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Really interesting that Starlink continues to improve the service when they have an absolute monopoly on fast, portable satellite internet.
by iloveitaly 9mo ago
Really interesting that Starlink continues to improve the service when they have an absolute monopoly on fast, portable satellite internet.
- lateforwork 9mo agoAbsolutely monopoly? You mean other than Kuiper, right? https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/what-is-amazon-project-kuiper https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/what-i...
- IncreasePosts 9mo agoMakes sense. Make your service good enough with your rocket+satellite synergy that competitors would need to spend $500B to be competitive.
- bluGill 9mo agoThey are interested in other markets where they don't have a monopoly though. Most of the time my cell phone has fast 5g internet, and my cell phone company is trying to sell me on their 5g internet (I have fibre so I don't see the point). For many potential starlink customers there is competition. If you on the ocean they are the only option. If you travel on land they can be the only option in places but you can probably live with no service in those few places.
- carlosjobim 9mo agoSatellite internet's main selling point is for use in remote locations.
- dayyan 9mo agoThat's the magic of the free market. Even with no direct rival yet, Starlink innovates like crazy because the threat of competition is always there and consumers demand excellence. Unlike state-granted monopolies, those parasitic structures stagnate and plunder the people.
- ks2048 9mo ago"Enshittification" would suggest otherwise.
- ragazzina 9mo agoI'm sure dark patterns count as innovation for them.
- typon 9mo agoIs this why Google Search has been getting better and better every year?
- codezero 9mo agoIt was, until Matt Cutts left.
- stickfigure 9mo agoNot fair - Google Search is under constant and escalating attack. If we replaced current Google Search with the 2000s implementation it would be immediately dominated by spam and SEO hacks. Simple PageRank doesn't work anymore.
- olyjohn 9mo agoIt currently is dominated by spam and SEO hacks. Unless you're trying to find Amazon or Home Depot. They've done fuck all to make it better in the last few years.
- dzhiurgis 9mo agoDuckDuckGo index is just as good, but page itself isn't a piece of garbage like google. Heck even yahoo search has better ux now.
- dpedu 9mo agoSome lessons were learned from iRobot.
- daemonologist 9mo agoI assume they want to attract as many customers has possible while they have that monopoly - eventually they're going to need to compete with Amazon (Leo) and China (Qianfan, although I assume it'll be banned in the US). The cost of the phased-array terminals probably means there will be some stickiness. Also as has been noted, in some markets they do compete on price: https://restofworld.org/2025/starlink-cheaper-internet-africa/ https://restofworld.org/2025/starlink-cheaper-internet-afric...
- ahepp 9mo agoI've never read Peter Thiel's books, but isn't that kinda a part of his playbook? Monopolies, but driving progress? "Competition is for losers"? I never fully understood it because it seems like then you're just competing with yourself.
- inemesitaffia 9mo agoBlue Ocean Strategy.
- ks2048 9mo agoI would guess that for many of their customers, they are still competing with non-satellite internet.
- kortilla 9mo agoThey have a monopoly on sat-only market, but that isn’t really big enough of a market to support their growth goals. They want to eat all wireless providers Internet as well.
- fguerraz 9mo agoThey have an absolute monopoly on a very niche market in developed countries. 5G beats satellite in both speed and convenience IMHO. It's a completely different story in countries with crappy networks (looking at you Philippines), remote areas, or offshore.