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Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

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Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#271

Post by gpm »

kube-system wrote: post #248
gpm wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you just took a standard antenna that approximately speaking broadcast evenly in every direction, you couldn't (or at least you would have to bother triangulating the signal). If you did that though you wouldn't be able to offer high speed internet because you would be incredibly bandwidth constrained. Instead, what these satellites are doing is using something called a phased array antenna, that let's them narrow…

These new generations of satellite constellations also are proposed to operate at MUCH lower altitudes and in much greater numbers than something in geosynchronous orbit. We're talking distances closer than the ISS, which is this far away: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS-42_Florida_in_th... Doesn't seem like it would be that hard of a task at that proximity.

> Doesn't seem like it would be that hard of a task at that proximity.

What is the task you are talking about?

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#272

Post by tenebrisalietum »

kube-system wrote: post #246
3pt14159 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely if there are telephone communications then someone can modem out? Or are they scanning for non-human communication over telephony?

Not with Google Fi, at least. Cellular networks are optimized for human voice and the compression will typically break the protocols originally designed to transfer data over landlines.

I wonder if cellular predictive encoding or whatever would break absolutely all of these modulation schemes.

https://kb.iu.edu/d/aand

Bell 201A, for example. Loading modern webpages over 2400bps would be hell but IRC might still work. Or maybe time to break out the old UUCP.

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#273

Post by kube-system »

gpm wrote: post #271
kube-system wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These new generations of satellite constellations also are proposed to operate at MUCH lower altitudes and in much greater numbers than something in geosynchronous orbit. We're talking distances closer than the ISS, which is this far away: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS-42_Florida_in_th... Doesn't seem like it would be that hard of a task at that proximity.

> Doesn't seem like it would be that hard of a task at that proximity. What is the task you are talking about?

Aiming a directional antenna, having a geographically limited broadcast area, or aiming a phased array, etc.

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#274

Post by ryanmarsh »

frank2 wrote: post #212
ryanmarsh wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine a US company of strategic importance becoming the defacto internet provider for much of the developing world. There's no way Starlink is happening organically or in a policy vacuum. This is like a CIA/NSA wet dream. Also, people forget that low latency global internet is a requirement for next generation drone operations, particularly removing pilots from high performance aircraft. Again, this is strategic an…

I always thought the Pentagon has had a robust global satellite communications network for decades already. (I don't know whether it is Internet-protocol based. My guess is yes.)

High latency, low bandwidth

vs

Low latency, high bandwidth

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#275

Post by ClumsyPilot »

stickfigure wrote: post #262
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Anonymous, censorship free communications is a lethal threat to rogue regimes." Saudi arabia is still a dictatorship, despite being our 'allies' and having internet. They even dismember dissidents from time to time.

They even dismember dissidents from time to time. ...and look how well that went over? I'm not sure I'd chalk that one up as a win for MBS.

How did it go over? I have not seen the royal family suffer serious material consequences for murder. Have i missed something?

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#276

Post by nix23 »

enkid wrote: post #14
obogobo wrote: post #7

wondering what / if any impact "the space internet" (or like networks) will have on national government's ability to disrupt comms. or if it just shifts the goalposts to a different network operator

I don't see Starlink shutting down subscribers if the Belarussian government asks them to, at least not very quickly. If the terminals are available, this is going to make all of the national internet projects (Russia, China, Iran) much more difficult to pull off.

You can use scramblers for satellite communication, that why you have to register your satellite phone in Russia otherwise it barely works.

Source: Myself, in a very bad situation without a working Sattelitephone

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#277

Post by SahAssar »

est31 wrote: post #245
tomatotomato37 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anti-satellite weaponry doesn't really apply here for the same reason land based artillery doesn't apply for trying to block pirate radio coming from a neighboring country

You can also use a different analogy of an airplane that's in a foreign country's airspace without permission, not following any instructions by ATC.

The international law is very different for space and airspace.

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#279

Post by low_common »

skissane wrote: post #221
jasonwatkinspdx wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I continue to be baffled by this argument that starlink et all are going to somehow crack open totalitarian states. There's not a chance in the world of any of these companies risking their licensing and relationship with the ITU. No one is going to be smuggling in ground terminals, let alone macgyvering their own, because the network isn't gonna talk back.

> There's not a chance in the world of any of these companies risking their licensing and relationship with the ITU SpaceX doesn't have to worry about the ITU. All they have to worry about is (1) keeping the US government happy (2) avoiding conflict with powerful foreign countries like Russia, China, etc So long as they obey US laws and keep the US government happy, and avoid making unnecessary enemies of powerful fo…

Why would it be dangerous for SpaceX to offend Russia?

Re: Belarus has shut down the internet amid a controversial election

#280

Post by sam_lowry_ »

SpaceRaccoon wrote: post #232
sam_lowry_ wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yesterday, there were reports of Russian mercs arriving to help Lukashenka fight his people. Just saying.

You should be banned for spreading misinformation.

@nexta_live with their 1 million subscribers made those reports public. Ask Telegram to ban them. I am just a pseudanonymous HN user with 0 subscribers.

P.S. Since then, I saw no new reports of Russian mercs involvement.

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