SpaceX Internet Satellite Network: Starlink

[ecarfan]

SpaceX Thanks, just found another article that clarifies this. SpaceX projected 20 million Starlink users by 2022—it ended up with 1 million

Musk said in June 2021 that "we are losing money on that terminal right now. That terminal costs us more than $1,000." At that time, Starlink was charging users $499 for the user terminal, and Musk said he would like to eventually "reduce the terminal cost from $500 to, I don't know, $300 or $250, or something like that." Despite that statement, Starlink raised the terminal price from $499 to $599 in early 2022.

As to the topic of that particular article — far fewer paying customers than projected — perhaps commercial customers like shipping companies and airlines will make up for the shortfall of individual customers.

 

[mongo]

SpaceX Thanks, just found another article that clarifies this. SpaceX projected 20 million Starlink users by 2022—it ended up with 1 million

As to the topic of that particular article — far fewer paying customers than projected — perhaps commercial customers like shipping companies and airlines will make up for the shortfall of individual customers.

Yeah, my link is the article that article quoted "said in June 2021". Next level down is the YouTube of the talk.

Starlink is reportedly at or near break even now, so the slower rollout of subsidized user terminals may have ultimately been a good thing.

 

[mongo]

10 gigabit community link using 4 ground station dishes

https://twitter.com/x/status/1702753019547492638

 

[Cosmacelf]

10 gigabit community link using 4 ground station dishes

https://twitter.com/x/status/1702753019547492638

Oh wow, that is so cool! Rather than spread a bunch of consumer dishes around, they can give everyone fiber connections served by this one ground station. It ends up being more reliable since you can winterize the domes a lot easier, and you don’t have multiple competing uplinks from All the consumer stations. Presumably ends up being less expensive too.

Population is 4,200, so a 10 Gbps link is plenty for that number.

 

[scaesare]

As an side... that's a funny oxymoronic community name:

...on the remote island of Unalaska, Alaska

 

[jerry33]

As an side... that's a funny oxymoronic community name:

It's more of a global name. U.N.Alaska.

 

[dhanson865]

awesome video from a recent starlink launch

https://twitter.com/x/status/1703132464712237216

 

[mongo]

Two new Dishys approved by FCC, one smaller, one better high performance version.
SpaceX gets FCC approval for two new Starlink dishes

 

[ecarfan]

Two new Dishys approved by FCC, one smaller, one better high performance version.
SpaceX gets FCC approval for two new Starlink dishes

The first of these new dishes approved by the FCC measures 11.4 inches by 9.8 inches, approximately the size of an Apple MacBook. With its smaller form factor, it opens the door to an array of possibilities for improved connectivity as the compact size not only simplifies installation but also offers users greater flexibility in choosing where to place it compared to the current dish, which measures 20.2 inches by 11.9 inches.

Wow, that is tiny!

 

[mongo]

Wow, that is tiny!

Halfsies!

 

[UncaNed]

How do I get rid of the Starlink Hidden Network? I heard it's supposed to be some sort of security risk, what to do? I searched for help in the APP, but there's no results.

TIA!

 

[UncaNed]

Am I the only one who has to stay within about 20' of their Starlink router in order to get a decent connection?

More TIA.

 

[mongo]

Am I the only one who has to stay within about 20' of their Starlink router in order to get a decent connection?

More TIA.

Do you have 2.4GHz and 5GHz split? Which are you connecting to?
I'm hardwired from Starlink router to 3rd party wifi router.

 

[ecarfan]

How do I get rid of the Starlink Hidden Network?

I don’t know what you are referring to.

Am I the only one who has to stay within about 20' of their Starlink router in order to get a decent connection?

Mine works well if I’m 200 ft from my router.

 

[dhanson865]

Starlink has been approved already for Costa Rica, can be turned on at any time by SpaceX.

https://plataformadocumental.sutel....51984-4e7a-467f-9ed9-c01116fa4eaf&dbid=0&cr=1

Honduras to follow shortly after Costa Rica.

Belize and a large cluster of South American in 2024. Same (2024) goes for the rest of the Caribbean islands.

Nicaragua still has no date but is at least blue on the map. Unlike Cuba and Venezuela which are Gray with no chance for future coverage in the foreseeable future.

 

[mongo]

Now over two million subscribers

https://twitter.com/x/status/1705695980325323023

 

[UncaNed]

How do I get rid of the Starlink Hidden Network? I heard it's supposed to be some sort of security risk, what to do? I searched for help in the APP, but there's no results.
TIA!

I was Googling around to try to fix my Starlink issues, and learned about the new Hidden Network that started appearing when I looked at my WiFi options on my laptop or cell phone, and that it's a security issue, but I'm clueless what to do:

 

[JB47394]

it's a security issue

The next time someone tells you that something is a security issue, ask them to tell you exactly why that's so. Then ask them how to eliminate that security risk. It's easy to say that "EVs blow up" or "Alexa records everything you say", but when statements like that aren't true, they're often difficult to back up with any data.

If you're really concerned, speak to Starlink support. Or fish around in the Starlink support pages. You may be able to turn off that network there.

For anyone not familiar, a Hidden Network is just a network that has an option set on it to not publish its Service Set Identifier (SSID). It's a bit of "security through obscurity".

 

[scaesare]

Indeed not broadcasting a SSID is only "security through obscurity". Any decent black hat with WiFi sniffer can obtain the SSID during a connection handshake, however there's not likely anything connecting to it if it's something only used for Starlink diagnostics, etc.... (what I imagine it's there for.. kind of like the hidden network Tesla cars could connect to at some Service Centers/Superchargers).

That having been said, a basic security tenet is "Reduce your attack surface"... one way is by eliminating/disabling un-unneeded services. So, although I'm not a Starlink subscriber, I'd rather not have an unknown WiFi AP, that I can neither see nor configure. on my network. I have no idea if somebody's managed to gain a connection to it and attempting something nefarious, even if it's just pilfering bandwidth. It's why I've typically disabled the AP on vendor premise equipment like cable-modems, FIOS gateways, etc... when I'm using my own.

So, while there may not be a specific risk articulated, I think most security folks would suggest an opaque service not able to be secured or even monitored is indeed a risk.

 

[Buckminster]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1706725389761233256