'Can't live without it': alarm at Musk's Starlink dominance in Brazil's Amazon
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Satellite and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) recently proposed by 5G consortium needs a proper system overhaul to properly work in the tropical jungles, cause it ain't a sunny beach or an open sea [1].
[1] 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks:
It's so funny and so sad at the same time.
At the Guardian they are not stupid, so I ask myself why that title instead of what is in the text: "Starlink’s almost complete dominance of the Amazon’s satellite internet".
Anyhow: Starlink: when I see it on sailing boats/catamarans/yachts I just laugh: the owner is so proud to show off the latest tool, but he does not reelize that most of the time those "satellite" antennas just connect to the closed phone tower with an e-sim.., the same you can do yourself with a e-sim enabled phone....
Starlink is popular among boaters because it’s hands down the best satellite internet and has truly global coverage (except where not authorized, but all international waters and most territorial waters)
What I mean is that they do connect with satellite, but they also connect to land mobile antenna as an alternative (I guess when it makes sense or when is convenient for starlink... for $$ and also for performance?).
Think about: 95% of the time sailing boats are in a harbour... maybe a small one in the aegean (where the mobile internet is super good... 50Mb simmetric easily), then you have even a catamaran with the starlink antenna... yes a catamaran, but still moving a bit: if you are Starlink where do you pick the data to sell the customer, by satellite? naaahhhh, you just use the local cell tower: the captain will be so proud of his expensive and high tech work everywhere, even in the amazon antenna.
Yes, buying local sim is not easy (find a proper shop, choose plan, sign contract, recharge, passport, ...many expire after 3 months if you are not resident) but with e-sim now it gets much better.
Some people may purchase a 3rd party system that integrates both Starlink and cellular but that’s not standard.
> the captain will be so proud of his expensive and high tech work everywhere, even in the amazon antenna.
Not sure why you think people care so much about showing off their Starlink antenna. They just want good internet.
yes, you are right: I've read again the contract (boat) where I thought I read about this "backup" connection: nothing about it: I made a mistake.
> showing off their Starlink antenna
I am refering to sailing boat where mobile internet is cheap and great (Italy, Greece, Turkey...): 99% of the time you see the antenna from the harbour: in the water (while in the harbour) you hardly have visible obstable to a tower: costs are ridiculous compared to Starlink, and the internet is much better: I am also able to realize how wisely a sailor is spending money: more then showing off is the idea to have a cutting edge tech to achieve something you get anyhow with less burden and money (many like sailing 'cause helps you on recognizing what is 'good', even the internet).
Starlink has plans starting at €40 per month. That's less than an eSIM or even a regular mobile data plan with a data cap in some places.
> Starting at €296/mo with a hardware cost of €2,962.
Onshore use starts at €40/month for 50GB, or €60 for unlimited. You can also pay per Gigabyte offshore using a land-based plan, as far as I know.
The new "mini" terminal is around €500.
uh, interesting
can I ask you what do you mean by "land-based mobile data", 'cause the whole mess here is me mixing up that with 'connection to land mobile tower', which they told me clearly it's not the case.
(yes, €60 for unlimited with €500 setup is really low, considering I spent 400€ myself to get a e-sim compatible phone... can you give link to this option, ..cannot find it)
Seems to be €72 now for the "Roam – Unlimited" plan, which works within 12 nm from the coast only. It's still an incredibly good deal compared to all other satellite options, and still competitive with some mobile data plans.
Apparently adding offshore data (i.e. beyond 12 nautical miles from the nearest coast) "pay as you go" isn't a thing anymore, so you'll actually need the new "boating" plan for offshore use. Still, the same applies:
Until a couple of years ago, you'd have been paying thousands of dollars for the equipment and hundreds to thousands per Gigabyte transmitted – on top of several hundred a month of baseline fees. And that was for high latency geostationary service.