4 ms·

I don't understand the geographic restrictions. When I first heard about Starlink, I was excited about two things, specifically: having decent Internet on an RV

I don't understand the geographic restrictions. When I first heard about Starlink, I was excited about two things, specifically: having decent Internet on an RV, and being able to change stationary homes while retaining my ISP. I move around frequently. Either I'm stuck with whatever Internet the landlord provides (almost never what I would have chosen myself), or I have to deal with changing providers all the time. That means increased rates for short contracts, cancellation fees, equipment rental fees, the hassle of having to return equipment, etc. I would be a Starlink customer for life if they get rid of the pointless geolocking.

gvb 6y ago
It's a licensing/regulatory issue[1]. SpaceX is working on expanding their licensing[2]: SpaceX filed a request with the FCC on Friday for approval to deploy end-user stations it calls “Earth Stations in Motion,” or ESIMs. The mobile terminals would be mounted on land vehicles, ships, and airplanes, SpaceX said in the filing. The mobile stations are “electrically identical” to the $499 terminals already authorized by the FCC for fixed consumers. The federal regulator previously issued a license for SpaceX to field up to a million end-user Earth stations designed for homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and other types of customers. The Starlink terminals designed for mobility have “mountings that allow them to be installed on vehicles, vessels, and aircraft,” SpaceX wrote in the filing with the FCC. The terminals will communicate with Starlink satellites visible above an elevation of 25 degrees in the sky. Ref: [1] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-66A1.pdf https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-66A1.pdf "Facilitating the Communications of Earth Stations in Motion with Non-Geostationary Orbit Space Stations" [2] https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/08/spacex-eyes-mobile-connectivity-market-on-eve-of-adding-60-more-satellites-to-starlink-fleet/ https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/08/spacex-eyes-mobile-con... "SpaceX eyes mobile connectivity market..."
- geerlingguy 6y ago
  In addition, during the beta, there are only so many satellites (see https://satellitemap.space https://satellitemap.space), and because of that, I don't think they have the bandwidth to cover every 'cell' of coverage, so they target certain areas to make sure those areas have a satellite for the majority of a day. The further south you go, the less coverage there is at any given moment (due to the rotation of earth and the orbits of the current fleet of satellites), so they can't just let dishes be assigned anywhere, they have to pick areas.

gvb 6y ago

It's a licensing/regulatory issue[1]. SpaceX is working on expanding their licensing[2]: SpaceX filed a request with the FCC on Friday for approval to deploy end-user stations it calls “Earth Stations in Motion,” or ESIMs. The mobile terminals would be mounted on land vehicles, ships, and airplanes, SpaceX said in the filing. The mobile stations are “electrically identical” to the $499 terminals already authorized by the FCC for fixed consumers. The federal regulator previously issued a license for SpaceX to field up to a million end-user Earth stations designed for homes, businesses, schools, hospitals, and other types of customers. The Starlink terminals designed for mobility have “mountings that allow them to be installed on vehicles, vessels, and aircraft,” SpaceX wrote in the filing with the FCC. The terminals will communicate with Starlink satellites visible above an elevation of 25 degrees in the sky. Ref: [1] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-66A1.pdf https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-66A1.pdf "Facilitating the Communications of Earth Stations in Motion with Non-Geostationary Orbit Space Stations" [2] https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/08/spacex-eyes-mobile-connectivity-market-on-eve-of-adding-60-more-satellites-to-starlink-fleet/ https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/03/08/spacex-eyes-mobile-con... "SpaceX eyes mobile connectivity market..."

geerlingguy 6y ago
In addition, during the beta, there are only so many satellites (see https://satellitemap.space https://satellitemap.space), and because of that, I don't think they have the bandwidth to cover every 'cell' of coverage, so they target certain areas to make sure those areas have a satellite for the majority of a day. The further south you go, the less coverage there is at any given moment (due to the rotation of earth and the orbits of the current fleet of satellites), so they can't just let dishes be assigned anywhere, they have to pick areas.