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Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by seiferteric on Thursday April 12, 2018 @11:45PM (#16826998)
I was thinking recently.. once you have data uplink anywhere on the planet, whats stopping them from blanketing the planet in cell phone towers and taking over that industry as well? They won't be limited by where you can run fiber like the other guys.
Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by hyperpallium on Friday April 13, 2018 @01:00AM (#16827230)
In super high density areas, fibre is going to be cheaper and faster and more easily maintained and upgraded etc than satellites
Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by lev99 on Friday April 13, 2018 @01:26AM (#16827320)
I think "super high density" is probably hyperbolic. As density increases shared airwaves become more crowded and wired infrastructure becomes cheaper to operate. I can see wired internet being competitive for a long time. Even in places more like St. Louis than Manhattan.

I choose where to live because I can have two different fiber connections (for speed and a failsafe). How long will it be before satellite internet offers 2gbps symmetrical with low latency at reasonable prices?

Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by jjeaff on Friday April 13, 2018 @01:41AM (#16827367)
The use case of someone who needs two gigabit fiber connections to their residence is exceedingly tiny and would have no bearing at all on spacex's market.

I can hardly imagine a situation where internet access is so critical at a home that you need two fiber lines anyway. I have probably had 2 hours of downtime in the past 3 years with my cable connection.

Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by Robotbeat on Friday April 13, 2018 @09:32AM (#16829783)
Starlink is intended to provide 1Gbps service to end users with low latency, especially if you’re accessing sites on the other side of the world.
Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by analognoise on Friday April 13, 2018 @03:14AM (#16827738)
Are you camping out at the datacenter again?
Re:SpaceX's Valuation Climbs to $25B with New Funding Round by greglindahl on Friday April 13, 2018 @12:40AM (#16827165)
Providing backhaul for rural cell towers is expected to be a big part of Starlink's business, yes. Same for O3b and Oneweb.