FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan
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Finally some good news from the FCC, they have approved the launching of 4,425 low earth orbit satellites by SpaceX to build a global Internet service provider in the sky. SpaceX has said that they hope to have the network live by 2020. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has stated clearly that he will use the network not only to lower Internet cost, improve speeds, and democratize access, but also will undermine the FCC's attempts to create Internet fast lanes and limit access through private parties.
If all goes as planned, SpaceX will have full global coverage by 2024.
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Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
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@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
Assuming they can't get some judge to rule "servicing the US district of X by wireless communications as illegal" yea. . .
But knowing those d-bags they'll figure some way to do it.
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@dustinb3403 said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
Assuming they can't get some judge to rule "servicing the US district of X by wireless communications as illegal" yea. . .
But knowing those d-bags they'll figure some way to do it.
That'll be hard, since they will be in the sky. The jurisdiction becomes unclear, both federally and locally.
And more importantly, SpaceX will be in the position of extortion. Try to cut them off, and they can flip a switch and the US goes dark, cut off from the world, an instant backwater.
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@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@dustinb3403 said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
Assuming they can't get some judge to rule "servicing the US district of X by wireless communications as illegal" yea. . .
But knowing those d-bags they'll figure some way to do it.
That'll be hard, since they will be in the sky. The jurisdiction becomes unclear, both federally and locally.
And more importantly, SpaceX will be in the position of extortion. Try to cut them off, and they can flip a switch and the US goes dark, cut off from the world, an instant backwater.
And this is frightening. SpaceX is in a unique position, and the possibilities for abuse of power when you control the orbitals is insane.
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@kelly said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@dustinb3403 said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
Assuming they can't get some judge to rule "servicing the US district of X by wireless communications as illegal" yea. . .
But knowing those d-bags they'll figure some way to do it.
That'll be hard, since they will be in the sky. The jurisdiction becomes unclear, both federally and locally.
And more importantly, SpaceX will be in the position of extortion. Try to cut them off, and they can flip a switch and the US goes dark, cut off from the world, an instant backwater.
And this is frightening. SpaceX is in a unique position, and the possibilities for abuse of power when you control the orbitals is insane.
Depends. Private companies have the power to be benevolent in a way that governments rarely do, and no democracy can. While it is scary, it's really the least scary option. If there is one person that I'd want controlling the world's Internet, it's Elon Musk. If there is one person I'd not want controlling it, it's the president of the US. Right now, while access isn't universal or centralized, the US carries an insane amount of ability to cut off other countries. SpaceX will shift that power from a single government to a single company. It's not a new problem, just a changed problem.
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@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@kelly said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@dustinb3403 said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
Assuming they can't get some judge to rule "servicing the US district of X by wireless communications as illegal" yea. . .
But knowing those d-bags they'll figure some way to do it.
That'll be hard, since they will be in the sky. The jurisdiction becomes unclear, both federally and locally.
And more importantly, SpaceX will be in the position of extortion. Try to cut them off, and they can flip a switch and the US goes dark, cut off from the world, an instant backwater.
And this is frightening. SpaceX is in a unique position, and the possibilities for abuse of power when you control the orbitals is insane.
Depends. Private companies have the power to be benevolent in a way that governments rarely do, and no democracy can. While it is scary, it's really the least scary option. If there is one person that I'd want controlling the world's Internet, it's Elon Musk. If there is one person I'd not want controlling it, it's the president of the US. Right now, while access isn't universal or centralized, the US carries an insane amount of ability to cut off other countries. SpaceX will shift that power from a single government to a single company. It's not a new problem, just a changed problem.
I don't disagree with you regarding Elon Musk, but generally speaking there are fewer checks and balances preventing a company from abusing its power than the government. You could make the argument that the current checks aren't working for our government, but they are there, and could be restored. A company is answerable to its shareholders, board, and regulators. If they have sufficient coercive power to ignore those, and someone with more desire for power than ethics is in charge, then all bets are off. I'm not arguing that the government could do a better job, but that there are risks involved when people put things into orbit or could gain coercive power without sufficient checks.
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@kelly said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@kelly said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@dustinb3403 said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Comcast's bankruptcy date is set
Assuming they can't get some judge to rule "servicing the US district of X by wireless communications as illegal" yea. . .
But knowing those d-bags they'll figure some way to do it.
That'll be hard, since they will be in the sky. The jurisdiction becomes unclear, both federally and locally.
And more importantly, SpaceX will be in the position of extortion. Try to cut them off, and they can flip a switch and the US goes dark, cut off from the world, an instant backwater.
