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Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

arstechnica.com

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Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#171

Anyone complaining about this has never experienced the frustration of rural living when it comes to internet. This is absolutely amazing, and it will just get better. Even a reliable 10mbps would be a godsend in many places.

My grandma in rural Arkansas would get 26.4 kbps over dialup. Cell service is passable outside so she could get a house mounted antenna but the data caps are so low it's not worth it. Sat internet was crazy expensive last time I checked. Also she refuses to learn computers so I gave up trying to get her internet but that's not related to this conversation.

There are ways to get unlimited service still, which is what my parents do. It's just a bit... hacky. Basically you get an LTE modem and SIM swap to it. The ROOTer mod of OpenWRT is specifically for using LTE modems and works quite well. There are some drawbacks, but it's certainly better than the 1.5 Mbps DSL alternative (which they keep as a backup / automatic failover).

On AT&T (technically a tablet plan) it gets deprioritized after 22 GB, but that's never been an issue for them, even the one month they did 500 GB. I've never seen their speeds affected. Costs about $20 or $25 / month. This is a riskier plan, in that AT&T could check the IMEI and shut it off at any time if it doesn't match (as they've done in the past).

The Sprint plan (hotspot plan with a public routable IP, $41/month effectively, but prepaid for a year at a time) does not get deprioritized, but it's probably not worth it unless you can get band 41. If you do get band 41 you'll see some very nice speeds though, at least download. But T-Mobile is beginning to shut down Sprint's band 41, and to my knowledge this plan is not permitted to roam onto T-Mobile yet. It's keyed in their system as a mobile broadband plan with a 20 or 25 GB bucket of data, however it has unlimited overage. I done hundreds of GB on it no problem. It exists only because of the licensing arrangement for Sprint to use the EBS band 41 spectrum.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#172
post #45

Starlink internet is not meant to replace hard line internet. There is no getting around the physics of cable being so much cheaper/easier. Even terrestrial cell towers are more efficient and cheaper than satellites. This is 100% meant to supplement existing infrastructure not to replace it. You will almost always get cheaper and faster internet (for both you and the company providing internet) over a cable to your h…

> "You will almost always get cheaper and faster internet (for both you and the company providing internet) over a cable to your house."

Not true for me, and I live 10 minutes walk from the financial centre of a major world city. Because there's no fibre installed to my building, unlimited ~300 Mbps 5G wireless internet is both cheaper and faster than any available fixed alternative. Even if fibre was available, the 5G would probably still be cheaper!

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#173

"...that said, we’ll make sure Starlink has no material effect on discoveries in astronomy. We care a great deal about science." Elon Musk A long exposure of Comet NEOWISE by Photographer Daniel Lopez: https://imgur.com/a/rDI1Onn N.B. The white streaks are Starlink constellation passthrough trajectories Starlink currently has 597 orbiting satellites they plan for more than 12k to be deployed. Amazon just got an appro…

Do the satellites in the photo have the new shades on them? I'd be interested to know how much the situation has improved with the improved anti-reflection.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#174
post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Implying the US government won't pay for the cost of an open internet where people can search for 'bad people square'

I'm not sure I understand your comment. Why would the US Government (aka. Taxpayers) pay for internet use in other nations? We already have expensive problems domestically that people would rather spend that coin on.

Winning 'hearts and minds'.

You drop access to the internet as whole in places where the internet is suppressed or non-existent and the populace learns just how bad they have things then they might revolt on their own.

I wouldn't say I 100% advocate for the idea but thats the thought process behind it.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#175

Anyone complaining about this has never experienced the frustration of rural living when it comes to internet. This is absolutely amazing, and it will just get better. Even a reliable 10mbps would be a godsend in many places.

I get ~2 mbps in my rural area (Canada). This is a major upgrade for me. RIP Bell.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get that people are placing their internet hopes and dreams on Starlink being cheap, but the financials they've provided just don't work out to them being any cheaper than any existing ISP unless (a) Starlink receives massive government subsidies (b) signs up a fuckton of commercial partners/sponsors, or (c) runs the network at a huge loss.

They've provided financials?

They've indicated that each satellite costs about $250K to build, and launch costs per satellite are about $500K. Each satellite lasts 5 years. Each satellite gets 50Gbps (25Gbps actual since you have to go up & down). They haven't released base station costs, but there are some estimates that it'll be about $2K per. The other big unknown is the utilization factor.

It's pretty hard to punch those numbers into a model and not show SpaceX making money hand over fist, but there are bears out there that have come up with some really contrived models.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#177

"...that said, we’ll make sure Starlink has no material effect on discoveries in astronomy. We care a great deal about science." Elon Musk A long exposure of Comet NEOWISE by Photographer Daniel Lopez: https://imgur.com/a/rDI1Onn N.B. The white streaks are Starlink constellation passthrough trajectories Starlink currently has 597 orbiting satellites they plan for more than 12k to be deployed. Amazon just got an appro…

Once we can colonize Mars and set up astronomy observatories on Mars, Starlink satellites orbiting Earth won't get in the way of astronomy discoveries.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#178
post #173

"...that said, we’ll make sure Starlink has no material effect on discoveries in astronomy. We care a great deal about science." Elon Musk A long exposure of Comet NEOWISE by Photographer Daniel Lopez: https://imgur.com/a/rDI1Onn N.B. The white streaks are Starlink constellation passthrough trajectories Starlink currently has 597 orbiting satellites they plan for more than 12k to be deployed. Amazon just got an appro…

Do the satellites in the photo have the new shades on them? I'd be interested to know how much the situation has improved with the improved anti-reflection.

Do they plan to retrofit the coating on the +500 deployed?

Are there regulations that prevent future constellations from Amazon or Facebook, or any other giant, to implement albedo reduction on their constellations?

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#179
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a set capacity for these satellites, they can accomodate X number of users per satellite which would be a region (I'm making an educated guess) about the size of New Jersey. I think the size is larger than that which means fewer users but I'm trying to ballpark during my lunch break. So if they expect to have 10,000 users (again ballpark) in New Jersey, but they instead get 40,000 they'll increase their cost…

I believe the satellites are moving, so there's no "Wyoming satellite customers" in the same way as existing satellite internet. The Wyoming customers will be sharing satellites with several other places as they move in and out of their regions

Nothing would stop them from tracking access based on location.

Re: Beta users of Starlink get downloads of 11 to 60 Mbps

#180

"...that said, we’ll make sure Starlink has no material effect on discoveries in astronomy. We care a great deal about science." Elon Musk A long exposure of Comet NEOWISE by Photographer Daniel Lopez: https://imgur.com/a/rDI1Onn N.B. The white streaks are Starlink constellation passthrough trajectories Starlink currently has 597 orbiting satellites they plan for more than 12k to be deployed. Amazon just got an appro…

The photographer has admitted that he used stacking to create the image.
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