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I don't believe they had performance commitments yet. What this is saying is they don't meet the performance criteria now and they don't think they will meet it

I don't believe they had performance commitments yet. What this is saying is they don't meet the performance criteria now and they don't think they will meet it by 2028 because performance is decreasing with more subscribers. I think the FCC is wrong on this one. I would take the long bet that Starlink will average above 100/20 by 2028.

gibolt 4y ago
Agreed. We aren't even on next gen satellites (far larger) or laser communication yet. Those should significantly improve speed, bandwidth, and reliability.
- megaman821 4y ago
  Also, this is a weird program for Starlink. Why not just subsidize the terminal cost and monthly plan to any low income area without access to fast wired internet? When fast wired internet makes it to that area stop offering the subsidy. Starlink is unique that removing the subsidy doesn't leave stranded capital assets. Then the FCC could award all the blocks to fiber providers but if they don't make it for another decade or so, the people will at least have decent internet in the meantime.
- candiddevmike 4y ago
  IMO satellite to satellite communication is going to be SpaceX's equivalent of Tesla's FSD: always just around the corner.
  - Dylan16807 4y ago
    They've launched the lasers. You think alignment is so hard they won't manage it in the next year? I'm not that pessimistic.
    - shaklee3 4y ago
      I do believe that, yes. and that's not the hardest part in the whole thing. the scheduling is.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    They only need to point the lasers at the next bird ahead and behind, and each packet just goes down if it can, or forward or backward according to which is closer to a downlink, unless it is for a special customer. The main use for the lasers will be to offer super-low inter- and transcontinental latency to hedge funds paying thousands of times as much as a normal subscriber. They won't do anybody else but marine customers much good.
thaeli 4y ago
The FCC used aggregate performance across the network, which arguably isn't accurate at depicting the performance in the most remote cells. Starlink is unusual here in the degree to which their service performs better in more remote areas; for most providers, it's the reverse. So they may well be meeting their performance commitments in the most remote areas, but severe congestion in areas that have other service options is hurting their averages. I'm not sure what the right call is here. It's very difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison between vastly different technologies; this isn't Starlink exclusive, but will probably apply to the other LEO constellations whenever they come online in strength.

gibolt 4y ago

Agreed. We aren't even on next gen satellites (far larger) or laser communication yet. Those should significantly improve speed, bandwidth, and reliability.

megaman821 4y ago
Also, this is a weird program for Starlink. Why not just subsidize the terminal cost and monthly plan to any low income area without access to fast wired internet? When fast wired internet makes it to that area stop offering the subsidy. Starlink is unique that removing the subsidy doesn't leave stranded capital assets. Then the FCC could award all the blocks to fiber providers but if they don't make it for another decade or so, the people will at least have decent internet in the meantime.
candiddevmike 4y ago
IMO satellite to satellite communication is going to be SpaceX's equivalent of Tesla's FSD: always just around the corner.
- Dylan16807 4y ago
  They've launched the lasers. You think alignment is so hard they won't manage it in the next year? I'm not that pessimistic.
  - shaklee3 4y ago
    I do believe that, yes. and that's not the hardest part in the whole thing. the scheduling is.
- ncmncm 4y ago
  They only need to point the lasers at the next bird ahead and behind, and each packet just goes down if it can, or forward or backward according to which is closer to a downlink, unless it is for a special customer. The main use for the lasers will be to offer super-low inter- and transcontinental latency to hedge funds paying thousands of times as much as a normal subscriber. They won't do anybody else but marine customers much good.

thaeli 4y ago

The FCC used aggregate performance across the network, which arguably isn't accurate at depicting the performance in the most remote cells. Starlink is unusual here in the degree to which their service performs better in more remote areas; for most providers, it's the reverse. So they may well be meeting their performance commitments in the most remote areas, but severe congestion in areas that have other service options is hurting their averages. I'm not sure what the right call is here. It's very difficult to make an apples-to-apples comparison between vastly different technologies; this isn't Starlink exclusive, but will probably apply to the other LEO constellations whenever they come online in strength.