StarLink

[d000hg]

I got a notification today that they are taking orders in my area. I've been curious as where we are, basic Fibre (38Mbps) is the absolute best we can get. £500 for the kit plus £80pcm for the service doesn't sound that good though.

Does it have much use in the UK? Anyone else ordered or considering it?

[mattster]

Not at that price, at least not for most of the UK I would have thought. What are they offering speed wise for that money?

I am fascinated to see how well it actually performs, and what sort of capacity it ends up having. It really is an extraordinary undertaking, done at remarkably little cost ($10bn ish?), and if the speed and latencies perform as expected then it should shake up quite a few internet providers worldwide. I'm just not sure the UK is much of a target market, given our relatively low (by some standards) broadband costs, and at least reasonable coverage to most areas.

[d000hg]

During beta, users can expect to see data speeds vary from 50Mb/s to 150Mb/s and latency from 20ms to 40ms in most locations over the next several months as we enhance the Starlink system. There will also be brief periods of no connectivity at all.

As we launch more satellites, install more ground stations and improve our networking software, data speed, latency and uptime will improve dramatically.

I have no idea how 'dramatically' it might improve but on those figures it is very expensive, IF you can get anything half-decent any other way.

I know someone who got it in (very) rural Oregon and is amazed by it, but most of the UK is relatively well served by either Fibre, Cable, or 4G these days. If you are really in the sticks, this will be a godsend - especially with the new trend to live more rurally.

[AtW]

I wonder if hardware got geo lock and only works around location it was sold for...

[ladymuck]

https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/23/starlink_moon/

SpaceX has ambitions for its Starlink constellation beyond annoying stargazers if the pre-order agreement for its satellite-based internet service is anything to go by.

Spotted by Register reader Amarinder Brar during his UK application for the system, an intriguing section in the pre-order agreement warns that disputes related to "Services provided to, on, or in orbit around the planet Earth or the Moon" are governed by English law and "subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales."

Mars, on the other hand, is a completely different kettle of fish. SpaceX is asking that those wanting a Martian connection to Starlink "recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities."

[mattster]

I have no idea how 'dramatically' it might improve but on those figures it is very expensive, IF you can get anything half-decent any other way.

I know someone who got it in (very) rural Oregon and is amazed by it, but most of the UK is relatively well served by either Fibre, Cable, or 4G these days. If you are really in the sticks, this will be a godsend - especially with the new trend to live more rurally.

Not a big draw for the average user in an already well connected country, but still potentially a global game changer for millions of users, done for relatively low cost, with potential annual revenues exceeding the total cost a few times over. They could make an eye watering amount of money out of this. Compare and contrast to Australia's National Broadband Network rollout, which has cost some 4x Starlink and provides a pitiful service in comparison, and just to one country.
One of the interesting markets is lower latency connectivity across the Atlantic, which some financial firms are expected to pay big bucks for. It will be interesting to see if that works as expected.

[AtW]

One of the interesting markets is lower latency connectivity across the Atlantic, which some financial firms are expected to pay big bucks for. It will be interesting to see if that works as expected.

It won't be quicker than direct fiber, and certainly not as stable...

[eek]

It won't be quicker than direct fiber, and certainly not as stable...

True but there are a lot of places where direct fibre just isn't possible in which case star link is going to faster and going to use far fewer intermediary steps.

Which between them will save them 10-20ms which is worth an awful lot of money to some people.

[mattster]

It won't be quicker than direct fiber, and certainly not as stable...

It will, apparently, because light travels faster through a vacuum than it does through glass. I'll try and find the article I was reading.

Edit: Here you go: https://www.machmetrics.com/speed-bl...econds-faster/

[AtW]

True but there are a lot of places where direct fibre just isn't possible

That's not where "financial firms who are expected to pay big bucks for" will be located!

They are getting algos into FPGA capable NICs now to reduce latency from getting data to CPU (!) - https://www.servethehome.com/xilinx-...0gbe-smartnic/