3 ms·

> but it won't be installed on the roof of a car How come?

• indolering 7y ago
  Because it won't work in high-density urban areas.
• LeonM 7y ago
  It won't be a reliable connection because the car moves around. Stuff like trees, tall building, bridges and tunnels will disrupt the signal. So for cars, a ground based cellular connection will work more reliable. Antenna alignment could also be a factor, which becomes more difficult if the antenna is attached to a moving object.
  • skykooler 7y ago
    The antenna has to constantly realign anyway due to how fast the satellites in low earth orbit move. Given that they're using phased array antennas, which can be steered electronically nearly instantaneously, there should be no issue tracking a satellite from a moving vehicle.
  • SEJeff 7y ago
    As mentioned earlier by dsr_, at 340km, a 1.5 degree beam covers a circle of just under 9km diameter. Let's call it 50 square km. If a single satellite can cover a 9km diameter, I think it will be just fine for vehicles. Especially so as the idea is for overlapping satellites. Also, much of the starlink bandwidth will be used for extra cellular / wireless / internet backbone areas. Areas that need long haul fiber optics to have bandwidth suddenly won't, so it will actually improve existing internet service providers as well since their addressable market will increase.