And this is frightening. SpaceX is in a unique position, and the possibilities for abuse of power when you control the orbitals is insane.
Depends. Private companies have the power to be benevolent in a way that governments rarely do, and no democracy can. While it is scary, it's really the least scary option. If there is one person that I'd want controlling the world's Internet, it's Elon Musk. If there is one person I'd not want controlling it, it's the president of the US. Right now, while access isn't universal or centralized, the US carries an insane amount of ability to cut off other countries. SpaceX will shift that power from a single government to a single company. It's not a new problem, just a changed problem.
I don't disagree with you regarding Elon Musk, but generally speaking there are fewer checks and balances preventing a company from abusing its power than the government.
Definitely fewer. But also way smaller incentive to mess with the balance of things. SpaceX starts to do something it shouldn't do, the world will work around it. US does something it shouldn't do, you need a war to work around it.
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@mlnews said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Finally some good news from the FCC, they have approved the launching of 4,425 low earth orbit satellites by SpaceX to build a global Internet service provider in the sky. SpaceX has said that they hope to have the network live by 2020. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has stated clearly that he will use the network not only to lower Internet cost, improve speeds, and democratize access, but also will undermine the FCC's attempts to create Internet fast lanes and limit access through private parties.
If all goes as planned, SpaceX will have full global coverage by 2024.
This honestly cannot come soon enough.
I was kinda interested in Google Fi, but having to be restricted to some very specific devices to use it is a big turn-off.
This by SpaceX will be way better by far, and hopefully it will take out all the major ISPs like Comcast/TW/Spectrum/etc, or at least cause reasonable pricing and like you said, undermine fast lanes and other such crap the monopolies want.
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I’ve never used a satellite Internet connection. What kind of latency does it have contrasted to wired connections?
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@eddiejennings said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
I’ve never used a satellite Internet connection. What kind of latency does it have contrasted to wired connections?
That's the big deal here. Not all satellite is equal. Think about terrestrial, good fiber can be insanely low latency (mine is 2.5ms from the office here) or terrible with DSL (40ms happens.)
Traditional satellite, high orbit, is like 200ms to 2,000ms. It's ridiculous how long that is. SpaceX is low orbit, so totally different than any other satellite available today. It's like 20-25ms estimated.
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@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
It's like 20-25ms estimated
And this is supposed to be globally. They, from my understanding, won't really have base stations like current satellite systems do.
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@coliver said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
It's like 20-25ms estimated
And this is supposed to be globally. They, from my understanding, won't really have base stations like current satellite systems do.
Right, the theory is that the messages will travel in the satellite network without coming to the ground until they are close to where they need to go. So for some communications, it might go direct from one user directly to another, if both are on SpaceX directly. More likely is short local hops to a single SpaceX transmitter, so still some ground, but highly localized.
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@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
both are on SpaceX directly.
This is the big push behind the pricing, I think. Get everyone on this service and the need for those interconnects becomes less and less.
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@coliver said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
both are on SpaceX directly.
This is the big push behind the pricing, I think. Get everyone on this service and the need for those interconnects becomes less and less.
Very true.
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@scottalanmiller said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
SpaceX is low orbit, so totally different than any other satellite available today. It's like 20-25ms estimated.
I'd have to see that to believe it.
I get that on my cell phone data connection... which is to the closest cell tower then to whatever server the test is going to.
Closest cell tower may be up to like 45 miles away, while low orbit satellites are a minimum of 100 miles to max of 1,240 miles.
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Of course, this directly affects all ISPs, but I'm also curious to see if this will also affect cell phone carriers worldwide. Will they also go bankrupt in time or will they have to adapt to stay relevant? Would cell phines even be able to communicate? Currently no, but in the near future?
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@nerdydad said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Of course, this directly affects all ISPs, but I'm also curious to see if this will also affect cell phone carriers worldwide. Will they also go bankrupt in time or will they have to adapt to stay relevant? Would cell phines even be able to communicate? Currently no, but in the near future?
It looks like it's being pitched as a competitor to cellular devices.
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@coliver said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
@nerdydad said in FCC Has Approved SpaceX Satellite Launch Plan:
Of course, this directly affects all ISPs, but I'm also curious to see if this will also affect cell phone carriers worldwide. Will they also go bankrupt in time or will they have to adapt to stay relevant? Would cell phines even be able to communicate? Currently no, but in the near future?
It looks like it's being pitched as a competitor to cellular devices.
That'll take a lot of work to get mobile devices able to talk to it. If they can get that cheap and reliable, it'll be the killer thing.
