4 ms·

According to their coverage map (https://www.starlink.com/map https://www.starlink.com/map) there is no coverage in Africa nor Asia, unless I'm missing somethin

According to their coverage map (https://www.starlink.com/map https://www.starlink.com/map) there is no coverage in Africa nor Asia, unless I'm missing something obvious. Or if there are new continents I'm not aware of.

markdown 4y ago
I wonder what's up with that dark spot in Western Australia.
- seriocomic 4y ago
  Probably to remove interference with https://www.atnf.csiro.au/projects/askap/index.html https://www.atnf.csiro.au/projects/askap/index.html
mchusma 4y ago
This is availability for purchase map, not coverage.
- capableweb 4y ago
  What is the difference? If I pick an address in Africa, it tells me "Service date is unknown at this time", does that mean they have coverage there but I cannot purchase it if I live there? So I could, if I live in Africa, buy it and send it to an address in Europe, go pick it up and then use it from my home in Africa?
  - db48x 4y ago
    Hover more thoroughly. Different countries and regions have different tooltips. But no, you would not be able to ship the user terminal to Africa and use it. You can’t even move it more than a few dozen miles from the address they have on file and keep using it, unless you have the more expensive license for mobile users (think RVs and boats and such). Even then it stops working if you enter an area where service is unavailable.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      So realistically then, " This is availability for purchase map, not coverage. " makes no sense, because it is for a fact not available in Africa.
  - heyda 4y ago
    The Starlink dishes have GPS data reported so if you aren't authorized in an area it will be disabled. That said, this coverage map looks like it's for commercial sale, Africa is big complicated continent, if you look at Nigeria for instance, it says availability starting in Q4 2022, which means they likely already have some ground stations installed. If the ground stations are installed and the spectrum is allowed then a local government/school could probably purchase a Starlink dish legally and have it work right now. All they need is one dish installed on every continent for the 'all seven continents supported' to TECHNICALLY be correct, obviously this tweet is just marketing. It's still pretty cool to see that many incredibly under-served communities in South America/Africa/Asia will be able to be served considering running physical infrastructure is very expensive.
  - randyrand 4y ago
    The difference is pretty big! Without coverage, no one can use Starlink. If there is coverage, state governments can allow Starlink usage.
- coding123 4y ago
  To expand, they get their internet from ground stations. If they had just one or two ground stations, like in CA and TX, then everyone would be depending on the laser network and the entire operation would be slow. So they can't sell to a lot of people that would just be getting laser coverage.
db48x 4y ago
That map doesn’t distinguish between waiting for enough satellites to be in the sky overhead and waiting for permission from the local government. For better or worse, each country’s government has to approve the use of any particular frequency, as well as things like transmission power.
- capableweb 4y ago
  That makes perfect sense. If the service is not available, it's not available. The reason why doesn't make a difference "how available" it is. Either it is, or it isn't. Seems a bit like false marketing to say "Starlink is now on all seven continents" when it's more like "Starlink has satellites over seven continents but you can only actually use it on five of them"
  - gpm 4y ago
    Eh, it depends on who "you" are. I'm pretty sure the USAF can use them on all seven continents. Meanwhile I, not having a contract, can't use them on any continent.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      - samatman 4y ago
        You come across quite poorly in this exchange.
        capableweb 4y ago
        Might be so. Guess it seemed obvious to me that we're talking past each other if one is talking about "What's available for consumers today" vs "What the military in the US has access to", but I digress.
      - frumper 4y ago
Maursault 4y ago
> Or if there are new continents I'm not aware of. Antarctica. Thank you for this.
NelsonMinar 4y ago
Perhaps it's available in all seven continents the way Tesla cars have full self driving.
iso1631 4y ago
Maritime coverage shows African and Asian coasts in the Mediterranean
gamegoblin 4y ago
The SpaceX tweet says "Starlink is now on all seven continents", not "Starlink is commercially available for general use on all seven continents". Non-commercial users such as the US military are using it on bases, ships, and aircraft worldwide. Antarctica is notably a continent without US military bases, so the "on all seven continents" claim was not complete until these scientists got a hold of a dish.
- capableweb 4y ago
  Yeah, I get that it could mean a lot of things. I guess it smells kind of funny as they imply that you can use it in seven continents, while maybe it's just their coverage is available in seven continents, but you can't actually contract it. Would be a bit like saying McDonalds is on all seven continents since mcdonalds.com is reachable on all seven continents, but then you cannot actually order McDonalds at Antarctica so it smells a bit like misleading marketing.

