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A comment on SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites. Parent comment

Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites by stcredzero on Thursday November 15, 2018 @04:50PM (#18463766)
The real trick is getting enough link margin with omni antennas to get good bandwidth.

What about phased arrays?

Also, why not have a completely different scale of ISPs? How about something the size of a soda vending machine or something the size of a suitcase which contains all the hardware for a very small scale internet service provider?

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Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites by space_fountain on Thursday November 15, 2018 @05:16PM (#18463985)
The latest rumors I'd heard was that was exactly the plan though still not at phone scale. The modem was supposed to be a pizza box sized piece of hardware with a phased array.
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Re:SpaceX just got FCC approval to launch 7,518 satellites by jandrese on Friday November 16, 2018 @11:36AM (#18469786)
Phased arrays are nice, but have a slight problem with being stupendously expensive. It's going to be hard to convince people to jump on board if the starter hardware pack is $20k.
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