On Thursday, July 16, 2020, 02:17:50 PM PDT, таракан wrote: >> He might even offer the SpaceX internet service for free in some extreme cases, such as >> Iran, Cuba, North Korea. (the tiny ground-stations might have to be smuggled in.) > >Assuming the priority of North Koreans people is to get high-speed internet from satellite may be a bit bold... I would rather believe their priority now is more getting money for food, healthcare etc... Yes, I realize that North Korea would be an especially hard case, but I don't hang by entire thesis on NK alone. >Also, how much would cost a ground station? I think they are expected to cost about $1,000. >How they would get access codes ? And How they would 'smuggle' and 'hide' such expensive ground stations This is totally absurd for a country like North Korea for instance. As I previously said, I merely mentioned NK. Don't try to disprove the entire concept because you think there is a single region on earth that this project won't "work" in. >Also , again, There exists already many internet by satellite access, fully bidirectional so what that would change ? Did I claim that existing system would change? >Besides, since Iran and North Korea are under heavy embargo , I do not see how Starlink could be granted the right to provide internet to such territories. I guess you're missing the entire point. With the Starlink system, they wouldn't have to "seek the right to provide internet to such territories". They would simply provide the services, period. No approval would be sought, or received, or respected. >Control is easy ... The uplink of the ground station provides good satellite geolocation (DTO.DFO,...) Be specific about that. "Bunny hunting" is not as easy as you might think. (I'm a Ham radio operator.) It looks like these ground stations are less than the size of a small microwave oven. >I would rather believe in a net of SW radio using data transmission (like PSK-31 and others) . Slow indeed but the ground sttaion can be realtively easily manufactured by engineers with local resources and that can be totally operated without governements. Is that ACTUALLY being done, TODAY? (And I'm not referring to NK.) If not, I'd say that isn't really practical. I played with Packet Radio in the 1980's. It was an amazingly useless TOY. It's possible the bulky parts of the Starlink system could be made locally by 3D printer, with just the PCBs smuggled in. Remember, I'm not talking PRIMARILY about NK. I'm talking about OTHER "third-world shitholes" that may not even explicity make illegal Satellite internet groundstations, but whose governments put themselves in the driver's seat by demanding that internet providers shut off (or censor, or otherwise) ordinary internet services.