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> -regulating ISPs as a free market is, to be hyperbolic, a disaster. there is effectively a monopoly in most parts of the country. starlink is changing that,

> -regulating ISPs as a free market is, to be hyperbolic, a disaster. there is effectively a monopoly in most parts of the country. starlink is changing that, as these articles and letters are being written.

sethhochberg 6y ago
I agree that Starlink will be a game changer for many people, but I just don't see how they can be expected to replace traditional terrestrial ISPs in major population centers. Beaming internet from space solves a ton of problems for anyone out at the ends of rural copper, or using p2p systems, or where there simply isn't another alternative. But using myself as an example, I live in a part of NYC where there is fiber internet in the street in front of my building - and my landlord has zero obligation to allow the 60-ish apartments in the building to access it. We're stuck on legacy cable, which has abysmal upload speeds and congestion issues. The dense urban or suburban environments theoretically have more options, but thats not always reality... and I'm not sure that tens of millions of people replacing their local ISP with satellite is desirable, or even technically viable. New provider options are important, but making sure access to the existing options is equitable and reasonable (across all the various local governments, providers, middlemen, etc) is important too.
- aksss 6y ago
  Not to mention there’s only so much rooftop space for satellite dishes. Dishes, especially the ones pointing up, tend to require clearing maintenance in northern latitudes. It doesn’t seem very practical for areas where people are stacked on top of each other. What I hope to see from Starlink is some freedom for more knowledge workers to work remotely, as in more rural communities.
txlpo78 6y ago
Elon himself has stated that Starlink is not intended to and should not be seen as a competitor to traditional terrestrial ISPs. It’s meant to supplement people in rural and possibly exurban areas, but it will not be breaking the monopolies that ATT, Comcast, etc hold over urban areas. > So will Starlink be a good option for anyone in the United States? Not necessarily. Musk said there will be plenty of bandwidth in areas with low population densities and that there will be some customers in big cities. But he cautioned against expecting that everyone in a big city would be able to use Starlink. ... > "I want to be clear, it's not like Starlink is some huge threat to telcos. I want to be super clear it is not," Musk said. "In fact, it will be helpful to telcos because Starlink will serve the hardest-to-serve customers that telcos otherwise have trouble doing with landlines or even with... cell towers." > Starlink will likely serve the "3 or 4 percent hardest-to-reach customers for telcos" and "people who simply have no connectivity right now, or the connectivity is really bad," Musk said. "So I think it will be actually helpful and take a significant load off the traditional telcos." From https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/03/musk-says-starlink-isnt-for-big-cities-wont-be-huge-threat-to-telcos/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/03/musk-...

sethhochberg 6y ago

I agree that Starlink will be a game changer for many people, but I just don't see how they can be expected to replace traditional terrestrial ISPs in major population centers. Beaming internet from space solves a ton of problems for anyone out at the ends of rural copper, or using p2p systems, or where there simply isn't another alternative. But using myself as an example, I live in a part of NYC where there is fiber internet in the street in front of my building - and my landlord has zero obligation to allow the 60-ish apartments in the building to access it. We're stuck on legacy cable, which has abysmal upload speeds and congestion issues. The dense urban or suburban environments theoretically have more options, but thats not always reality... and I'm not sure that tens of millions of people replacing their local ISP with satellite is desirable, or even technically viable. New provider options are important, but making sure access to the existing options is equitable and reasonable (across all the various local governments, providers, middlemen, etc) is important too.

aksss 6y ago
Not to mention there’s only so much rooftop space for satellite dishes. Dishes, especially the ones pointing up, tend to require clearing maintenance in northern latitudes. It doesn’t seem very practical for areas where people are stacked on top of each other. What I hope to see from Starlink is some freedom for more knowledge workers to work remotely, as in more rural communities.

txlpo78 6y ago

Elon himself has stated that Starlink is not intended to and should not be seen as a competitor to traditional terrestrial ISPs. It’s meant to supplement people in rural and possibly exurban areas, but it will not be breaking the monopolies that ATT, Comcast, etc hold over urban areas. > So will Starlink be a good option for anyone in the United States? Not necessarily. Musk said there will be plenty of bandwidth in areas with low population densities and that there will be some customers in big cities. But he cautioned against expecting that everyone in a big city would be able to use Starlink. ... > "I want to be clear, it's not like Starlink is some huge threat to telcos. I want to be super clear it is not," Musk said. "In fact, it will be helpful to telcos because Starlink will serve the hardest-to-serve customers that telcos otherwise have trouble doing with landlines or even with... cell towers." > Starlink will likely serve the "3 or 4 percent hardest-to-reach customers for telcos" and "people who simply have no connectivity right now, or the connectivity is really bad," Musk said. "So I think it will be actually helpful and take a significant load off the traditional telcos." From https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/03/musk-says-starlink-isnt-for-big-cities-wont-be-huge-threat-to-telcos/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/03/musk-...