6 ms·

SpaceX isn't necessarily doing better. They had more funding, but the OneWeb technology was better. You can't beat the musk reality distortion field, though.

gpm 7y ago
Why do you say the OneWeb technology is better?
- shaklee3 7y ago
  The consumer antenna I consider the most difficult part that could make or break any of these projects. OneWeb claims to have been making the most progress on this front in terms of cost. SpaceX has publicly announced there's would not be cost effective for most end users.
  - gpm 7y ago
    I thought OneWeb wasn't even targeting consumers, and was just planning on acting as basically a backbone for cell towers in the consumer market?
    - shaklee3 7y ago
      All of them at one point said it was to serve underserved consumers. They changed their tune after the antennas and satellite cost was higher than they thought.
  - jmcguckin 7y ago
    If SpaceX had a conformal antenna, it would open a new market of bizjets and commercial aircraft for them.
    - shaklee3 7y ago
      I'm not sure about that. Most people on planes use it for streaming media, and the current solutions are good enough for that. Also, it would take them many years to win that business and get certified.
      - gpm 7y ago
        Huh? Starlink satellites are supposed to be capable of something like 20Gbps (per satellite) as of a few years ago. A 4k livestream uses something like 15Mbps, 20Gbps / 0.015Gbps = 1333 livestreams per satellite. This seems like it should be capable of supporting business jets just fine.
        shaklee3 7y ago
        I didn't say they aren't capable of it. I said the existing solutions are already good enough and will be lower cost. You need some kind of differentiator if you want to display streaming media on an airplane. The only differentiator they could have is lower cost, but it looks like their costs will be far higher given the cutthroat industry of the airlines.
        gpm 7y ago
        Sorry, I misread.

gpm 7y ago

Why do you say the OneWeb technology is better?

shaklee3 7y ago
The consumer antenna I consider the most difficult part that could make or break any of these projects. OneWeb claims to have been making the most progress on this front in terms of cost. SpaceX has publicly announced there's would not be cost effective for most end users.
- gpm 7y ago
  I thought OneWeb wasn't even targeting consumers, and was just planning on acting as basically a backbone for cell towers in the consumer market?
  - shaklee3 7y ago
    All of them at one point said it was to serve underserved consumers. They changed their tune after the antennas and satellite cost was higher than they thought.
- jmcguckin 7y ago
  If SpaceX had a conformal antenna, it would open a new market of bizjets and commercial aircraft for them.
  - shaklee3 7y ago
    I'm not sure about that. Most people on planes use it for streaming media, and the current solutions are good enough for that. Also, it would take them many years to win that business and get certified.
    - gpm 7y ago
      Huh? Starlink satellites are supposed to be capable of something like 20Gbps (per satellite) as of a few years ago. A 4k livestream uses something like 15Mbps, 20Gbps / 0.015Gbps = 1333 livestreams per satellite. This seems like it should be capable of supporting business jets just fine.
      - shaklee3 7y ago
        I didn't say they aren't capable of it. I said the existing solutions are already good enough and will be lower cost. You need some kind of differentiator if you want to display streaming media on an airplane. The only differentiator they could have is lower cost, but it looks like their costs will be far higher given the cutthroat industry of the airlines.
        gpm 7y ago
        Sorry, I misread.