• Race among satellite broadband providers to enable worldwide high-speed internet access
• Predicted there will be over 700 satellites in LEO seeking to offer global broadband internet by end of 2020
• A growing number of broadband internet systems contain megaconstellations, which may include hundreds or thousands of individual satellites
• Loading up on satellites to bring even a partial service to unserved and underserved areas
• Satellite broadband market could be worth as much as US$400 billion by 2040, up from $128 billion in 2015
• Demand for connectivity increasing, particularly in remote or less-developed areas of the world and at sea and in the air
• High-speed, low-latency, cheap prices are the benefits sought by satellite broadband service providers
• Some companies developing megaconstellations for satellite broadband:
  • Kuiper Systems (Amazon),
  • OneWeb,
  • SpaceX,
  • LeoSat,
  • Telesat,
  • SES (O3b),
  • ViaSat,
  • Eutelsat,
  • Hughes,
  • Iridium
• OneWeb aims to provide internet access everywhere for everyone, and highlights its connectivity of schools
• Kuiper Systems’ megaconstellation will offer affordable broadband for unserved and underserved communities, foster entrepreneurship, and more
• Satellite broadband will enable millions of new customers and create new business models
• Total of 8,700 objects have been launched to space, of which over 2,000 are actively operating satellites
• The new megaconstellations of orbiting broadband stations potentially add more than 16,000 satellites to this count
• Only a few satellites provide global coverage in GEO orbit as they move at the same speed that the earth rotates and stay in roughly the same place over the earth’s surface
• Satellites in MEO orbit can see more of the earth than those in LEO-based, enabling lower latencies
• Satellites use a specific portion of the radio frequency spectrum for communication, each with an assigned frequency band, ranging from lower to higher frequency. Lower frequencies travel longer distances and penetrate buildings better, while higher frequencies have more bandwidth and are prone to attenuating by physical obstructions
• Satellites using electrical propulsion systems trade strength for reduced weight and lower cost. Constellations of hundreds or thousands of individual satellites couldn’t be built in a reasonable timeframe or cost without mass production approaches. Building increasingly modular designs for standardized buses

Notes:

• Satellites deal with tons of stuff like SMS, the internet, etc. (11 years ago - r/askscience - 77 points)
• A 100Mbps connection on earth costs enough (11 years ago - r/askscience - 77 points)
• Geosynchronous broadcast satellites can stream hundreds (if not thousands) of 20Mbps HD streams simultaneously. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• KA-Sat, launched last year, has an 82 spots coverage with 475Mbps dedicated bandwidth (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• For DVB, older satellites had up to 1GHz spectral bandwidth but may not accommodate modern efficient data coding. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• Lower orbit satellites like the Iridium constellation use a different approach: 4 inter-satellite links of 10Mbps each, 48 spots aimed at the surface, with a total capacity of a thousand concurrent phone calls. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• There are two catches with BGAN data services over lower orbit satellites: 1500ms round trip time and more than $5/MB. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• Satellite-based internet connectivity isn’t a real internet connectivity due to necessary TCP proxying and often NAT with no IPv6 support possible. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• There’s no SMS and not much voice traffic over satellites. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 29 karma)
• IP Protocol Conversion: Several manufacturers (Riverbed for one) make protocol converters that use a more efficient transmission scheme across the part of the link with delays (the satellite). (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 3 karma)
• Most IP circuits carried across satellites these days use protocol converters. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 3 karma)
• The frequency used to uplink to the satellite traditionally was different from the one used to downlink. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago - 3 karma)
• Carrier-in-carrier: Modern satellite modems can share the full 40 MHz bandwidth going in both directions, doubling the effective bandwidth the satellite supports. (Posted by a Reddit user - 11 years ago -

Not used in article

• The webpage is about comparing DirectTV and DirecTV Stream, two satellite broadcasting services.
• The author of the post is a longtime DirectTV subscriber who wants to switch to DirecTV Stream and is looking for a tool to compare the Ultimate package of both services.
• Users in the comments mention the differences between the two services in terms of channels and packages.
• One user points out that NFL Network is not available on DirecTV Stream, which may be a dealbreaker for some users.
• Another user mentions that there is no 4K programming on DirecTV Stream yet, though it’s expected to come soon.
• On the other hand, some users mention cost savings and advantages of switching to DirecTV Stream, such as avoiding extra fees for DVR and extra receivers.
• However, other users point out missing TV channels that are available on DirectTV but not on DirecTV Stream, such as WGN in the Chicago market and independent programming channels, like CW 26.
• Some users mention the lack of HBO and Cinemax channels, but others point out that the full library is available in the HBO Max app.
• There are some local stations that may not be available on DirecTV Stream or available only in select markets, such as the My Network TV in some markets and ION, INSP, and NASA.
• One user asks if DirecTV customers can use the DirecTV app on Android TV or Apple TV to watch DirecTV Stream.
• A community specialist from DIRECTV responds to the question and confirms that it’s necessary to have a DIRECTV STREAM account to access the app.
• There are several karma scores accompanying user comments, ranging from 0 to 8 karma.
• Overall, the webpage provides some helpful information about the differences and similarities between DirectTV and DirecTV Stream, as well as user opinions about them.

