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Comment by JimmyAustin | Hacker News Reader

You are describing StarLink once they get laser-based relaying between satellites working.

StarLink is beholden to at least one major power and directly has business interests exposed to something like 50 more. Its mercurial owner has more obligations and does not want retaliation against his other struggling businesses. For example, if someone protests in China do you really think he’s going to risk Tesla’s investments on their behalf?

Also, consider that ratio triangulation is a century-old technique. It seems exceedingly unlikely that a hostile government would forget this and not take out the transmitters.

We don’t need one perfect system as that is a fantasy. We need multiple systems with multiple sets of commercial interests and governance. Starlink is useful as one among multiple systems.

That's a lot of trust to put in one erratic billionaire

Laser cross-links are active.

https://wccftech.com/starlink-turns-on-laser-satellites-for-...

Indeed, a future where you'll never lose access to the internet as long as you agree to never make fun of Elon Musk on Twitter.

Jokes aside, corporations are no better than governments when it comes to censorship. They're corruptible, centralized points of failure.

There’s usually an alternative. The state by definition has no competition in its territory. I think that makes companies a bit better.

> The state by definition has no competition in its territory.

Been to Pakistan lately?

The likelyhood of a decentralized constellation of low orbit satellites ever existing is next to zero, and having additional internet connectivity options can never reduce availability. Sure corporations and governments are both corruptible, but if both are available, and neither can impose on the other (I don't think Pakistan has much of a say in how SpaceX runs StarLink, and SpaceX doesn't have a say in Pakistan runs Pakistan), the existence of another option is good.

there is no world where using Starlink won't be easily detectable. You're beaming radio waves up into space, all you need is a helicopter with a $100 antenna.

Encryption is a thing.

Just make it a crime to use the internet when the government tells you not to. The actual content doesn't matter. Or don't make it a crime, and just arrest people on spurious 'national security' charges, with vague allegations that they were spying.

Encryption is great but some of its proponents seem not to grasp more concrete realities.

The satellite dish is a spot light. It doesn’t matter if the signal is encrypted (it is), the radio signal can be detected. Maybe not from the side but definitely from above. The dish is big enough that can see it optically.

Encryption does not mean invulnerability.

https://xkcd.com/538/

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