markdown 4y ago

I wonder what's up with that dark spot in Western Australia.

seriocomic 4y ago
Probably to remove interference with https://www.atnf.csiro.au/projects/askap/index.html https://www.atnf.csiro.au/projects/askap/index.html

mchusma 4y ago

This is availability for purchase map, not coverage.

capableweb 4y ago
What is the difference? If I pick an address in Africa, it tells me "Service date is unknown at this time", does that mean they have coverage there but I cannot purchase it if I live there? So I could, if I live in Africa, buy it and send it to an address in Europe, go pick it up and then use it from my home in Africa?
- db48x 4y ago
  Hover more thoroughly. Different countries and regions have different tooltips. But no, you would not be able to ship the user terminal to Africa and use it. You can’t even move it more than a few dozen miles from the address they have on file and keep using it, unless you have the more expensive license for mobile users (think RVs and boats and such). Even then it stops working if you enter an area where service is unavailable.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    So realistically then, " This is availability for purchase map, not coverage. " makes no sense, because it is for a fact not available in Africa.
- heyda 4y ago
  The Starlink dishes have GPS data reported so if you aren't authorized in an area it will be disabled. That said, this coverage map looks like it's for commercial sale, Africa is big complicated continent, if you look at Nigeria for instance, it says availability starting in Q4 2022, which means they likely already have some ground stations installed. If the ground stations are installed and the spectrum is allowed then a local government/school could probably purchase a Starlink dish legally and have it work right now. All they need is one dish installed on every continent for the 'all seven continents supported' to TECHNICALLY be correct, obviously this tweet is just marketing. It's still pretty cool to see that many incredibly under-served communities in South America/Africa/Asia will be able to be served considering running physical infrastructure is very expensive.
- randyrand 4y ago
  The difference is pretty big! Without coverage, no one can use Starlink. If there is coverage, state governments can allow Starlink usage.
coding123 4y ago
To expand, they get their internet from ground stations. If they had just one or two ground stations, like in CA and TX, then everyone would be depending on the laser network and the entire operation would be slow. So they can't sell to a lot of people that would just be getting laser coverage.

db48x 4y ago

That map doesn’t distinguish between waiting for enough satellites to be in the sky overhead and waiting for permission from the local government. For better or worse, each country’s government has to approve the use of any particular frequency, as well as things like transmission power.

capableweb 4y ago
That makes perfect sense. If the service is not available, it's not available. The reason why doesn't make a difference "how available" it is. Either it is, or it isn't. Seems a bit like false marketing to say "Starlink is now on all seven continents" when it's more like "Starlink has satellites over seven continents but you can only actually use it on five of them"
- gpm 4y ago
  Eh, it depends on who "you" are. I'm pretty sure the USAF can use them on all seven continents. Meanwhile I, not having a contract, can't use them on any continent.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    - samatman 4y ago
      You come across quite poorly in this exchange.
      - capableweb 4y ago
        Might be so. Guess it seemed obvious to me that we're talking past each other if one is talking about "What's available for consumers today" vs "What the military in the US has access to", but I digress.
    - frumper 4y ago

Maursault 4y ago

> Or if there are new continents I'm not aware of. Antarctica. Thank you for this.

NelsonMinar 4y ago

Perhaps it's available in all seven continents the way Tesla cars have full self driving.

iso1631 4y ago

Maritime coverage shows African and Asian coasts in the Mediterranean

gamegoblin 4y ago

The SpaceX tweet says "Starlink is now on all seven continents", not "Starlink is commercially available for general use on all seven continents". Non-commercial users such as the US military are using it on bases, ships, and aircraft worldwide. Antarctica is notably a continent without US military bases, so the "on all seven continents" claim was not complete until these scientists got a hold of a dish.

capableweb 4y ago
Yeah, I get that it could mean a lot of things. I guess it smells kind of funny as they imply that you can use it in seven continents, while maybe it's just their coverage is available in seven continents, but you can't actually contract it. Would be a bit like saying McDonalds is on all seven continents since mcdonalds.com is reachable on all seven continents, but then you cannot actually order McDonalds at Antarctica so it smells a bit like misleading marketing.