New Mobile Internet

[b_faster]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2020 at 5:44 PM, woodylmiller said:

This has been a major problem for us, a mobile wifi.  No way to have a connected land based Internet Service Provider while moving around from place to place.  We would like to be able to stream Netflix, Hulu and other services, all needing a wifi  connection. 

The new LEO ISP sat system that is being launched will target latency time of sub 100 Milliseconds, early testing is in the sub 50 milliseconds.  Your previous experience with VSAT based ISP is GEO based, latency always > 650 Milliseconds.   The difference is the physics, LEO orbit is less than 5% distance of the GEO orbit satellites, therefore the roundtrip is significantly less.   The antenna requirements will also be significantly less complicated than GEO antenna systems, omnidirectional panels/domes vs highly directional dish units that GEO requires.     

[rudisill99]

5 hours ago, b_faster said:

The new LEO ISP sat system that is being launched will target latency time of sub 100 Milliseconds, early testing is in the sub 50 milliseconds.  Your previous experience with VSAT based ISP is GEO based, latency always > 650 Milliseconds.   The difference is the physics, LEO orbit is less than 5% distance of the GEO orbit satellites, therefore the roundtrip is significantly less.   The antenna requirements will also be significantly less complicated than GEO antenna systems, omnidirectional panels/domes vs highly directional dish units that GEO requires.     

https://www.engadget.com/spacex-starlink-low-latency-funding-082010029.html

[b_faster]

I saw that article.   

The new LEO ISP service will/should be 8-10x quicker than current GEO services, and more than likely ~2-3X "less quick" than conventional services.  

It wasn't that long ago when commercializing space travel was considered unobtainable, did any see the recent trip to the ISS?  

 

[saflyer]

On 1/8/2020 at 5:44 PM, woodylmiller said:

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by saflyer
Same question asked by others.

[Scotty Hutto]

On 1/8/2020 at 7:54 AM, Dr4Film said:

I have never been impressed with any satellite Internet service in the past due to the latency factor...

Their website states 25ms latency - which is comparable to cable or slightly worse than fiber, and better than cellular.  They are also advertising  610 Mbps speeds, which is about 50x most cellular connections and on-par with the best cable and fiber options.  All for "around" $80/month.

IF they can do what their advertising says 🙄, it'll be awesome.

...and FWIW, I signed up to be a beta tester... 🙂   Just so I can give first-hand reports to Monacoers!! 🤣

[Bob Nodine]

17 hours ago, Scotty Hutto said:

Their website states 25ms latency - which is comparable to cable or slightly worse than fiber, and better than cellular.  They are also advertising  610 Mbps speeds, which is about 50x most cellular connections and on-par with the best cable and fiber options.  All for "around" $80/month.

IF they can do what their advertising says 🙄, it'll be awesome.

...and FWIW, I signed up to be a beta tester... 🙂   Just so I can give first-hand reports to Monacoers!! 🤣

Thanks for keeping an eye on this Scotty. Let us know if and when it is a viable alternative to cellular connections. We have a Verizon prepaid account for $65 a month with unlimited data. That sounds great until you find out that when things get busy Verizon slows your feed down to a speed that makes it almost unusable.  You certainly want be steaming any video. If you are up a 4 am it runs like gang busters but at 6 pm you start cursing. I would gladly drop it and pay $80 a month for a consistent 610 MB per second feed. But if they start playing the same games as Verizon then I want bother with it. I guess the big downside is you would need an additional satellite dish and have to set it up when you park. The cellular stuff works at 65 MPH going down the highway. Maybe there will be an auto tracking dome unit one could install on the top of the coach.

 

[Scotty Hutto]

Bob, my understanding after reading up on the technology is that it’s not a tracking satellite antenna. It’s more like XM than DirecTV in that regard.   According to the literature it can be used in motion.  From SpaceX:

”SpaceX shared that the ground terminals "look like a small to medium sized pizza box" and that they WOULD work while mobile and mounted on boats, planes, and other vehicles - with no need for aiming required as long as the receiver was "reasonably pointed to the sky"

Again, if they do what the advertising says, it will be very popular with RVers!!  But the realist side of me says we’re getting the best case scenario - reality might not be quite as good, but even if it’s not all that and a bag of chips, it will likely be better than the current cellular options. 
 

