4 ms·

Starlink was designed for, and has always been intended for remote people who literally have no other connection option. No cable, no 3G or 4G. If you can get

by grecy 4y ago

Starlink was designed for, and has always been intended for remote people who literally have no other connection option. No cable, no 3G or 4G. If you can get those other options, Starlink is not a product designed for you. Go remote, and Starlink is an absolute game changer without even a remotely close equal.

Zigurd 4y ago
Take a look at 5G extended range FWA. That's what Starlink is competing against. Proprietary versions of similar capability are well-proven, but 5G-based extended range FWA enables interoperation, standardization, and competition.
- capableweb 4y ago
  > Take a look at 5G extended range FWA. > This innovation extends mmWave coverage from a few hundred meters to more than 7km That doesn't seem very impressive... That doesn't even come close to what various long-range WiFi connections have been able to do.
  - Zigurd 4y ago
    5G extended range FWA piggybacks off 5G infrastructure. You can do similar things with WiFi or proprietary mmWave FWA, but it requires purpose-built infrastructure.
    - capableweb 4y ago
      But how much 5G infrastructure is there in rural areas? Around my parts, not a lot. So the piggieback argument feels less relevant here.
      - Zigurd 4y ago
        Proprietary mmWave radios are already in wide use in rural areas. The economics of installing and using 5G extended range would be similar or better. The key difference is the "extended range" part, which is what makes them competitive and in many cases superior in range to proprietary FWA. What standardization adds is inter-operation of equipment.
capableweb 4y ago
It's gonna be interesting to see how they solve the financials. Targeting a rural/spare population via expensive satellite connections, that market has to be relatively limited. And with a limited amount of customers, how does it make business sense?
- grecy 4y ago
  Given that it's global, and already rolled out to many countries, I'd have to assume the customer pool is tens or hundreds of millions of customers. Also the sats are some of the cheapest, most mass-produced ever, and SpaceX's launch costs are a tiny fraction of anything done previously. Given what they've achieved so far, I kind of trust SpaceX to have run the numbers on this more than you or I.
- Auracle 4y ago
  Rural doesn't mean poor.
plugger 4y ago
no offence, but this perspective doesn't apply worldwide. if you live in a country like Australia a StarLink connection will give you 10x the speed of many NBN (National Broadband Network) wired connections. 3G/4G/5G are metered by MB and not a viable option for a daily WAN link due to that. Unless you were lucky enough to get fibre pulled into your house before the government at the time kneecapped the NBN you'd have a link that is comparable in cost and speed. Most consumers here do not have that link.
- MindSpunk 4y ago
  So much this. I'm on Starlink in Sydney because Australia's NBN decided to stop their fibre rollout 600 meters from my house and decided that the only option they would provide me is old geostationary satellite. 4G reception is middling with pathetic data caps. I get 5G reception too but none of the providers will offer home broadband services, only mobile Wifi. On Starlink I get ~250mbps down at a price only marginally higher than what I would be paying to get the same speed on a fixed line connection. I can't be the only one in a situation like mine. Prime candidates for Starlink. The NBN closed quotes for running fibre to my residence. Even if I had the tens-of-thousands to pay for them to run the cable they won't even consider taking my money currently.
  - shaklee3 4y ago
    this has been repeated countless times, but the only reason you are experiencing good service is because it's not at capacity. as soon as your area gets to capacity, just like it is all over the US, you too will face bad speeds and increasing prices. for some reason people thought starlink had some magical solution to capacity problems and that the high speeds would last forever. it's just another ISP.
    - theaussiestew 4y ago
      It'll never get to capacity where he lives, because he lives in a semi-rural area that has a low population density.

by grecy 4y ago

Zigurd 4y ago

Take a look at 5G extended range FWA. That's what Starlink is competing against. Proprietary versions of similar capability are well-proven, but 5G-based extended range FWA enables interoperation, standardization, and competition.

capableweb 4y ago
> Take a look at 5G extended range FWA. > This innovation extends mmWave coverage from a few hundred meters to more than 7km That doesn't seem very impressive... That doesn't even come close to what various long-range WiFi connections have been able to do.
- Zigurd 4y ago
  5G extended range FWA piggybacks off 5G infrastructure. You can do similar things with WiFi or proprietary mmWave FWA, but it requires purpose-built infrastructure.
  - capableweb 4y ago
    But how much 5G infrastructure is there in rural areas? Around my parts, not a lot. So the piggieback argument feels less relevant here.
    - Zigurd 4y ago
      Proprietary mmWave radios are already in wide use in rural areas. The economics of installing and using 5G extended range would be similar or better. The key difference is the "extended range" part, which is what makes them competitive and in many cases superior in range to proprietary FWA. What standardization adds is inter-operation of equipment.

capableweb 4y ago

It's gonna be interesting to see how they solve the financials. Targeting a rural/spare population via expensive satellite connections, that market has to be relatively limited. And with a limited amount of customers, how does it make business sense?

grecy 4y ago
Given that it's global, and already rolled out to many countries, I'd have to assume the customer pool is tens or hundreds of millions of customers. Also the sats are some of the cheapest, most mass-produced ever, and SpaceX's launch costs are a tiny fraction of anything done previously. Given what they've achieved so far, I kind of trust SpaceX to have run the numbers on this more than you or I.
Auracle 4y ago
Rural doesn't mean poor.

plugger 4y ago

no offence, but this perspective doesn't apply worldwide. if you live in a country like Australia a StarLink connection will give you 10x the speed of many NBN (National Broadband Network) wired connections. 3G/4G/5G are metered by MB and not a viable option for a daily WAN link due to that. Unless you were lucky enough to get fibre pulled into your house before the government at the time kneecapped the NBN you'd have a link that is comparable in cost and speed. Most consumers here do not have that link.

MindSpunk 4y ago
So much this. I'm on Starlink in Sydney because Australia's NBN decided to stop their fibre rollout 600 meters from my house and decided that the only option they would provide me is old geostationary satellite. 4G reception is middling with pathetic data caps. I get 5G reception too but none of the providers will offer home broadband services, only mobile Wifi. On Starlink I get ~250mbps down at a price only marginally higher than what I would be paying to get the same speed on a fixed line connection. I can't be the only one in a situation like mine. Prime candidates for Starlink. The NBN closed quotes for running fibre to my residence. Even if I had the tens-of-thousands to pay for them to run the cable they won't even consider taking my money currently.
- shaklee3 4y ago
  this has been repeated countless times, but the only reason you are experiencing good service is because it's not at capacity. as soon as your area gets to capacity, just like it is all over the US, you too will face bad speeds and increasing prices. for some reason people thought starlink had some magical solution to capacity problems and that the high speeds would last forever. it's just another ISP.
  - theaussiestew 4y ago
    It'll never get to capacity where he lives, because he lives in a semi-rural area that has a low population density.