Here are the notes I took from the webpage:

• Satellite internet is not as fast as fiber or cable internet but is widely available in rural parts of the US.
• Satellite ISPs send satellites up into space, and a dish is mounted outside the home to receive the internet signal.
• Satellite internet does not need phone or cable lines; it bypasses ground-laid infrastructure.
• The top two satellite internet providers in the country are Viasat and HughesNet.
• HughesNet Gen5 offers the same speed for all plans (25Mbps down and 3Mbps up) but different data caps.
• Viasat offers plans with download speeds up to 100Mbps, including those with download speeds as fast as 12Mbps.
• Both Viasat and HughesNet may require long-term contracts.
• Companies like SpaceX and Amazon are bringing new competition into the satellite internet market.
• Amazon’s Project Kuiper will deploy thousands of satellites to create a satellite-based broadband service.
• Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is working on its Starlink satellite internet service, which already has over 2,000 satellites in orbit and reaches hundreds of thousands of customers. Users have reported faster speeds and lower latency than traditional satellite internet.
• Availability of Starlink’s network has grown in the US and beyond and can promise faster speeds and lower latency in the future.
• Satellite internet is more expensive than other common modes of internet (DSL, cable, fiber-optic) and may require expensive upfront costs for the receiver dish.
• Fiber internet offers faster upload and download speeds with fiber optic cables, but installation is expensive and not cost-efficient in areas with low population density.
• High latency is a common issue with satellite internet due to the distance between the satellite and the Earth.
• Satellite internet service can be disrupted by weather.
• HughesNet plans come with monthly data allowances ranging from 15GB to 100GB.
• Viasat plans are more expensive but offer larger data caps, typically ranging from 40-150GB.
• While most satellite internet providers enforce data caps, Starlink does not currently enforce them.
• satellite connections can be used for web video streaming, with lowest speeds requiring 3Mbps and 4K video requiring 25 Mbps speeds or higher.
• Starlink can offer average download speeds of 105Mbps in the US, according to Ookla, but speeds may vary.

URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/oezk0e/eli5_why_is_it_hard_for_rural_areas_to_get_home/

“ELI5: Why is it hard for rural areas to get home internet even if they have good phone service?” - 2 years ago - r/explainlikeimfive - 30 points

Edit: good cellphone data service

Relevant: True Importance: 7

Notes:

• Some providers offer good phone service with cellular towers which can cater to a large area, while good internet (cable or fiberoptic) requires a direct connection from the residence to the provider.
• Rural areas often have small populations which makes the expensive upfront cost of running cabling to each house for good internet a deterrent for providers.
• Alternatives such as wireless networks and satellite internet exist.
• Providers may offer 4G/hotspot home internet, which uses a 4G modem that requires no physical infrastructure, but might have data limits.
• Cellular providers such as Verizon offer 5G home internet.
• Small microwave dishes may be used to link houses that are in one another’s line of sight.
• Satellite Internet is a possible option, with Starlink and HughesNet being two providers. Expensive, and latency could be an issue.
• The US government subsidizes costs of internet providers running fibercabling, but providers can pocket the money, install nothing, and raise prices.
• Because the minimum required bandwidth for broadband is considerably higher than voice quality audio, a provider’s infrastructure that services 2000 telephones would struggle providing minimum broadband to more than 10 homes.
• Some rural houses are just too far from a good source of internet.
• In rural regions of the US, electric utilities are authorized to offer gigabit fiber.
• ISPs sometimes lobby to stop municipal electric utility fiber installations.
• Some ISPs allow electric utilities to install fiber along with their electrical cables, because those are utility poles likely to be maintained.
• There are extra complications in laying lines along existing infrastructure like Google Fiber being locked out of some territories.
• Mobile or satellite broadcasts have limits on the number of connections per connection point.
• Broadband speed decreases with distance, and households may be located far away from telephone exchanges.

• The URL is https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/qtvvck/sat_magazine_starlink_technical_info_and_capacity/
• The article is called “Sat Magazine Starlink technical info and capacity analysis” and is written by Dr. Sergei Pekhterev.
• The article was posted on Reddit 1 year and 9 months ago and had 10 upvotes.
• The article is available for download in the November 2019 issue of Sat Magazine and starts on page 54.
• The article provides technical info regarding Starlink’s user capacity in the US.
• According to Dr. Pekhterev’s technical analysis, the current theoretical user capacity in the US is approximately 187,000 users with the current shell.
• The article addresses limits within cells and cell jumping to serve multiple cells.
• A user comments on the article, estimating the number of active Starlink customers to be between 140K and 175K, and that if 70% of them are in the US, that’s probably about 110K households.
• The bandwidth of the StarLink Constellation is discussed, and if 140K active Starlink customers are sharing around 900 Gbps across the US, it would be about a 17x oversubscribe for 150 Mbps service.
• Another user provides additional comments - it is suggested that northern latitudes and coastal regions currently have better chances of hosting more customers due to satellite density and additional sats over unused areas off the coastlines.
• Another user comments on the article’s assumption that Starlink satellites can only reach up to the 53rd parallel, but they actually reach up to the 57th parallel.
• There is a brief discussion about pricing economics - from an economic perspective, Starlink could earn far more if they could offer discounts to those who download fewer gigabytes at peak time or who live in undersubscribed areas. The trick is how to do that without undermining customer trust.
• Users speculate about the reason why more terminals are not being shipped in general. It is suggested that maybe user terminals are not the major bottleneck and it’s actually constellation size that needs to improve before they roll out to significantly more users in the US.
• The discussion provides interesting insights regarding the current Starlink user capacity and performance and the possible issues they may face when adding more users in the future.

Not used in article

💭  Looking into

The future of satellite broadcasting technology

💭  Looking into

The limitations and advantages of using satellite broadcasting for internet connectivity in remote areas

💭  Looking into

The pros and cons of using satellite broadcasting for TV transmission