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SpaceX Internet Satellite Network: Starlink

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Ouch. Melting snow. So Starlink would not work well in an off-grid location with limited energy available then? No hope of the user terminal using 10-20W or so like a 4G modem or router?

According to reddit from people with power meters, the average is about 118 watts power consumption (that would be AC power consumption from the wall and would include powering the electronics as well as the antenna).

Power usage - Real world numbers? : Starlink
 
Ouch. Melting snow. So Starlink would not work well in an off-grid location with limited energy available then? No hope of the user terminal using 10-20W or so like a 4G modem or router?

No way there would be enough gain to close a useable link.
I don’t know if anyone posted any nameplate ratings for the UT (let alone current draw) but I’d guess nominal power is somewhere in the low hundreds of watts with the ability to ramp up close to a kw maybe (?) in bad weather or with otherwise unfavorable links.

Power draw is around 100W typical and the max possible in the absolute worst case scenario is 180W.

one user in cold weather mentioned seeing Baseline: 107w Download: 109w Upload: 118w
 
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Power draw is around 100W typical and the max possible in the absolute worst case scenario is 180W.

one user in cold weather mentioned seeing Baseline: 107w Download: 109w Upload: 118w

Thanks. That means 100W more than the current setup. That's 2,4kWh extra per day. No problem in the summer but sadly not feasible in winter at all. Guess I'll drop my Starlink-plans here in Norway then :(
 
I didn't infer that to be 24/7 of 1XX power draw, but bummer if it is.
Framing my question another way, is there a low-DC standby/sleep mode?

sats coming into and leaving the frame of reference non stop 24/7, it's meant to be an always on internet connection so it's going to be a steady power draw.

I've seen some people mention less than 100W numbers (like in the 75W range) but nothing that looks like a sleep mode.

edit: I forgot to mention during the beta they are running background load tests on every dish so power could drop noticeably after beta ends.
 
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FCC commissioner on the roof of the FCC building in Washington D.C.

4fiazlakday51.png
 
edit: I forgot to mention during the beta they are running background load tests on every dish so power could drop noticeably after beta ends.

Yeah that makes sense.

sats coming into and leaving the frame of reference non stop 24/7, it's meant to be an always on internet connection so it's going to be a steady power draw.

I'd imagine in normal production mode the array doesn't need to maintain non-stop communications with the satellite network--maybe send some packets every now and then? Certainly an otherwise dormant UT would want to update ephemerals, and there's probably some health stating that needs to go on too? Since the UT array will know where the sats are supposed to be it seems those packets could be pretty efficient too.

Totally not a network person here: Is there any reason the network would want/need to initiate a link with the user?
 
Yeah that makes sense.



I'd imagine in normal production mode the array doesn't need to maintain non-stop communications with the satellite network--maybe send some packets every now and then? Certainly an otherwise dormant UT would want to update ephemerals, and there's probably some health stating that needs to go on too? Since the UT array will know where the sats are supposed to be it seems those packets could be pretty efficient too.

Totally not a network person here: Is there any reason the network would want/need to initiate a link with the user?

Dont know about you guys, but my link is busy 24x7. There is always something chattering away with some server.
 

Speaking of Our Hat, The [Nice] Man is giving Telesat $600CAD over 10 years to subsidize rural broadband in Canadia. If Telesat actually ever pulls the trigger, it will be interesting to see what the actual residential product will be and how much [ostensibly] cheaper it will be than Starlink for Canadians.

Telesat remains optimistic about prospects for LEO constellation - SpaceNews

According to The Googs, ~6M Canadians don't have access to 50/10mbps, and if we quarter that to ~1.5M subscriptions (a fair ratio) that's a pretty sizable customer base. Its also unclear whether that 50/10 population includes current satellite subscribers; if it does that's an even larger potential customer base.

That obviously doesn't factor out those who can't afford service, but if Hunky Justin is making it rain $600M worth of bad bad socialism on rural Canada, one could imagine a heavily progressive subsidy to ensure every last Canuk has access to the internet via a Candian owned and operated satellite company. And if MDA wins the satellite contract, also via satellites designed and built by Canadians.

