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SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

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Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#171
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$29 (or less) for 1Gbps would probably give American ISP executives night sweats.

I live in Bolivia, South America, the impact a global ISP would have cannot be overstated, in developing countries internet prices are still extremely expensive, up until a month ago I was paying around USD 60 for 10Mbps, and that was the best price I could find in my city, the second largest in the country.

And that's slightly better than what's available in Kansas, 30 minutes from the nearest Walmart, i.e. no large nearby cities.

Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is just far too much space for 100k objects, let alone 10k to ever run the risk of collission. No, there isn't. Satellites can and do collide despite the vast amount of space in a given orbit. It is improbable, but likely enough to warrant at least some concern. > Why don't you hold that same fear for existing satelittes which typically operate at an orbit with far lower decay rate? I do, as does the FCC. Thi…

Satellites don't just cross their paths by magic. If their orbits don't intersect, they can't collide. Satellites don't collide with each other, it has never happened. Satellites do collide with debris, but that's a different issue. Furthermore, they don't need a guarantee that they can be put into a graveyard orbit - the proposed satellites (and even any debris, if they'd explode for whatever reason) will be in a gr…

> Satellites don't collide with each other, it has never happened.

Actually, they do, and it has indeed happened before (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_satellite_collision). Far from a Kessler syndrome scenario, but certainly something that should be examined.

Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#173
post #11

Too bad the public markets have given Elon such a lashing with Tesla, because I would love to buy into SpaceX. But then, I’m not the only one; “There is an unlimited amount of funding that the company could probably access globally in private markets," Hilmer said, adding that he has personally met many of "a diverse group" interested in SpaceX. Everywhere I travel around the world, investors of all types — individua…

Anybody who sees a ceo who plans to spend a large chunk of company profits on colonizing mars for the sake of humanity might think to themselves, "I wonder if I can start a similar company, avoid the mars colonization expenses and undercut them on price."

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Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#174
post #22

Curious how this will pan out. It's a shocking contrast to be in or near a city and have broadband speeds, and then be just a few dozen miles outside one and have... literally nothing. I just loaned my Iridium phone to a friend who was going to the jungle, and although he was able to make the data connection work, even doing email at 2400 baud(!) proved useless. Inmarsat is faster, but vastly more expensive. Outside…

It depends on what you mean by "email". "Doing email" as in SMTP/POP at 2400 baud is feasible, "doing email" as in accessing a https webmail service is not. You can communicate effectively over 2400 baud if (and only if) you use protocols and services designed for low bandwidth; luckily we have those protocols built and tested, even if we have mostly abandoned some of them.

It's workable if you take your MTU down to 256 or 128.

Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#175
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Think about switching your router every 10 minutes. Your cell phone switches towers all the time while you're on the road. My cellphone (republic) switches from WiFi to cellular network mid-call if I'm on it when I leave a building. This is not a new problem.

>My cellphone (republic) switches from WiFi to cellular network mid-call if I'm on it when I leave a building. This is not a new problem. Networking technology switching is unrelated to a call, which always uses cellular.

Republic specifically does this; it's their whole marketing gimmick. You pay a low amount for a modest data cap, but the phone seamlessly prioritizes WiFi networks when available.

I've been using them for years and it works fine.

Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#177
post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think investment is exactly?

I think that systemic interest in investment in fundamental economic improvements has declined while systemic investment in financial vehicles (pardon the pun) is rampant. This would be ok if the financial vehicles were connected to economic well being, but that link is increasingly tenuous. It basically takes a crazy, put it all on the line billionaire to assemble technologies, but why doesn't the economic system re…

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Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#178
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why. China can just force SpaceX to turn off over China. How? By shooting down satellites?

Yes, they can do that [0]. However, the easier option is to just scan for the right EM waves on the ground and go after the people using the illegal network. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Chinese_anti-satellite_mi...

Yes, they can do that [0].

But it's a crappy enough move, it's not certain they would.

However, the easier option is to just scan for the right EM waves on the ground and go after the people using the illegal network.

So someone just has to figure out a way to hide the uplink.

Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Over 2400 baud? Yes, I probably would suggest dropping SSL and instead transmit pre-encrypted data over a very plain, very simple connection to avoid the overhead of SSL handshake (something like 5kb for current keysizes?) and its latency. GPG-encrypted email over plain POP would work; and you can have automatic "remailers" on both sides of the link that handle the encryption/decryption once the communications are do…

1-RTT TLS 1.3 handshake with small ECC keys and certificate chain optimized for size, and TLS shouldn't be a problem to sync mail over slow connection.

Simple and reliable pgp encryption will outlast tls 1.3, and rural users (quite reasonably) expect more life from their devices than city folks. No one is going to download and update with a 200MB image at 2400bps afterall.

Re: SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites

#180

Is there anyone who knows more about radio stuff that can explain why they want to have both Ku and V band for users? It it just a matter of having more spectrum? Or are some bands more suited to crowded areas, like a city where there might be lots of customers sharing bandwidth? Do you need different hardware for using the different frequencies?

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