Black out coming; Elon Musk says Starlink active in all continents even Antarctica
(www.ndtv.com)
❄️ INCLUDING ANTARCTICA ❄️
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Indeed. Satellite systems were usually a solution of last resort, but I will admit I don't really know how Starlink is actually put together to remove the lag.
edit: I know they are in low earth orbit, so that reduces the distance dramatically from geo-stationary satellites, just not sure of the details and how much difference it actually makes.
The Starlink satellites are at a height of 340 miles. Round trip of 680 miles. In addition the satellites communicate with one another using lasers.
Compare 680 miles with 44,000 miles and you have your difference in latency. Even at the speed of light you have half a second (500 ms) of latency at 44K miles versus 40 milliseconds for Starlink. This is still not nearly as good a terrestrial internet, fiber/DSL, but significantly better than traditional satellite.
Round trip can be a bit longer depending on the inclination angle. However, I have Starlink and the only drawback is inclement weather and some gaps in the orbit field. Do fully recommend as it is a great option for remote use.
Yes, I am on the waiting list for my area. It will be great to have in the mountains where I live.