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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

#321

Post by gamblor956 »

jedberg wrote: post #243
gamblor956 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do people not understand that satellite internet already exists today ? We don't drop satellite modems into war torn countries now, and we're not going to start doing that just because Elon Musk needs to check off one of his PR claims.

They're really expensive and big. Also, we actually do sometimes drop satellite internet into places.

Unless the pictures on Google are wrong, a Starlink base station is significantly larger than a satellite phone and is at least as large as a field base station.

And at $2000/pop, they're at least as expensive as the equipment we're currently not randomly dropping around the globe because of the expense.

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

#322

Post by pacificmint »

busterarm wrote: post #273
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #259

I recall when Iridium was going up, there was discussion about the complexity of the software that managed the pattern of transmitting packets among the satellites. The description indicated it was a complex software problem and they were struggling to get it right. (I went looking for articles from the time period, but couldn't track one down, however, came across MIT/Motorola FCC application for what would become I…

IIRC, Starlink satellites operate at a much lower orbit, are much more numerous and are a lot closer together which reduces the tracking complexity a fair bit. Also the inter-satellite links on the Iridium network are radio whereas the Starlinks have 4 motorized optical links (laser). They're highly reflective objects against the background of space.

As far as I know, the current satellites don’t have any lasers for satellite to satellite communication yet. That will come in later generations.

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

#323

Post by pseudosavant »

ingenium wrote: post #171
keanebean86 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I'll throw a mention in for OpenWRT too. I tether my iPhone to my OpenWRT router when I've had meaningful internet outages. I've done it using wifi and USB/lightning. Being wired is more reliable obviously. I'm sure my carrier can tell it is tethered data though. Which has its own caps/throttling.

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

#324

Post by busterarm »

pacificmint wrote: post #322
busterarm wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IIRC, Starlink satellites operate at a much lower orbit, are much more numerous and are a lot closer together which reduces the tracking complexity a fair bit. Also the inter-satellite links on the Iridium network are radio whereas the Starlinks have 4 motorized optical links (laser). They're highly reflective objects against the background of space.

As far as I know, the current satellites don’t have any lasers for satellite to satellite communication yet. That will come in later generations.

Ahh, I had to look this up but you are correct.

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

#325

Post by apendleton »

quink wrote: post #166
hesdeadjim wrote: post #53

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 am with one of the world’s biggest telcos, Telstra, on a fully owned and operated fibre-to-the-premises network. I live in a decade old estate half an hour from the centres of the third and sixth largest cities in the country. The maximum upload speed currently on sale on that network is 1 Mbps. And it’s a monopoly. Inequality in Internet access aside, that maximum is below the average fixed upload speed of 170 out…

Unfortunately it seems like Starlink in particular probably won't be useful for urban areas with poor competition. I'd be interested if it were, but from the sounds of it, they won't be able to handle lots of users in a small area.

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

#326

Post by jagger27 »

Reason077 wrote: post #172
bargl wrote: 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…

The sad part about what you said is that there is definitely fibre in your area. After all, there’s a 5G tower within spitting distance.

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

#327

Post by actuator »

hesdeadjim wrote: post #53

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.

Agreed. I have travelled to remote places where this speed would have been a godsend, not just for internet but for telephony as well with VoIP. Imagine the kids living in such places finally getting access to all the stuff internet has to offer.

The only thing to watch out would be pricing. I hope there is more competition so the price remains competitive.

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

#328

Post by dzhiurgis »

Maximus9000 wrote: post #153
CarelessExpert wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, one of the barriers to my moving to a more rural area and working remotely was broadband access, but Starlink could very well solve that problem...

You're not alone there. I wonder if starlink will increase property values in rural areas.

Or yacht prices, once it works on them. Right now tho, with not much to go I'd say they should drop. I have a scraper, but analysing data is pain.

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

#329

Post by enkid »

antris wrote: post #315
csharptwdec19 wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IDK if they do this for PC versions... But a lot of these games not only Reuse textures but also duplicate them. They do this to improve load times for levels/etc (less seeking). Playstation DOOM is an early example of this pattern. The WAD files were actually 'per-level' and contained all sprites/textures/etc used in said level.

Wouldn't duplicated textures get de-duplicated by any halfway-decent compression algorithm though? I'd assume the game is sent over the wire compressed

That's not how compression would work. Think about if they are adding a new level. The algorithm would have nothing to compare the files against except what is actually being sent. If the texture appears in each level, and each level comes in a separate update, there's no way for the algorithm to reference or incorporate the files that are already in your computer, so it has to compress it like it's a brand new file. That is unless you have a costume installer which duplicates the file once it runs, but that would probably be a ton more work for the developers.

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

#330

Post by wyldfire »

hesdeadjim wrote: post #53

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.

> and it will just get better.

Won't it get worse when it's generally available? More congestion on the same channel means less per-user throughput right?

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