I currently have the TOGO Roadlink C2 (Winegard) unit, and really like it (the AT&T service is good, and the $360/year unlimited internet is great) but the price for service will almost triple - and I’ll lose the true unlimited internet -  in October when my current annual subscription runs out. 
 

I’ve been working from my RV a lot more lately, and need good internet for that and for streaming TV, so I try to stay on top of the “latest and greatest” internet service for RVs. 

[Rob and Amy Harper]

Here is a great - and current - video you can watch about Starlink.

I live in a very rural area, so I've also signed up as a beta tester.

I 

[dl_racing427]

On 6/16/2020 at 12:54 PM, Scotty Hutto said:

Their website states 25ms latency - which is comparable to cable or slightly worse than fiber, and better than cellular.  They are also advertising  610 Mbps speeds, which is about 50x most cellular connections and on-par with the best cable and fiber options.  All for "around" $80/month.

IF they can do what their advertising says 🙄, it'll be awesome.

...and FWIW, I signed up to be a beta tester... 🙂   Just so I can give first-hand reports to Monacoers!! 🤣

Where do you sign up for the BETA?  I checked starlink.com and can't find any link to do so.

[Rob and Amy Harper]

16 minutes ago, dl_racing427 said:

Where do you sign up for the BETA?  I checked starlink.com and can't find any link to do so.

You don't see on the main page where to put in your zip code, country and email address? 

[dl_racing427]

Yes, I did that, but it looks like it just put me on their mailing list. 

I got an acknowledgement email, but no mention of becoming a beta tester. 

I'll keep an eye out for more emails from them. 

Thanks, 

David 

[Bob Nodine]

On 6/17/2020 at 7:51 AM, Scotty Hutto said:

Bob, my understanding after reading up on the technology is that it’s not a tracking satellite antenna. It’s more like XM than DirecTV in that regard.   According to the literature it can be used in motion.  From SpaceX:

”SpaceX shared that the ground terminals "look like a small to medium sized pizza box" and that they WOULD work while mobile and mounted on boats, planes, and other vehicles - with no need for aiming required as long as the receiver was "reasonably pointed to the sky"

Again, if they do what the advertising says, it will be very popular with RVers!!  But the realist side of me says we’re getting the best case scenario - reality might not be quite as good, but even if it’s not all that and a bag of chips, it will likely be better than the current cellular options. 
 

I currently have the TOGO Roadlink C2 (Winegard) unit, and really like it (the AT&T service is good, and the $360/year unlimited internet is great) but the price for service will almost triple - and I’ll lose the true unlimited internet -  in October when my current annual subscription runs out. 
 

I’ve been working from my RV a lot more lately, and need good internet for that and for streaming TV, so I try to stay on top of the “latest and greatest” internet service for RVs. 

Scotty,

Sure hope it comes to past but my experience is that the salesman sell the product goals before the engineers actually make it work. We engineers tell them its not ready but all they see is $$$$ and gamble that we can pull it off in a compressed schedule.

[Rob and Amy Harper]

I hope they have free or very inexpensive beta testing. I'm an IT engineer for a living and I can set up dual WANs, no problem. That way if it doesn't work, it won't affect me. If it's $100 a month for beta, i'm not going to be willing to pay two bills that high just to help them test.

[DavidL]

On 6/17/2020 at 7:51 AM, Scotty Hutto said:

Bob, my understanding after reading up on the technology is that it’s not a tracking satellite antenna. It’s more like XM than DirecTV in that regard.   According to the literature it can be used in motion.  From SpaceX:

”SpaceX shared that the ground terminals "look like a small to medium sized pizza box" and that they WOULD work while mobile and mounted on boats, planes, and other vehicles - with no need for aiming required as long as the receiver was "reasonably pointed to the sky"

 

It is a tracking antenna.  It uses semiconducters to change the angle that is being received.  It is not a mechanical tracking mechanism.  The newest KVH antenna uses same technology (something like $8K).  The new style will certainly be lower profile, should react much faster to RV directional changes, and have longevity.  I am betting that SpaceX will promise the quantity of customers so the new style can be produced for lower price per unit from using LSI chips instead of discrete components on the circuit board.

Edited June 19, 2020 by DavidL