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> Exactly. We've already seen Russian authorities say that people will be arrested for using Starlink. All of a sudden, governments have lost the ability to shu
by rkangel 6y ago
> Exactly. We've already seen Russian authorities say that people will be arrested for using Starlink. All of a sudden, governments have lost the ability to shut off the internet without some serious jamming.
I'm not sure that's the case. I believe you have to licence spectrum in the same way that you would if you were offering a terrestrial based service, and if you don't have a licence then you'd have to turn off the beams as the satellites passed over that part of the ground.
- seniorivn 6y agoAnd what happens when you(the owner of satellites) don't turn it off? legally you are out of reach, so it becomes politics
- rkangel 6y agoAll international law is effectively diplomacy (politics) that has been pre-agreed. The current status quo (as I understand it) is that the US Gov is unlikely to allow a private company to breach international law by making unauthorised transmissions into another country. It would be a brave foreign policy decision for the US Gov to decide to permit that. A logical response from Russia or China (or any other nation with the capability) would be to start shooting down satellites. They would have reasonable grounds to do so, and I think it very unlikely that anyone wants to start a space war.