4 ms·
Early on there was also a lot of talk about High Frequency Trading firms being a prime customer. Once they have inter-satellite laser links, the latency over la
by dkarp 6y ago
Early on there was also a lot of talk about High Frequency Trading firms being a prime customer. Once they have inter-satellite laser links, the latency over large distances can be significantly less than via undersea fiberoptic cables.
I believe this is to do with the difference in speed of light in the cable and also indirect path that light takes as it bounces along a cable. Over inter-continental distances, the benefit is magnified.
- paul_f 6y ago100% correct. Lower latency comms for HFT, worth a fortune.
- vidarh 6y agoEven if you did line-of-sight links on the ground, and had a "perfect" route that didn't require deviating to avoid any obstacles, the curvature of the Earth means you'd need far more relays introducing latency.
- londons_explore 6y agoLaser links can bring in the HFT traders, but having laser links might lock starlink out of some markets. Some governments would be happy to let a foreign company run internet services for their people if they can guarantee the data must flow through a ground station within the country. If the satellites have lasers though, the government cannot guarantee that, and therefore may ban the service entirely.