We're in that latitude but have not received an invite yet. They may already have enough beta sites in WA state.
Real, actual, fast rural internet is almost here.
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Wow I bet your just giddy to get that kind of internet in the sticks!? I also live in a very rural area but we have a fairly good DSL service here, it isn‘t blazing fast at 25Mb/s down and 2 up but it’s only $40 a month, no fees or taxes added and they say as long as your in good standing it’ll never go up. So far I’ve had it for ten years and the price has only gone down when they dropped the fees and taxes. Also there‘s no limits and its fast enough to stream 4K TV so I’m ok with it. A friend pays $140 for crappy 2Mb/s DSL in a rural area. They make him pay for a wired phone and he doesn‘t even have it hooked up and if he complains about the speed they tell him if he don’t like it to drop the service so he’s looking forward to StarLink.
Yep, giddy is a good description. We are too far out to get DSL, Cable, Cell or Microwave. Satellite is it.
If your friend has any kind of cell signal, wireless could be an option. I've been running it for the last 3 years. Usually somewhere in the 10-20 range, but I recently switched to Verizon and I'm seeing 40-50. Both are under $80/month.
I just put in a request for Starlink though, I'd pay extra for those speeds but I'm on the south side of Lake Erie so I'm not expecting it anytime soon.
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
When we were living in an RV full time we used T-Mobile with unlimited hotspot plans. We were able to stream video and do everything else just fine. I feel like any connection faster than 25 mbps up and 10 down is just gravy.
They've fortunately started rolling out 4G Home Internet unlimited for a reasonable cost, deprioritization doesn't seem to affect this as much as the phone data.
The slower one worked when just my wife was home working, but we all ended up quarantined for 2 weeks with my exposure at work and it struggled with her and I working and my daughter attending school. So far no issues with VZW other than I hate giving them money.
Ars Technica has some good articles on the process and progress.
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
SpaceX Starlink has some hiccups as expected, but users are impressed
“Link stability is a little rough,” but Netflix works great, one user says.
arstechnica.com
SpaceX Starlink users provide first impressions and unboxing pictures
“It feels like it’s from the future… I am amazed at how well it works.”…
arstechnica.com
Accurate articles but already becoming dated. Drop-outs and speed degradation has already begun to improve, at least where we are.Ars Technica has some good articles on the process and progress.
SpaceX Starlink has some hiccups as expected, but users are impressed
“Link stability is a little rough,” but Netflix works great, one user says.SpaceX Starlink users provide first impressions and unboxing pictures
“It feels like it’s from the future… I am amazed at how well it works.”…
And yeah, this feels like alien/future tech. Especially when it is first plugged in and you watch the dish tilt and rotate on its own as it finds the section of sky with the most satellites whizzing by, then self calibrate and lock it in. I’ve watched satellite TV installers take hours to do the same job.
Yes, they point that out. The point of the beta program is to work out these problems and improve the system including the user interface. The goal is a simple plug&play experience. I see in WA state they now have 4 ground stations to improve connectivity too. Word is by January that the coverage and reliability changes will be major.
Space X is in line for a big bunch of federal dollars to subsidize home internet for low income people (similar to the "Obama" cellphones that got so much derision in the conservative press). In order to get that money they had to prove a certain speed and latency. The trial period was designed as much to make sure they get the federal dollars as it was to do the testing. The new generation satellites are lot more capable than the prior generation,.
I signed up for it after we move here last year in mid-June to be notified when it became available. The potential for it becoming available was a factor in moving to a place without any other good options. They invited me to order it on 11 Dec 2020 and I've been using it since 22 Dec 2020. Good stuff, finally bringing the rural US into the real internet age! I used a Calyx 4G hotspot in the interim and the difference is night and day. These days I usually get ~300 Mbps downstream and 10-15 Mbps upstream.
Starlink has a pretty good reputation around here, going to run a lot of the smaller outfits out of business because many of them are serving an entire neighborhood with a similar speed connection as a single Starlink dish gets.
Problem is availability, many areas here are now saturated and need more satellites to allow more customers, and the hardware is backordered. Many are being told end of 2022 or early 2023 before they will be connected.
Problem is availability, many areas here are now saturated and need more satellites to allow more customers, and the hardware is backordered. Many are being told end of 2022 or early 2023 before they will be connected.
China Unhappy Its Space Station Had to Dodge SpaceX Starlink Satellites
The Chinese space agency complained to the UN about two evasive maneuvers required to avoid 'close encounters' with orbiting Starlink devices.
SpaceX de-orbits old satellites so they can burn up in the atmosphere rather than leaving them up in orbit. That was what happened with the Chinese space station. They needed to do more due diligence assuring the path would be clear.China Unhappy Its Space Station Had to Dodge SpaceX Starlink Satellites
The Chinese space agency complained to the UN about two evasive maneuvers required to avoid 'close encounters' with orbiting Starlink devices.www.pcmag.com
Saw this today. Evidently there are a few bugs to work out with StarLink that weren't anticipated.
![[Hearth.com] Real, actual, fast rural internet is almost here.](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/289/289182-fbf01f305a59626758d5d9842ae9c8c2.jpg?hash=Ho5872IYDk "[Hearth.com] Real, actual, fast rural internet is almost here.")
The amount of space junk around Earth has hit a 'critical density' — and it could jeopardize our space missions
We have a bad feeling about this.
www.businessinsider.com
Great, now the Cat debates will spread to the Inglenook
My Cat powered satellite downloads faster and longer than yours
yay, my internet is lower and slower than yours...?Great, now the Cat debates will spread to the Inglenook
My Cat powered satellite downloads faster and longer than yours
Personally, I think Cat Assisted Downlink was fine, back in the day, but animal assisted data transfer technologies have made great strides recently. It has been proven in recent field trials that squirrels are the way to go. One can pack more squirrels per square inch (SSI) than cats can achieve. As the SSI goes up so to does the augmented data transfer rate. Simple science.Great, now the Cat debates will spread to the Inglenook
My Cat powered satellite downloads faster and longer than yours