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This could pipe unfiltered Internet into places like China/NKorea/Iran.
by beenBoutIT 7y ago
This could pipe unfiltered Internet into places like China/NKorea/Iran.
- JohnJamesRambo 7y agoOne of my favorite features of it. No one can stop the dissemination of a free internet then.
- zizee 7y agoIt will be difficult to hide the dish that sits on your roof, blasting signals into space.
- intrasight 7y agoSure - if the want to risk China/NKorea/Iran shooting those satellites out of space. Seems a bad gamble so I doubt they'll provide service to those countries.
- diminoten 7y agoNo one has ever shot down a satellite that wasn't theirs in human history, I don't believe.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- intrasight 7y agoNot yet ;)
- mortenjorck 7y agoWhile the DPRK would have no means of doing this, the PRC could quite plausibly launch its own jammer constellation if it became enough of an issue. The most interesting aspect is that an import ban on LEO satellite modems becomes exponentially harder to enforce when you’re the only country that can manufacture them at scale in the first place.
- gpm 7y agoI'm 90% confident that if SpaceX ignored international (and Chinese) law and started broadcasting into China without permission the PRC would be delighted at the excuse to test anti satellite weapons instead of trying to jam them.
- mortenjorck 7y agoOf course, SpaceX wouldn't dare risk the international firestorm of doing so intentionally. But if the service were available in Taiwan, mainland China is only about 100 miles away across the Taiwan Strait. The connection might be slow and spotty from Fuzhou, but all you'd need is a modem sold out the backdoor of a factory and an account created in Taiwan (perhaps a friend you Alipay for the subscription), and you'd have unfiltered internet in eastern Fujian.
- nradov 7y agoRepressive regimes will ban importation and possession of the antennas, and will prevent citizens from paying for services. A few courageous dissidents will defy the bans but not enough to matter.
- dcbadacd 7y agoI don't see pieces of metal being possible to ban. Even a pizza pan would do.
- imtringued 7y agoYou have to pay for the subscription.
- nradov 7y agoA pizza pan will not do. This service requires specialized active antennas with beam steering ability.
- chupasaurus 7y agoI.e. Russian law has a catch for satellite antennas: you can't set them up without a license with a penalty by confiscation and a small fine.