Starlink

[kcflhrc]

Seems odd that you have to buy the equipment and have a monthly fee on a Beta Trial. I was on a Beta Trial for 6 months for CenturyLink ION and I paid nothing for the entire trial phase. I had 4 phone lines brought into the house and the broadband service all for free. However, they weren't launching million
dollar satellites into space either.

 

[rekees4300]

Seems odd that you have to buy the equipment and have a monthly fee on a Beta Trial. I was on a Beta Trial for 6 months for CenturyLink ION and I paid nothing for the entire trial phase. I had 4 phone lines brought into the house and the broadband service all for free. However, they weren't launching million
dollar satellites into space either.

The phased array antenna (aka UFO on a stick) currently costs $2,000 to manufacture and are being sold for $499 so it's understandable why the public beta test isn't free.

 

[newbury]

Which phone company is that? The phone company(Centurylink) here does very little to maintain their line, even after they got CAF money, there were no improvements. The power company is running fiber.

Fulton Telephone Company. And like I wrote the power company (Tombigbee Electric Power Association) is also running fiber.

My understanding is that here the Tombigbee Electric Power Association owns the poles and can string fiber on the poles, and the Fulton Telephone Company is burying fiber cable.

And it seems it faster to string from pole to pole than it is to bury cable.

 

[kcflhrc]

Fulton Telephone Company. And like I wrote the power company (Tombigbee Electric Power Association) is also running fiber.

My understanding is that here the Tombigbee Electric Power Association owns the poles and can string fiber on the poles, and the Fulton Telephone Company is burying fiber cable.

And it seems it faster to string from pole to pole than it is to bury cable.

Much faster and cheaper to string fiber on poles. However, it is way more susceptible to weather than a buried cable is. We don't put any of our fiber in the air for that very reason. Ice, rain, sleet and snow are all bad for aerial cable. But a dumbo with a backhoe can ruin your day also.

 

[rekees4300]

It does not mention anything about a contract length of time required or can it be dropped at anytime without penalty. Also are you responsible for the equipment setup?

Contract is dubious, that's an archaic scheme from the greedy ISPs. Yes customers are responsible for equipment setup. However there are instructions/software covering multiple techniques included with the purchase. The biggest challenge is to have a location unblocked by buildings, trees, etc.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Seems odd that you have to buy the equipment and have a monthly fee on a Beta Trial. I was on a Beta Trial for 6 months for CenturyLink ION and I paid nothing for the entire trial phase. I had 4 phone lines brought into the house and the broadband service all for free. However, they weren't launching million
dollar satellites into space either.

I read have invested $10 billions into Starlink so far with USA military as the only paying customer at this point.

 

[MAD777]

I want to know more details about the clear view of the sky thing. I can't have a traditional satellite dish because I do t have a clear view South. I live in mountains. So my only clear view is up.
That being said, my stargazing app shows Starlink satellites overhead constantly. I would like to see more setup helpful hints before plunking down $500.
I'm on a lousy cell phone hot-spot now, my only option.

 

[RustyA]

During a 2015 speech, Musk suggested it could come at a steep price. The CEO floated the idea of a figure somewhere around $100 and $300.

That means, all in all, Starlink could launch for somewhere around the $80 per month mark, plus an extra $100 to $300 for installation costs.

Source of my information...I've been following this closely as it's two wire copper or satellite as an option where we live. I'm not picking on Elon but he does sometimes overpromise. $500 upfront for the ufo on a stick and modem might be a bigger hurdle for many working families right now to try out a new technology.

 

[LouNY]

Ma Bell buried most phone lines around here starting in the 60's,
they were good for quite a few years but they had some issues even when new.
Much of the time they weren't deep enough and highway crews and farmers would catch them and break them.
Then as the tree roots got regrown and a tree would tip out so would the phone cable.
The repair time and cost are much higher for buried lines and they have almost as much down time.
Now the only phone lines that are working at all are the overhead ones, the buried ones have so much static and noise it is ridiculous.
The repair crews are always out jumping pairs around looking for a good pair for part of a run then a different pair for more of it.
I would like to see it as a regulated public utility have to run fiber every were.
The cable companies around here will not even consider a route with less then 20 hookups per mile.

 

[kcflhrc]

You could argue the fact about aerial vs buried all day long but at the end of it all a buried cable, done properly, will outlast aerial any day. And if you want to do buried fiber right you put in duct not direct buried. No one around here does aerial fiber, all buried.

