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Starlink Is a Big Deal

sneak.berlin

121–130 of 365 posts

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#121
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn't it trickle down? I feel like all new technologies start out with rich people/early adopters subsidizing mass adoption costs (refrigerators, TVs, computers, cell phones, electric cars)

The problem is that rich people live in areas that have good mobile coverage, and Starlink won't be very attractive to them. LTE can offer transfers better than 600 Mbps with lower latency today , and covers 99% of population (in the developed countries). 5G will get over 1 Gbps per sector and it's coming soon.

5G may hit 1 Gb/s peak, but I'm 100% sure that the major US carriers will throttle the crap out of it so that you don't get anywhere near that. I'm on Verizon in a decent sized city, and any streaming is throttled heavily. Speedtests work fine because the carriers know how to game them. But actual throughput on cellular sucks.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#122
post #77

> "Hundreds of cities and dozens of countries, fine for living but previously entirely unsuitable for a place of business, will blink from red to green on the map once Starlink goes live." this reads like a marketing piece rather than actual analysis. Throughput of a single satellite is 20Gbps. The finished constellation if I recall correctly is supposed to be about 12k satellites. So about ~250.000Gbps. So assuming…

Regarding the social impact, while likely overstated it has the possibility of making a real impact. Rural communities in upstate NY (Catskills, Adirondacks) have had their tourist season drop to ~6 weeks in the summer, basically because people can't take so much time off while being out of contact (there is limited internet and cell phone service. Not having either is the norm). Being able to work remotely from thos…

I often wonder how Tesla will make use of Starlink. Such a huge data stream up and down will enable all sorts of interesting things. Maybe each car won't need a brain, maybe one huge brain will drive all cars. Sync all the cars up, make them act like a single giant distributed being.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#123

Just going to plug my Starlink tracker here: https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink It tells you when to go outside and look up to see the satellites as they pass over your house. It's a cool sight to see because there are up to 60 of them crossing the sky at the same time in a line.

It tells you when to go outside and look up to see the satellites as they pass over your house This must be made up. I have been assured repeatedly on HN that Starlink is a visual non-factor, and that nobody would notice them in the sky, they won't get in the way of astronomy, stargazing, or just enjoying the night sky like humans have done for thousands of years.

Both statements are true. The satellites are visible if it is dark but it they don’t interfere with enjoyment of the nights sky.

They cross over so fast it’s basically like looking at planes, but they are much further away than planes so you have to really look to see them.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#124
post #84
post #34

"HFT firms will be the first customers, seeking a few-millisecond reduction in the transmission of realtime data between markets. Starlink has already said as much, and I think they rely on this as their first and primary source of revenue." I am not sure this is a good prediction ... the shaving of milliseconds that has been pursued by HFT firms (and other such actors) has progressed to the point where they are meas…

> I am not sure this is a good prediction ... the shaving of milliseconds that has been pursued by HFT firms (and other such actors) has progressed to the point where they are measuring cable lengths inside the datacenter. You're conflating optimisation of latency within a colo - how quickly can you send an order in response to seeing an event on that exchange - with latency between colos - how quickly can you send a…

4.13ms is one way, fwiw, RTT is 8.3ms or so.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#125
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the social impact, while likely overstated it has the possibility of making a real impact. Rural communities in upstate NY (Catskills, Adirondacks) have had their tourist season drop to ~6 weeks in the summer, basically because people can't take so much time off while being out of contact (there is limited internet and cell phone service. Not having either is the norm). Being able to work remotely from thos…

I often wonder how Tesla will make use of Starlink. Such a huge data stream up and down will enable all sorts of interesting things. Maybe each car won't need a brain, maybe one huge brain will drive all cars. Sync all the cars up, make them act like a single giant distributed being.

What happens when the car goes into a tunnel?

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#126
post #114

Just going to plug my Starlink tracker here: https://james.darpinian.com/satellites/?special=starlink It tells you when to go outside and look up to see the satellites as they pass over your house. It's a cool sight to see because there are up to 60 of them crossing the sky at the same time in a line.

Oh that's great. Now I can better aim my Elon-Sattelite-fryer device. I already collected 25 old microwave ovens which I plan to operate as phased array to produce a collimated beam of microwaves directed at the satellites to fry their electronics. I might have a better chance If know the exact frequency their receivers are tuned to. Does anybody know more? The reckless littering of our precious LEO must end here!

The FCC would like a word.

Damn those billionaires and their... global high speed satellite internet access, right?

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#127
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the social impact, while likely overstated it has the possibility of making a real impact. Rural communities in upstate NY (Catskills, Adirondacks) have had their tourist season drop to ~6 weeks in the summer, basically because people can't take so much time off while being out of contact (there is limited internet and cell phone service. Not having either is the norm). Being able to work remotely from thos…

I often wonder how Tesla will make use of Starlink. Such a huge data stream up and down will enable all sorts of interesting things. Maybe each car won't need a brain, maybe one huge brain will drive all cars. Sync all the cars up, make them act like a single giant distributed being.

Except tunnels.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#128
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the social impact, while likely overstated it has the possibility of making a real impact. Rural communities in upstate NY (Catskills, Adirondacks) have had their tourist season drop to ~6 weeks in the summer, basically because people can't take so much time off while being out of contact (there is limited internet and cell phone service. Not having either is the norm). Being able to work remotely from thos…

What is stopping cell providers from adding more towers/capacity to that area? Are there geographic reasons or just a matter of time and economics?

I would assume that cell towers will absolutely love Starlink as a backhaul.

Think how much easier it gets to stand up a tower when all you need is electricity on-site.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#129
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding the social impact, while likely overstated it has the possibility of making a real impact. Rural communities in upstate NY (Catskills, Adirondacks) have had their tourist season drop to ~6 weeks in the summer, basically because people can't take so much time off while being out of contact (there is limited internet and cell phone service. Not having either is the norm). Being able to work remotely from thos…

I often wonder how Tesla will make use of Starlink. Such a huge data stream up and down will enable all sorts of interesting things. Maybe each car won't need a brain, maybe one huge brain will drive all cars. Sync all the cars up, make them act like a single giant distributed being.

No single meta-brain, but I could see Tesla offering internet access inside your car instead of current LTE/ 5G solutions.

Re: Starlink Is a Big Deal

#130
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why wouldn't it trickle down? I feel like all new technologies start out with rich people/early adopters subsidizing mass adoption costs (refrigerators, TVs, computers, cell phones, electric cars)

The problem is that rich people live in areas that have good mobile coverage, and Starlink won't be very attractive to them. LTE can offer transfers better than 600 Mbps with lower latency today , and covers 99% of population (in the developed countries). 5G will get over 1 Gbps per sector and it's coming soon.

Industrial sensing equipment, airliners, high-frequency traders could all be some of the 'rich' first customers. They are all underserved by the LTE networks and have the money to pay for a reliable, low-latency connection.
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