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Comment on SpaceX says states should dump fiber plans, give all grant money to Starlink

Starlink works well in tandem with fiber, not as a replacement.

It doesn’t even work well in tandem.

Starlink has a single benefit going for it right now: Lack of uptake.

They only have a swath of spectrum, and that has a physical upper limit to how much information it can carry, in total. So does fiber. But, Starlink gets to share that with all users (Much like how cable internet works, its shared bandwidth for everyone on the loop). Fiber, you get your dedicated pipe.

This isn’t even getting to view obstruction (A plane will cause a drop out), latency, jitter, etc. These are all physics problem that just cannot be solved without violating the laws of physics. Latency, at a minimum, is 2.6 ms, and that’s just for the first leg.

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Cocodapuf@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
It’s crazy to say it doesn’t work well in tandem… I mean, it’s demonstrable, If it didn’t work, people wouldn’t use it, but they do. And there is no other way to reach users in some places. Starlink can reach users that only a long range wireless solution can work for. There are some other long range wireless solutions, but this one does work.

Look, I don’t like Elon, I don’t like monopolies, I’m not a secret shill for SpaceX, but I can admit the truth right in front of me. You don’t have to stretch the truth to say Starlink isn’t a good system for the vast majority of people, so why do it? Why create a false narrative? Why get all defensive about a technology?

And finally, I do not see any reason to care about an extra 5 ms latency.

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- ubergeek@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  
  And there is no other way to reach users in some places.
  
  There is, if we decided to instead of giving Elon billions every few months, we used that money to expand the fiber networks.
  
  Starlink can reach users that only a long range wireless solution can work for. There are some other long range wireless solutions, but this one does work.
  
  There are myriad technology solutions that are both viable, and already being used. Capitalism means we don’t deploy them. Oligarchy means we instead choose to do things that are more expensive, but happen to benefit a friendly oligarch.
  
  You don’t have to stretch the truth to say Starlink isn’t a good system for the vast majority of people, so why do it?
  
  Except, it isn’t. Its just the one with the hype.
  
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  - Cocodapuf@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Some people live in places that aren’t connected to large electrical grids, they have local generation and micro grids for a small community. Isolated mountains or small islands, or deserts are good examples of these situations. So if connecting to the electrical grid wasn’t realistic I’m willing to bet that a fiber connection also isn’t realistic.
    
    It’s hard to believe you think fiber can work for literally everything. I really don’t know why you’re bothering to dig in on this issue, it’s so easy to prove otherwise. I hadn’t even mentioned the use case of vehicles yet, boats, planes, trains, trucks, campers, obviously you can’t run fiber to a vehicle. Or truly remote locations where people don’t live, but researches work there, Antarctic bases, etc.
    
    Also, I think you misunderstood my last line. I’m saying Starlink isn’t right for most people. I’m just not making things up to say that.
    
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    ubergeek@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    So if connecting to the electrical grid wasn’t realistic I’m willing to bet that a fiber connection also isn’t realistic.
    
    If fiber isn’t possible due to electrical grids being non-existent… A power hungry sat transceiver will likely be a non-starter, too.
    
    It’s hard to believe you think fiber can work for literally everything.
    
    I don’t think it can. I also don’t think Starlink can work for literally everything, either. There are better, and faster, and cheaper solutions like Microwave backhauls and cellular data service for the last mile.
    
    I hadn’t even mentioned the use case of vehicles yet, boats, planes, trains, trucks, campers, obviously you can’t run fiber to a vehicle.
    
    Boats are the one outlier here, that cannot be reach via cell service, with a fraction of the cost of Starlink. And sure, boats can use it, and boats should pay the full cost of the package. No need for government money to fund them, they didn’t need it before, and don’t need it now. Boaters were quite satisfied paying their Iridium bills in the past.
    
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