Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams

Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by amelius on Friday December 15, 2017 @12:37PM (#15933463)

Relevant quote:

> If you're like me and immediately asked "how can a line-of-sight laser system work when it rains?" The answer is "it doesn't." Atmospheric disturbances like rain, snow, fog, dust, and heat can all interfere with the light beam, and they have been the major limiting factor in this communication method.

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by oktobercrisis on Friday December 15, 2017 @02:05PM (#15934167)

We are using microwave technology transmitting over 30 miles to our satellite ground station, and even in a hellish snow-storm we don't drop any more packets than usual. It actually was pretty damn impressive the first time I witnessed that. We're down in Antarctica by the way.

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by betterunix2 on Friday December 15, 2017 @02:06PM (#15934176)

What frequency?

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by oktobercrisis on Friday December 15, 2017 @02:10PM (#15934208)

5.8 GHz

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by betterunix2 on Friday December 15, 2017 @02:15PM (#15934244)

I'm somewhat surprised that you are not seeing reduced signal quality during heavy snow. Are you using high transmit power, or some extremely directional antenna?

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by oktobercrisis on Friday December 15, 2017 @02:39PM (#15934405)

It's point-to-point, so yes. There's two towers at each site with quite large antennas.

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by jpm_sd on Friday December 15, 2017 @12:44PM (#15933528)

In the past it has been proposed that a dense mesh network of FSO links could deal with interfering weather by dynamically routing around it. But that's a lot of lasers on a lot of moutain tops.

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by libraryatnight on Friday December 15, 2017 @12:54PM (#15933610)

I just had this vision of aliens finding us and thinking in their own way "they have some sort of laser mesh defense system..."

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by ASalazarMX on Friday December 15, 2017 @01:30PM (#15933912)

"Lasers can't even penetrate our navigation shields. Don't they know that?"

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by foxyv on Monday December 18, 2017 @01:58PM (#15954266)

Errr... I guess go to yellow alert?

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by hbk1966 on Friday December 15, 2017 @01:10PM (#15933751)

We probably could install the on top of cell towers.

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by betterunix2 on Friday December 15, 2017 @02:01PM (#15934145)

FWIW the same is true of microwave links.

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Re:Alphabet wants to deliver Internet access via laser beams by vvanders on Friday December 15, 2017 @01:29PM (#15933898)

Whelp, there goes the PNW.

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