The real point in all this is that, while Starlink seems like it will have full monty authority to operate in the Great White, it seems plausible if not likely that they will be undercut by Telesat.
 
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Speaking of Our Hat, The [Nice] Man is giving Telesat $600CAD over 10 years to subsidize rural broadband in Canadia. If Telesat actually ever pulls the trigger, it will be interesting to see what the actual residential product will be and how much [ostensibly] cheaper it will be than Starlink for Canadians.

Telesat remains optimistic about prospects for LEO constellation - SpaceNews

According to The Googs, ~6M Canadians don't have access to 50/10mbps, and if we quarter that to ~1.5M subscriptions (a fair ratio) that's a pretty sizable customer base. Its also unclear whether that 50/10 population includes current satellite subscribers; if it does that's an even larger potential customer base.

That obviously doesn't factor out those who can't afford service, but if Hunky Justin is making it rain $600M worth of bad bad socialism on rural Canada, one could imagine a heavily progressive subsidy to ensure every last Canuk has access to the internet via a Candian owned and operated satellite company. And if MDA wins the satellite contract, also via satellites designed and built by Canadians.

The real point in all this is that, while Starlink seems like it will have full monty authority to operate in the Great White, it seems plausible if not likely that they will be undercut by Telesat.
This made me laugh out loud.

Starlink will have to compete with a subsidized Canadian telecommunications company.... I just read an article about internet data costs in the developed world. There were 3 Canadian companies, Rogers, Bell, and Telus included in this group of 126 providers. The 3 most expensive providers, world-wide: Bell, Rogers, and Telus. Canada allows for fat, inefficient telcos, who gobble up any small competitor as they appear. Telsat is cut from the same cloth. They'll not be able to do this with Starlink.

Telsat will come out with a half-baked, barely usable, expensive system, and only the extremely remote, subsidized communities will use it. The rest of the rural population will be unsubsidized (like me) and pushed to pay a fortune for a poor system.

Starlink will MOP THE FLOOR with Telsat, then proceed to eat into Telus, Rogers, and Bell's market.....and I can't wait!
 
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This made me laugh out loud.

Starlink will have to compete with a subsidized Canadian telecommunications company.... I just read an article about internet data costs in the developed world. There were 3 Canadian companies, Rogers, Bell, and Telus included in this group of 126 providers. The 3 most expensive providers, world-wide: Bell, Rogers, and Telus. Canada allows for fat, inefficient telcos, who gobble up any small competitor as they appear. Telsat is cut from the same cloth. They'll not be able to do this with Starlink.

Telsat will come out with a half-baked, barely usable, expensive system, and only the extremely remote, subsidized communities will use it. The rest of the rural population will be unsubsidized (like me) and pushed to pay a fortune for a poor system.

Starlink will MOP THE FLOOR with Telsat, then proceed to eat into Telus, Rogers, and Bell's market.....and I can't wait!

Yes indeed. SpaceX has a huge cost advantage for both launch, satellite and receiver manufacturing. Personally, I doubt Telsat even gets their birds flying. Before they can do anything, they have to convince the financial markets that they can compete against Starlink. Anyways, even if they do manage to blow billions of investor money, they'll end up with a crappier service (higher satellites, more latency, less bandwidth) at a higher price.
 
Telsat will come out with a half-baked, barely usable, expensive system

Based on what evidence?

Skipping past hyperbole and considering the reality of the situation, three things are clear:
--Telesat needs investors to fund the project
--Ottawa is not going to fully fund the project, at least not from up on the hill
--There is empirical evidence that Starlink is going to offer an great product, and at what appears to be a generally affordable price [for the target user base]

Sum those elements and the logical conclusion is that that if Telesat actually pulls the trigger on their internet constellation that means they convinced someone who's sole business is ROI that the constellation can actually turn a healthy profit. Furthermore, given Starlink's performance to date and its inevitable future, that necessarily means Telesat can offer product that can compete with Starlink.