 

[lman]

Everything is buried here. Only power lines are above ground.

 

[Diggin It]

Cost is $99/mo. plus $499 one time charge for equipment. TBD if that will be the post beta test cost.

That's a No-Go for me.

 

[Diggin It]

We don't put any of our fiber in the air for that very reason.

You should see our 'new' fiber they just ran. Trees and bushes had grown up around the copper trunk lines and poles so heavy you can't even see them from the road 20 feet away. Rather than trim the trees when running the fiber, they weaved it in and around the branches following the path of the old copper.

I'm still connected on copper that was buried in the 70s. For some reason, despite the main lines along the state highways being overhead, they buried all the residential feed trunks down the side roads. I'm on a 19 AWG 12 pair cable and only one of a few landline customers left along this road.

 

[rekees4300]

I want to know more details about the clear view of the sky thing. I can't have a traditional satellite dish because I do t have a clear view South. I live in mountains. So my only clear view is up.
That being said, my stargazing app shows Starlink satellites overhead constantly. I would like to see more setup helpful hints before plunking down $500.
I'm on a lousy cell phone hot-spot now, my only option.

According to this PDF the clear sky view must cover 100 degrees. See page 4

Ridgeline_Mount_Guide.pdf | DocDroid

Browse thru the Reddit forum. They have lots of info.

Starlink - SpaceX Satellite Constellation

 

[ponytug]

According to this PDF the clear sky view must cover 100 degrees. See page 4

Ridgeline_Mount_Guide.pdf | DocDroid

Browse thru the Reddit forum. They have lots of info.

Starlink - SpaceX Satellite Constellation

Thanks! That is great information. I was worried it would be 150 or so.

Given our local cost for alternatives, which are in the hundreds to thousands of dollars per month, and some come with $8,000 installation fees, I would be happy to try a $99/mo and $499 internet service. I'm paying $70/mo for an unreliable 5Mbit down/0.5 up. A reliable new modem for us would be $300.

It all depends on what your local options are. If you have faster/better/cheaper, please go for it. Those of us who don't have faster/better/cheaper will try Starlink to see if it is faster, or perhaps more reliable, or better, or cheaper than our alternatives. Fingers crossed.

All the best,

Peter

 

[shooterdon]

I would pay the cost IF it worked...But not for a beta test.

 

[MAD777]

That roof ridgeline mount is going to create problems with all modern vented ridgeline like mine. Plus, the pile of bricks/blocks up on my roof looks trashy, IMO. We need a cleaner way and it would be a lot safer not to climb onto the roof! Hopefully alternatives will be developed.
Oh, and is this thing heated? Obviously, it will be facing upward most of the time. Who is going to sit on my roof and constantly brush snow off this dish?

 

[Diggin It]

This seems to fir into this thread somehow:

Satellites eligible for FCC's $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America

SpaceNews | Wed Oct 28, 2020 04:21 UTC

The Federal Communications Commission approved the creation Oct. 27 of a 5G Fund for Rural America to distribute as much as $9 billion over the next decade to extend 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural communities. SpaceNews

Satellites eligible for FCC's $9 billion 5G Fund for Rural America - SpaceNews

 

[Frankenkubota]

As with tractor shopping and several other topics, I'm concerned with longevity. Will this be around ten years from now? Five? I've seen a few come and go in the last 10 years.

Boy, it's been a long time but didn't Motorola try to deploy a big constellation called Oridian or something, albert 25 years ago? I think it flopped and the military took it over.

A customer who became a close friend was in charge of earth station reconfig etc. for General Dynamics.

I guess if Starlink flops the military can figure out something to do with it.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Boy, it's been a long time but didn't Motorola try to deploy a big constellation called Oridian or something, albert 25 years ago? I think it flopped and the military took it over.

A customer who became a close friend was in charge of earth station reconfig etc. for General Dynamics.

I guess if Starlink flops the military can figure out something to do with it.

Keep in mind Starlink started out as and continues to be a military application.

Clearly the 5G funds will enhance to desire to roll out the consumer version of Starlink for the home consumer market. Microsoft has contracted with Starlink for their Azure cloud base solution that our company moved to several years ago. Federal funds may be how we can get $2000 of Starlink hardware for only $499.