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I'm really excited about this technology for selfish reasons. I love disconnecting and spending time in remote wildernesses. But paradoxically, being disconnect

I'm really excited about this technology for selfish reasons. I love disconnecting and spending time in remote wildernesses. But paradoxically, being disconnected from technology gives me a lot of anxiety about technology. Working on devops roles over the last decade, I've almost never had a time when I can just forget about it all. Even when I'm not on call, and no matter how well I try to document things, I'm often the one with the answers. When things break, I need to be able to step in. Being able to go off the grid, while still being able to step in when SHTF, would increase my quality of life significantly.

DGAP 7y ago
Why not just use any of the number of existing satellite telecoms providers?
- jniedrauer 7y ago
  I do. I have a Garmin inReach, and it helps. But it takes ~5 minutes for one exchange of a text message. It's not enough to diagnose and fix a complex problem remotely.
  - bob1029 7y ago
    Iridium Certus is something that may be an option. Their new constellation just recently came online. I am uncertain of end device availability/support though.
  - jupp0r 7y ago
    Why not use a standard satellite phone instead? Rates are reasonable and in the $2/minute range. Your use case sounds like it's easy to justify that.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
  There's not as many as you think, and they all blow. Not enough bandwidth, way too much latency, and very very expensive.
- ctdonath 7y ago
  I currently pay $25/mo for wired internet, 25Mbps & 1TB/mo cap, no discernible latency. Closest available is $80/mo satellite internet, 12Mbps & 40GB/mo cap (overage => deprioritized), latency measured in seconds. While little to go on, assuming Starlink will be aggressively competitive on all factors.
Yetanfou 7y ago
May I suggest to put a curb on your availability every now and then? I fully understand the urge to help out in times of need but I also know this creates a situation where you're always on call - whether scheduled or not. It also gives those who get to depend on your availability a false sense of security in assuming you will be there to help out, negating any impetus to find alternative sources. In the end you will be assumed to be available (and might get shit for not being there to help) and the distinction between 'work time' and 'leisure time' will fade. To me one of the lures of the wilderness is the fact that I can go 'off-line' there. I paddled the Yukon from Whitehorse to the Bering Strait without being connected to the outside world, my only means of communication being the letters I sent to friends and family. The experience would have totally changed - and been markedly less - had I been in constant communication with the outside world, having a communication device go 'bleep' while running some rapids, sending that photo of that elk swimming in front of the canoe to whatever social network I might use for my share of likes and instant gratification.
milquetoastaf 7y ago
Wouldn't hurt to embolden the line between work and life. It's okay to not pick up the phone sometimes.
Ididntdothis 7y ago
Unless you want to keep living that way I would highly recommend to do hard disconnects from time to time. From my experience there will be a short disruption but then other people will step up and overall things will keep working nicely. You may also get seriously sick one day and then things will get forced too. I have had a lot of times when I thought I was indispensable but things were just fine without me. This can be liberating because you can now focus on other things and don’t get stuck with the same stuff.
travisporter 7y ago
My gripe is that the wilderness will now be less magical at night with these satellites near the stars though.

DGAP 7y ago

Why not just use any of the number of existing satellite telecoms providers?

jniedrauer 7y ago
I do. I have a Garmin inReach, and it helps. But it takes ~5 minutes for one exchange of a text message. It's not enough to diagnose and fix a complex problem remotely.
- bob1029 7y ago
  Iridium Certus is something that may be an option. Their new constellation just recently came online. I am uncertain of end device availability/support though.
- jupp0r 7y ago
  Why not use a standard satellite phone instead? Rates are reasonable and in the $2/minute range. Your use case sounds like it's easy to justify that.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
s_y_n_t_a_x 7y ago
There's not as many as you think, and they all blow. Not enough bandwidth, way too much latency, and very very expensive.
ctdonath 7y ago
I currently pay $25/mo for wired internet, 25Mbps & 1TB/mo cap, no discernible latency. Closest available is $80/mo satellite internet, 12Mbps & 40GB/mo cap (overage => deprioritized), latency measured in seconds. While little to go on, assuming Starlink will be aggressively competitive on all factors.

Yetanfou 7y ago

May I suggest to put a curb on your availability every now and then? I fully understand the urge to help out in times of need but I also know this creates a situation where you're always on call - whether scheduled or not. It also gives those who get to depend on your availability a false sense of security in assuming you will be there to help out, negating any impetus to find alternative sources. In the end you will be assumed to be available (and might get shit for not being there to help) and the distinction between 'work time' and 'leisure time' will fade. To me one of the lures of the wilderness is the fact that I can go 'off-line' there. I paddled the Yukon from Whitehorse to the Bering Strait without being connected to the outside world, my only means of communication being the letters I sent to friends and family. The experience would have totally changed - and been markedly less - had I been in constant communication with the outside world, having a communication device go 'bleep' while running some rapids, sending that photo of that elk swimming in front of the canoe to whatever social network I might use for my share of likes and instant gratification.

milquetoastaf 7y ago

Wouldn't hurt to embolden the line between work and life. It's okay to not pick up the phone sometimes.

Ididntdothis 7y ago

Unless you want to keep living that way I would highly recommend to do hard disconnects from time to time. From my experience there will be a short disruption but then other people will step up and overall things will keep working nicely. You may also get seriously sick one day and then things will get forced too. I have had a lot of times when I thought I was indispensable but things were just fine without me. This can be liberating because you can now focus on other things and don’t get stuck with the same stuff.

travisporter 7y ago

My gripe is that the wilderness will now be less magical at night with these satellites near the stars though.