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Why would it? That's a network in space. Could the Spanish league force a US company to block specific satellites covering some part of Spain and some part of n
by nextts 2y ago
Why would it? That's a network in space. Could the Spanish league force a US company to block specific satellites covering some part of Spain and some part of not Spain? Seems a stretch.
- matwood 2y agoStarlink does come back to earth often in the same country or region as the user. Then it would fall under all the same blocking.
- haneefmubarak 2y agoI imagine that the blocking is semi-voluntary by the local ISPs, not at a transit or peering level. Anyhow, I flicked through the tables for Starlink's Spain IP address blocks and they directly peer with Cloudflare, so short of Starlink agreeing to perform similar blocking itself or worse yet de peering with Cloudflare, I'd expect availability through them.
- generalizations 2y agoI think the relevant quote here is, "they can shake their fist at the sky".
- perihelions 2y agoSatellite internet isn't a philanthropy project. Whoever's selling it is operating a retail front in the client's country, running payment processing and delivering or shipping physical satellite dishes. Even if the satellite vendor is aligned with your interests (I'm not touching that third-rail topic)—if your government doesn't want you to have satellite internet, you won't have it. Satellites aren't, in practice and for the time being, a technological end-run around sovereignty and the practical ability of governments to censor internet access. It's been discussed on HN before, that even first-world democracies, such as the UK [0,1], feel comfortable enacting laws banning satellite internet. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42979869 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42979869 ("Starlink in the Falkland Islands – A national emergency situation? (openfalklands.com)", 225 comments) [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37645945 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37645945 ("Saint Helena Island Communications (sainthelenaisland.info)", 145 comments)
- generalizations 2y agoInterestingly, I don't think you have to purchase the starlink in the same country you plan to use it (else what would be the point of the Mini version).
- alienthrowaway 2y ago"they fan shake their fist at the sky... and with the other hand strangle payments that are very much terrestrial"
- FirmwareBurner 2y agoWhy do you think it's a stretch? If Starlink wants to legally operate in a country as an ISP then it has to comply with the laws of that country. Just because it's using satellites instead of locally deployed physical infrastructure doesn't absolve it from ISP and general telecomunications regulations of a country. So if the Spanish government were to make a law saying all ISPs must block the following domains for whatever reason, then Starlink must also comply in that jurisdiction or face fines or get booted out, and I don't know many businesses that take pleasure in being in contempt of the courts.
- ty6853 2y agoBooted out of where, space?
- Muromec 2y agoStarlinks isnt a charity, so they collect payments for service and payments are not going through space for sure
- FirmwareBurner 2y agoBooted out of the country mate. Why are you acting daft? Do you think Starlink could operate in Spain without a regional/EU branch that serves Spanish customers, collects payments, pays Spanish/EU taxes and can be summoned to court if it doesn't follow Spanish laws? That's why Starlink has geofencing in place so they can ensure it operates only in regions they're legally autorized to, it's not some pirate HAM network that can just freely operate while evading local laws willy nilly.
- ty6853 2y agoHAM isn't an acronym, FYI. If you break the internet and summon starlink yes I think pirates will take the void.
- FirmwareBurner 2y agoHow many pirate ISPs exist in EU? How many of them have satellites in orbit?
- ge96 2y agoWould be interesting if they could jam starlink by tracking/blocking the laser coming off the spacecraft (satellite) probably far fetched
- QuarterReptile 2y agoTracking satellites is computationally intensive, Starlink has many satellites, and friends generally don't jam friends' communication satellites. The old jokes about aggressive NFL Copyright enforcement would really pale in comparison to Spain developing a mature anti-satellite capability in order to disrupt soccer broadcast piracy at the physical layer.
- ge96 2y ago> Tracking satellites is computationally intensive Is it? I've seen a guy doing it by hand with a YAGI antenna and a little handled radio. But I could see it for many and the phased part. Also people have web models like this one showing the orbits. https://satellitemap.space/ https://satellitemap.space/ Anyway yeah just mental exercise not really arguing for it
- alienthrowaway 2y agoIts much easier to ban imports and periodically do sweeps to locate terminals on the ground and confiscate/arrest the criminals operating them illegally. A Cessna or helicopter with GPS and directional antennae tuned to the right frequency bands is well within the reach of even banana republics.
- lupusreal 2y agoStarlink doesn't defy local governments except when the US government greenlights it (offering service in Iran.)