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Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

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Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#101

Post by ehsankia »

thefourthchime wrote: post #79

Who else thinks these systems deliver wireless high speed Internet faster than 5G?

It's not really about speed in my opinion, it's about worldwide availability. 5G requires a node at every few hundred meters, so it will probably never go beyond very dense city centers.

These LEO constellations on the other end can provide connectivity in the most rural and remote places. It would be a game changer for planes and cruises for example. Tesla could include a receiver in every car giving you connection anywhere you drive, etc.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#102

Post by eloff »

fastball wrote: post #85
eloff wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems useful, but tricky to monetize. But if you gave priority to hft traffic then you could charge more as it would still have a small advantage over a standard StarLink plan.

How would that be hard to monetize? You literally just charge people for internet access. * HFT firms will pay for it if the latency is lower * Online gamers that play with other people around the globe would also probably be willing to pay to get their ping down. * Maybe they could have a LEO CDN. * People like me who travel a lot would be willing to pay for it. It would be especially sweet if I could somehow ditch…

Because HFT firms can pay for a standard StarLink and get the same results. There are few HFT customers and you have to offer them something that can't get from your consumer service if you want them to pay commensurate to the value provided.

Your other points have nothing to do with my HFT specific comment.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#103

Post by xur17 »

gpm wrote: post #62
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #9

Anyone wanna offer me their hypothesis on what Amazon and other tech companies gain from offering internet to people who probably aren't valuable consumers?

Not valuable? Ships, oil rigs, airplanes, remote vacation destinations (e.g. ski lodges), etc have lots of money and a good concentration of rich people with lots of money.

I've been wondering about remote cell towers as well. When I'm out in rural areas I'll regularly get 'LTE', but my downloads will be considerably slower than when I'm in a city (despite a much lower population density). My assumption is that it's very expensive to get highspeed internet out to these locations.

This should enable cell phone companies to place a tower as long as they can run power to it (and solar panels might be an option for really remote towers).

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#104

Post by ehsankia »

megous wrote: post #78

So what it's gonna be like - latency and bandwidth?

For latency at LEO, we're looking at below 50ms, going as low as 20ms. For bandwidth, it obviously depends on load and usage. SpaceX's satellites each can handle 1 Tbps, so it comes down to how they distribute and price it. At 100Mbps and 3000 satellites, that's roughly 10 million users. Obviously not all users will be using that much data simultaneously.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#105

Post by chiph »

Iridium has global coverage (you can make phone calls from the South Pole) but isn't LEO so there's a latency issue. Starlink is LEO and will have faster rates & lower latency, but won't have global coverage since the orbits don't go over the poles (sorry, Amundsen-Scott!).

What about the proposed Amazon (Blue Origin?) system?

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#106

Post by llukas »

harryh wrote: post #100
myaccount80 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are there people investing so much money on these things, filling up the space, just for some stupid trading. Why is humanity doing this ??

"just for some stupid trading" is one of the underlying forces beneath the success of all modern economies. Without it almost everything you buy would be more expensive.

They referred to HFT only - how does it contribute to "success" of modern economies?

It just sucks out value due to stock market implementation.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#107

Post by wmf »

eloff wrote: post #102
fastball wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How would that be hard to monetize? You literally just charge people for internet access. * HFT firms will pay for it if the latency is lower * Online gamers that play with other people around the globe would also probably be willing to pay to get their ping down. * Maybe they could have a LEO CDN. * People like me who travel a lot would be willing to pay for it. It would be especially sweet if I could somehow ditch…

Because HFT firms can pay for a standard StarLink and get the same results. There are few HFT customers and you have to offer them something that can't get from your consumer service if you want them to pay commensurate to the value provided. Your other points have nothing to do with my HFT specific comment.

It's very likely that standard Starlink plans will downlink traffic as close to the customer as possible to reduce lateral utilization, but HFT needs to route traffic on the constellation all the way across the Atlantic.

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#108

Post by thinkling »

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #9

Anyone wanna offer me their hypothesis on what Amazon and other tech companies gain from offering internet to people who probably aren't valuable consumers?

Once they have their own satellite-based cell network, they can take another stab at launching a mobile phone. The Amazon Fire2 phone will be able to use this proprietary network. Amazon could then go for entry into mobile markets by selling phones with data service included free, trying to become a third major mobile platform.

Alternately, Amazon is developing their Alexa-fronted Internet-of-Things (home automation, etc.). This network could serve those devices and make their setup easier. (No need to connect them to your wifi network. Amazon could claim their IoT is inherently safer because they control the entire network that they operate on, so your security camera won't get hacked. (Note that Amazon owns the Ring doorbell products.)

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#109

Post by myaccount80 »

harryh wrote: post #100
myaccount80 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are there people investing so much money on these things, filling up the space, just for some stupid trading. Why is humanity doing this ??

"just for some stupid trading" is one of the underlying forces beneath the success of all modern economies. Without it almost everything you buy would be more expensive.

Are you considering “having cheaper stuff” actually progress in terms of humanity ?

Re: Amazon Seeks Permission to Launch 3k Internet Satellites

#110

Post by jcims »

caymanjim wrote: post #66
new_realist wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about debris from LEO collisions moving into higher orbits?

Higher orbits require higher velocities, which aren't going to be reached by collision debris.

It’s not likely but definitely not impossible.

https://youtu.be/2UHS883_P60

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