Lasers enable satellite internet backbone, might remove need for deep-sea cables

Re:Lasers enable satellite internet backbone, might remove n... by oceanplexian on Monday June 26, 2023 @11:42AM (#36481246)

It also circumvents the biggest problem with fiber, politics. Starlink doesn’t need permission to run a backbone across (or rather over) a country. This will be revolutionary for people in Africa, South America, and huge swaths of Asia/Australia where a few telecom monopolies have artificially jacked the price of transit.

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Re:Lasers enable satellite internet backbone, might remove n... by falcolas on Monday June 26, 2023 @12:04PM (#36481571)

IIUC, it only circumvents politics due to existing treaties. Those old treaties are likely ripe for revision with the extensive commercialization and the increasing number of countries capable of launching payloads into space.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_outer_space

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Re:Lasers enable satellite internet backbone, might remove n... by thecosas on Monday June 26, 2023 @12:14PM (#36481723)

It definitely helps mitigate the infrastructure buildout hurdles (which are not small), but they would still need to jump through any "I need to do business in this country" regulations, etc.

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Re:Lasers enable satellite internet backbone, might remove n... by asadotzler on Tuesday June 27, 2023 @12:41AM (#36488996)

Only if they want to bring a signal down to the ground. Unlike fiber, LEO sats can send data across an entire continent of countries or states without getting permission from any of them. Wanna connect Toronto to Mexico City with fiber, gotta get the US and half a dozen states and dozens of counties all to give you easement. Not so with space lasers :-)

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