5 ms·

Satellite internet is already available in rural areas and it doesn't seem to make that big of a difference. Most people care more about the culture that popula

Satellite internet is already available in rural areas and it doesn't seem to make that big of a difference. Most people care more about the culture that populated areas provide more than internet speeds. Personally I pay $30 a month for 15 Mbps. I remember EarthLink or Prodigy being like $15-20 a month for 56Kbps. I remember leaving the modem on all night to download a 30MB demo of Monster Truck Madness in Elementary School. Now speeds are ~250 times what they were and the price has only doubled in the past 20 years? That's f-ing amazing. Prices are not getting out of control if you stick to the bottom end. I'm not even sure what I'd do with gig internet. For areas going from no internet to satellite internet it's probably going to be amazing, but going from high latency satellite internet to low latency satellite internet will not be a huge game changer. Adoption of http2 would probably help the quality of existing satellite internet more and be cheaper than this endeavor. As everyone started moving to HTTPS, the handshakes take much longer on a high latency connection and multiplexing would help alleviate that issue.

epicide 7y ago
> I'm not even sure what I'd do with gig internet. We're going to find out and that's the most interesting part.
- thebigspacefuck 7y ago
  Agreed, but at this point in time I can't think of any "killer apps" for it. It seems silly to pay so much for something I wouldn't be able to use today.
  - Kye 7y ago
    I couldn't imagine replacing TV with streaming HD video or downloading free multi-gigabyte sample packs just to see what's in them before before multi-megabyte connections and affordable half terabyte hard drives. Most new or improved technology is speculative. No one knows what people will use it for 10 years later. Guesses rarely pan out.
    - thebigspacefuck 7y ago
      That's a good point, but as gig internet is already widely available, I'm not sure the technology is what's holding anyone back.
      - Kye 7y ago
        Widespread gigabit is a recent development, and it's still expensive. Whatever technology takes advantage of it is a few years out. I had megabyte cable ~5 years before YouTube launched.
      - epicide 7y ago
        > gig internet is already widely available I don't have it available and I live in an urban area. Hell, I don't even have a viable alternative to my cable company. There's a ton of bureaucracy around all of it. Political nonsense aside, we rarely see the use for something when it first comes out. That includes really useful things. e.g. all of the super important inventions that were straight up accidents. Sure, it could take years, but I can't imagine having faster communication between more people not having a huge effect.
sithadmin 7y ago
>Satellite internet is already available in rural areas and it doesn't seem to make that big of a difference. It absolutely makes a difference. Rural/isolated communities are being left behind in terms of access to what are now basic staples of modern life: inexpensive, high-quality VoIP and video telecom, diverse sources of streaming video and audio media, real-time online gaming, telecommuting, etc. The satellite internet available to most consumers today is cost-prohibitive garbage. Most options are doing satellite downlink paired to dialup uplink, and even the stuff that does two-way satellite links provides abysmal performance. All of it usually has a $100+ USD per month cost. Compared against 3G mobile, the latter is a far better deal.
- thebigspacefuck 7y ago
  Just to be clear, I don't think anyone is not moving to a rural area because of the internet speeds. I'm not sure if you're talking about the U.S. or not, but my parents have satellite internet and they don't even notice a difference unless the dish is full of snow, which I'm not sure is a problem Starlink will solve. They stream, use Skype, and wifi calling. I don't notice much of a difference when I visit. If I try to log into a remote terminal, sure, but I'm not doing that. Internet might be more expensive, but rural properties are cheaper.
  - adrianpike 7y ago
    > I don't think anyone is not moving to a rural area because of the internet speeds. Hi, I'm your counterexample. I held out moving to a rural area until the internet situation got better. It's great out here with a yagi on the roof.
    - topspin 7y ago
      What type of RF service is that? I'd appreciate any specifics you care to share. Thanks.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - 7y ago

epicide 7y ago

> I'm not even sure what I'd do with gig internet. We're going to find out and that's the most interesting part.

thebigspacefuck 7y ago
Agreed, but at this point in time I can't think of any "killer apps" for it. It seems silly to pay so much for something I wouldn't be able to use today.
- Kye 7y ago
  I couldn't imagine replacing TV with streaming HD video or downloading free multi-gigabyte sample packs just to see what's in them before before multi-megabyte connections and affordable half terabyte hard drives. Most new or improved technology is speculative. No one knows what people will use it for 10 years later. Guesses rarely pan out.
  - thebigspacefuck 7y ago
    That's a good point, but as gig internet is already widely available, I'm not sure the technology is what's holding anyone back.
    - Kye 7y ago
      Widespread gigabit is a recent development, and it's still expensive. Whatever technology takes advantage of it is a few years out. I had megabyte cable ~5 years before YouTube launched.
    - epicide 7y ago
      > gig internet is already widely available I don't have it available and I live in an urban area. Hell, I don't even have a viable alternative to my cable company. There's a ton of bureaucracy around all of it. Political nonsense aside, we rarely see the use for something when it first comes out. That includes really useful things. e.g. all of the super important inventions that were straight up accidents. Sure, it could take years, but I can't imagine having faster communication between more people not having a huge effect.

sithadmin 7y ago

>Satellite internet is already available in rural areas and it doesn't seem to make that big of a difference. It absolutely makes a difference. Rural/isolated communities are being left behind in terms of access to what are now basic staples of modern life: inexpensive, high-quality VoIP and video telecom, diverse sources of streaming video and audio media, real-time online gaming, telecommuting, etc. The satellite internet available to most consumers today is cost-prohibitive garbage. Most options are doing satellite downlink paired to dialup uplink, and even the stuff that does two-way satellite links provides abysmal performance. All of it usually has a $100+ USD per month cost. Compared against 3G mobile, the latter is a far better deal.

thebigspacefuck 7y ago
Just to be clear, I don't think anyone is not moving to a rural area because of the internet speeds. I'm not sure if you're talking about the U.S. or not, but my parents have satellite internet and they don't even notice a difference unless the dish is full of snow, which I'm not sure is a problem Starlink will solve. They stream, use Skype, and wifi calling. I don't notice much of a difference when I visit. If I try to log into a remote terminal, sure, but I'm not doing that. Internet might be more expensive, but rural properties are cheaper.
- adrianpike 7y ago
  > I don't think anyone is not moving to a rural area because of the internet speeds. Hi, I'm your counterexample. I held out moving to a rural area until the internet situation got better. It's great out here with a yagi on the roof.
  - topspin 7y ago
    What type of RF service is that? I'd appreciate any specifics you care to share. Thanks.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- 7y ago