establish their Internet in space.

Meta tried that, but unfortunately their satellite was on one of the few rockets that blew up ...

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#14

Post by jiveturkey »

paxys wrote: post #10
jakartaInd wrote: post #5

No. They could not even get fiber rolled out to the US. They started well but it requires immense power in local and federal level that takes decades (yes, decades) to accommodate. Starlink would have then their focus out of search and AI which they clearly understand better and dominate. Also, there is nothing innovative from Musk itself as far as starlink goes. More than half of research and implementation is funde…

Google Fiber's real purpose was to give large ISPs the kick they needed to take high speed fiber rollout seriously. And they (partially) succeeded at that, at least in urban areas.

revisionist history

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#15

Post by fixprix »

jakartaInd wrote: post #5

No. They could not even get fiber rolled out to the US. They started well but it requires immense power in local and federal level that takes decades (yes, decades) to accommodate. Starlink would have then their focus out of search and AI which they clearly understand better and dominate. Also, there is nothing innovative from Musk itself as far as starlink goes. More than half of research and implementation is funde…

> More than half of research and implementation is funded by USG and Tax Payer funded rebates and concessions.

Absolutely not. SpaceX/Starlink didn't receive any money from the government. They tried to get a 800 million dollar subsidy, but it was revoked. Even then Starlink has cost a lot more than that to design, deploy and operate.

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#16

Post by jiveturkey »

elmerfud wrote: post #6

Starlink is a futurist project which is really what Elon Musk wants to be. For something like Google they wouldn't do this typically because as a company and their leadership they aren't futurists. Google has typically invested in existing viable technologies and forced them into a lower price point to make them more available. Google fiber was introduced 14 years ago when that kind of speed was unheard of. At the ti…

disagree. it’s only recently that google dropped X and moonshots. loon and the wing thing come to mind. sure, now, google isn’t very futurist (look how they botched AI execution), but in the time that starlink was developed, google was very much still futurist.

> speed was unheard of.

lol. only in the usa.

> At the time most ISPs wanted to have bandwidth caps and rate limits because they were afraid of people abusing the network.

lol again. it was all about monopoly incentives.

do you even analyze, bro?

sorry if this comes off too snarky, i have good intentions. i just find your insights very far off base.

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#17

Post by elmerfud »

jiveturkey wrote: post #16
elmerfud wrote: post #6

Starlink is a futurist project which is really what Elon Musk wants to be. For something like Google they wouldn't do this typically because as a company and their leadership they aren't futurists. Google has typically invested in existing viable technologies and forced them into a lower price point to make them more available. Google fiber was introduced 14 years ago when that kind of speed was unheard of. At the ti…

disagree. it’s only recently that google dropped X and moonshots. loon and the wing thing come to mind. sure, now, google isn’t very futurist (look how they botched AI execution), but in the time that starlink was developed, google was very much still futurist. > speed was unheard of. lol. only in the usa. > At the time most ISPs wanted to have bandwidth caps and rate limits because they were afraid of people abusing…

Considering that I've worked at ISPs since the early '90s when they were dial-ups and watched them grow up into something more, Yes I would say that I've analyzed.

You offer no evidence of any futurist thing that Google has done. At least nothing to the scale of what Elon Musk has done. Everything Google is done has been a calculated safe risk taking a small step forward in technology that was safe. It was absolutely intended to embed their position as a global leader in search and nothing else.

So you can be snarky all you want but it's more important to be correct and back up your statements with evidence. Even Google coming out with Chrome was not a futurist moonshot it was simply taking advantage of the fact that all other browsers sucked and they wanted to cement their position as a search leader and tracking what people do.

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#18

Post by bryanlarsen »

Yes, they essentially did. Project Loon used balloons rather than satellites, but is otherwise surprisingly similar to Starlink, technically.

And as far as I've heard, a lot of Project Loon personnel ended up at SpaceX.

Also, the synergy may be a good part of the reason why Google was a large early investor in SpaceX.

https://x.company/projects/loon/

Re: Ask HN: Did Google/Alphabet ever try to build a Starlink?

#19

Post by sidcool »

elmerfud wrote: post #6

Starlink is a futurist project which is really what Elon Musk wants to be. For something like Google they wouldn't do this typically because as a company and their leadership they aren't futurists. Google has typically invested in existing viable technologies and forced them into a lower price point to make them more available. Google fiber was introduced 14 years ago when that kind of speed was unheard of. At the ti…

It's great to be uber ambitious and futuristic, but not everyone needs to be. Some companies should excel at solving smaller problems. Like search, smaller AI etc.
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