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   MSGID: 1339.fido_internet@1:340/7 2349c566   
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   PID: Synchronet 3.18a-Win32  May 31 2020 MSC 1925   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.11-Win32 r3.173 May 31 2020 MSC 1925   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   -=> August Abolins wrote to Richard Menedetter <=-   
      
    AA> Hello Richard!   
      
    AA> ** On Thursday 11.06.20 - 10:10, Richard Menedetter wrote to Daniel:   
      
    RM> Sorry ... I could not find any price information for their satellite   
    RM> service there.   
      
    AA> :( Likewise. It just seems suspicious that he got away with the project   
    AA> without actually stating what the price of using the service would be   
    AA> to a customer.  Wouldn't the bottom line price be the logical concern   
    AA> before tossing 1000's of more space junk up there that can put other   
    AA> people at the risk of falling debris?   
      
   They're not junk if they serve a purpose and especially if they deorbit when   
   done.   
      
   And on the price, it will be a worldwide service and would be open to a larger   
   subscriber base than a traditional provider. It would be much easier to provide   
   an inexpensive service when spreading the cost to a larger base of customers.   
   This is why many areas of the US lack broadband internet. The providers don't   
   see a value of laying fiber in rural areas that are so underpopulated that   
   they'd never get a return of investment.   
      
    RM> How much more reasonably priced is the Space X offering?   
      
    AA> I have to wonder too. I think the use of the satellite tech will   
    AA> eventually be promoted as a premium service thus higher than current   
    AA> prices for the same bandwidth.   
      
   Current satellite offerings are super expensive particularly due to the cost of   
   the satellites and the launch cost. They are also high latency and slow speed.   
   I have friends living in the mountains who had it and were forced to ditch it   
   in favor of really slow hotspot service. I send him dvd's of linux every few   
   months so he can patch his computers.   
      
    AA> For example, the current home satellite-dish solution was heavily   
    AA> promoted as "a solution at last!" for rural communities.  The initial   
    AA> signup cost seemed reasonable. Some installations offered free hardware   
    AA> setup, but the equipment for the home wasn't cheap. Now, many years   
    AA> later, the sign up and equioment cost is a bit lower, but only for the   
    AA> first 3 months.  This kind of presentation of "affordability" is   
    AA> misleading.   
      
   SpaceX's solution will be a 'ufo on a stick.' No dish needed.   
      
    AA> I just spotted "720 satellites for total coverage in 2020" in   
    AA> wikipedia. Then its 1584 by 2021-2022.   
      
    AA> And now I read that Daniel stated that Musk want's 20,000 of things in   
    AA> the sky.   
      
   That would be an eventual goal, but I may be wrong on the number. I know it's   
   in the tens-of-thousands and recently got approval for more. The satellites are   
   really small compared to the ones you normally see in orbit. Each no larger   
   than my computer desk and less than a foot thick. Each blade have dozens of   
   individual computers in a mesh, powered by solar, and armed with autonomous   
   navigation.   
      
   This is the future.   
      
   Daniel Traechin   
   ... Visit me at gopher://gcpp.world   
   --- MultiMail/Linux v0.49   
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