3 ms·

Launches will only get cheaper over time. The base station is also likely to decrease in price over time due to economies of scale. Starlink is one of the ver

• tsimionescu 5y ago
  > Launches will only get cheaper over time. The base station is also likely to decrease in price over time due to economies of scale. This is much more true for cable than it is for satellite launches, a d yet it hasn't really happened. > Starlink is one of the very few satellite providers that can provide enough bandwidth (due to the large constellation) that an entire village could share a single base station. Starlink needs a huge paying base to pay for the huge cost of the constellation, which needs to be rebuilt and re-launched every 5 years. Every extra customer reduces the bandwidth that the constellation can offer to every other customer, so overall their cost per customer will be exorbitant. Remember that the prices we are seeing today are heavily subsidized by the US government, and they are anyway selling at a considerable loss. The bandwidth we are seeing today is the bandwidth of 1600 satellites and a handful of customers - it is basically a best case scenario, at least for the current technology.
  • jmcguckin 5y ago
    As far as I know, starlink has not been subsidized by the government. They recently won an rdof grant to provide service to rural areas in the US, but this grant was received after most of the satellites were in orbit. Musk always seems to be thinking two steps ahead, so perhaps Starlink is just an enabler for a future, more profitable product.