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Ships already have satellite connections, and GPS, and internet, and all of that. Starlink wouldn't revolutionize anything. At best, it might be cheaper than w

Ships already have satellite connections, and GPS, and internet, and all of that. Starlink wouldn't revolutionize anything. At best, it might be cheaper than what is currently on the market, but that expense is largely driven by durability requirements for equipment exposed to heavy amounts of moisture and inclement weather. Durable products are not something that any of Musk's companies are known for (especially Tesla), so they enter this market with the disadvantage of that reputation.

herval 6y ago
That's precisely the argument I heard from Nokia die-hards when they iPhone was introduced :-)
- gamblor956 6y ago
  This isn't a Nokia vs iPhone situation. Shipping already does everything that Starlink proponents claim Starlink will enable, i.e., track ships, track cargo, track temperatures in containers. And this data isn't like video, so you don't need a lot of bandwidth for it. Starlink might make things cheaper than current satellite communications offerings, but this is evolutionary not revolutionary.
  - briffle 6y ago
    And my blackberry could already run apps, browse the web, and send quick messages to each other years before the iphone.
    - ubercore 6y ago
      Not the same apps, though. In this comparison, it would be "my blackberry already runs iOS apps, but they're a bit slower than the new iphone". Improvement for sure, and I'd bet on StarLink making a lot of money on this by volume, but it's not going to radically change shipping.
    - krageon 6y ago
      To be fair, your iphone doesn't really do anything interesting past what your blackberry did. It's mostly network effects, which used to exist for blackberries and now exist for smartphones. What they're used for by most people is almost indistinguishable from what they used to be used for.
  - SkyPuncher 6y ago
    In another thread, someone suggested Viasat was costing between $20k and $50k per month. On a ocean going cargo ship, that is not that much relative to the other costs.
- ppf 6y ago
  Funny, I've just gone back to a Nokia.
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.
ryzvonusef 6y ago
> Durable products are not something that any of Musk's companies are known for Starlink is not Tesla, and from my study of the /r/starlink subreddit, there have not been any significant complaints about the dish reliability, even in the bitter snow and cold

herval 6y ago

That's precisely the argument I heard from Nokia die-hards when they iPhone was introduced :-)

gamblor956 6y ago
This isn't a Nokia vs iPhone situation. Shipping already does everything that Starlink proponents claim Starlink will enable, i.e., track ships, track cargo, track temperatures in containers. And this data isn't like video, so you don't need a lot of bandwidth for it. Starlink might make things cheaper than current satellite communications offerings, but this is evolutionary not revolutionary.
- briffle 6y ago
  And my blackberry could already run apps, browse the web, and send quick messages to each other years before the iphone.
  - ubercore 6y ago
    Not the same apps, though. In this comparison, it would be "my blackberry already runs iOS apps, but they're a bit slower than the new iphone". Improvement for sure, and I'd bet on StarLink making a lot of money on this by volume, but it's not going to radically change shipping.
  - krageon 6y ago
    To be fair, your iphone doesn't really do anything interesting past what your blackberry did. It's mostly network effects, which used to exist for blackberries and now exist for smartphones. What they're used for by most people is almost indistinguishable from what they used to be used for.
- SkyPuncher 6y ago
  In another thread, someone suggested Viasat was costing between $20k and $50k per month. On a ocean going cargo ship, that is not that much relative to the other costs.
ppf 6y ago
Funny, I've just gone back to a Nokia.
tinus_hn 6y ago
No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

ryzvonusef 6y ago

> Durable products are not something that any of Musk's companies are known for Starlink is not Tesla, and from my study of the /r/starlink subreddit, there have not been any significant complaints about the dish reliability, even in the bitter snow and cold