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A couple of billion people are doing to join the global middle class over the coming decades. They don’t have pre-existing cable and phone networks that have be
by rayiner 4mo ago
A couple of billion people are doing to join the global middle class over the coming decades. They don’t have pre-existing cable and phone networks that have been in the ground for 50+ years they can incrementally upgrade to broadband. Rich countries spend trillions getting to the point where most people have some sort of wired broadband option. If newly middle income countries want to pursue the same route, it will take decades.
Starlink short circuits that process. It means newly minted middle income people my dad’s village in Bangladesh can get broadband now instead of in 2050. Replicate that story all over South and South East Asia and Africa.
- stringfood 4mo agobut is providing access to internet for billions of people worth not being able to see the big dipper as clearly at night? I say yes, but only just barely
- rayiner 4mo agoThat's a ghoulish thing to say.
- sirshmooey 4mo agoCan you empirically say internet access improves wellbeing? Anecdotally, my answer is a resounding "no".
- singingtoday 4mo agoThis is unironically why I believe lights should be shut off at night. Entire cities. I'd love to see the sky. Actually see it. Even the most remote places have light pollution, so it's impossible and likely will be going forward. Maybe it's silly, but it makes me sad.
- ThrowawayTestr 4mo agoThis is a first world problem that has a first world solution: get in your car and drive to the woods.
- le-mark 4mo agoWhat percentage of humans are urban dwelling and don’t even see the stars at night? Related there aren’t many places on earth where you can still see the Milky Way. In that way a similar trade off has been made with no forethought whatsoever. Should this time be different? I think so.
- gunapologist99 4mo agoRather than deciding for them from your bubble of privilege in your fiber-connected utopia, you could just ask these poorer countries if it is worth trading global full, high-speed internet access for "not being able to see the big dipper as clearly at night". Or just watch what they do when presented with the choice.
- stevenhuang 4mo agoThat you would think to ask this shows how out of touch you are. The vast majority of people wouldn't think twice if that was the trade-off to get connected. We should be talking instead of governmental oversight, and whether it makes sense to restrict/regulate satellite constellations for science or culture activities. I think there should be regulation, but clearly the people and the market wants this, so it's going to happen. And there is regulation. SpaceX works with astronomers and their satellites are coated to reduce glare and use of sun visors for example.