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Thread: Starlink Internet

  1. #1
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    Default Starlink Internet

    Musk has done it. Anyone here beta testing?

    SpaceX's satellite internet broadband service is expanding by leaps and bounds -- and leaping across borders.
    Rich Smith

    Nov 26, 2020 at 7:07AM


    On Saturday, Oct. 24, SpaceX crossed the finish line, achieving the 800 Starlink broadband internet satellites in orbit it needed to offer "moderate" internet coverage to large portions of Earth's surface. Just two days later, the company officially opened up Starlink to "beta" subscribers, advertising 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s broadband internet service for prices as low as $99 a month (plus a $499 hardware fee).

    Demand for the new service in the U.S. has reportedly been brisk, and demand in Canada is about to get even brisker -- because just this month, regulators approved Starlink to offer internet service in Canada as well.

    Well, how aboot that?
    Yes indeed, in a tweet heard all around the northern hemisphere, on Nov. 6 Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Ministry announced that it has granted "regulatory approval for the @SpaceXStarlink low Earth orbit satellite constellation."

    How important is this to Canada, and is $99 for as little as 50 mbps internet speeds really a good deal? With Comcast offering 200 mbps for under $50 in metro locales in the U.S. you might not think so, but here's the thing: Listening in on tweets from elated Canadian (future) customers, and hearing their lamentations about being forced to pay, for example, $46 a month (presumably Canadian) for 6 mbps, $75 for 5 mbps, or even $95 for a measly 2 mbps, it's pretty clear that the service Starlink is offering will be a big improvement for a lot of rural users.

    What's more, in an effort to win a $16 billion rural broadband contract from the FCC, SpaceX is working hard to get its speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second -- as much as a 20x improvement over the initial capabilities of the beta service.


    Why Canada?
    In the meantime, Canada is a logical market for SpaceX to target with the limited number of satellites it has in orbit (the company wants to eventually put up 12,000 satellites) and bring in some revenue to finance its expansion. Although SpaceX is promising "near global coverage of the populated world" by 2021, the Starlink website explains that, because of where the initial deployment of Starlink satellites are orbiting, SpaceX can really only offer internet coverage to "the Northern U.S. and Canada in 2020."

    That's a-OK with Canada, however, which is happy to take SpaceX up on its offer. As ISED Minister Navdeep Bains explained, "our government recognizes that high-speed Internet access is no longer a luxury -- it is essential."

    Local media began reporting this week on invitations to participate in the beta program going out to Canadian customers. According to these reports, SpaceX is offering Canadians almost exactly the same service price it's offering in the U.S. -- C$129 (about $98 U.S.) for the service itself, and C$649 ($495 U.S.) for the hardware. And Musk recently tweeted out a promised "big expansion" of the service in Canada "in 6 to 8 weeks."

    What it means to SpaceX -- and investors
    Even such relatively small numbers could add up to big business for SpaceX, however, and a big opportunity for investors. As internal SpaceX documents show, the company hopes to reap as much as $4 billion in annual revenue from Starlink subscriptions as early as next year, and grow that revenue haul to $22 billion annually by 2025, at operating profit margins as high as 60%.

    This implies that within just a few years, Starlink -- which created no revenue as recently as last year -- could grow into a $13 billion profit machine. Oh, and here's the best part: SpaceX plans to IPO Starlink so that you can own a part of it. The COO said so herself.

    https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/...huge-customer/

  2. #2
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    I'm watching this close. I skipped over Hughes and called Viasat. The Viasat customer service lady got really testy with me when I mentioned a data limit. She argued that since they just throttle back your speed after a certain amount of data that there wasn't a limit. I eventually just hung up on her. I ended up with a cell based internet system from AT&T that (so far) works pretty alright.
    Rule #2: Double tap

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  3. #3
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    It is going to be great for rural America and I sure wish it had been available 10 years ago.

    Of course, I can already see taxpayers paying out the ass to provide it like free cell phones, but buy enough stock early and you will be happy about that, too...

    The difference between this and Hughes sat is like your wife asking you to "run to the store and buy some milk" or "run to Wisconsin and buy some milk". It is incomparable.

  4. #4
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    I signed up for beta testing, but never heard anything back. I also have an AT&T hotspot, it's OK, but expensive for what it is. Tri County Electric is supposed to be putting fiber on their poles in the next year, I'll probably sign up for that. I figure it'll be a slow getting internet back after a hurricane or ice storm though

  5. #5
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    I've been following this for awhile. Currently it's only available in the northern states and southern Canada. By this time next year it should have worked its way down to our latitude.
    Quote Originally Posted by ecu1984 View Post
    Steelin' Ducks is the KRT of suppressors and such.

  6. #6
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    Will it be like Dish where you have to have line of sight to the satellite?

    That’s my biggest issue when camping. I like shade; satellite signal doesn’t.
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  7. #7
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    Just go buy you a GM product. I get unlimited data for 10 bucks a month. Ran our whole house off the 2015 GMC until we got fiber I kid you not
    Gettin old is for pussies! AND MY NEW TRUE people say like Capt. Tom >>>>>>>>>/
    "Wow, often imitated but never duplicated. No one can do it like the master. My hat is off to you DRDUCK!"

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jozie & Me View Post
    Will it be like Dish where you have to have line of sight to the satellite?

    That’s my biggest issue when camping. I like shade; satellite signal doesn’t.
    As I understand it, Dish has just 15 high orbit (far away)satellites you have to reach.

    Starlink will have thousands of low orbit (just above the atmosphere) satellites.

    Instead of looking for one of 15 there will be a constant string. Apparently, the distance factor is a huge improvement in speed transmission and reception. You wouldn't (or I wouldn't) think that it matters all that much but it does. It is all magic as far as I am concerned anyway...

  9. #9
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    I will keep my Fiber. Better than dial-up
    Gettin old is for pussies! AND MY NEW TRUE people say like Capt. Tom >>>>>>>>>/
    "Wow, often imitated but never duplicated. No one can do it like the master. My hat is off to you DRDUCK!"

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jozie & Me View Post
    Will it be like Dish where you have to have line of sight to the satellite?

    That’s my biggest issue when camping. I like shade; satellite signal doesn’t.
    He's going to have like 40,000 satellites up there.

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