SpaceX projected 20 million Starlink users by 2022—it ended up with 1 million::Starlink has a fraction of the projected $12B revenue and 20M users, WSJ says.

  • @InvaderDJ
    link
    English
    251 year ago

    One thing this article doesn’t get into is whether it is an issue of customer demand or incorrect estimates on how many customers Starlink can handle.

    Musk is a dumbass, unserious douche. But from everyone I’ve heard from who has Starlink and NEEDS it, it’s a godsend. For rural and mobile users (van life, RVs, boats, etc) I don’t think there is a better option.

    Another question is whether this Starlink service should be nationalized or at least duplicated by other countries. I’m uncomfortable with it being used for war as it is honestly. It’s a supposed civilian, consumer aimed service that I think arguably can be considered a military target right now. Countries like Russia could make an argument for attacking these satellites. And for countries like Ukraine that are relying on it, having it being at the whims of someone like Musk also seems like it isn’t optimal.

    • @SkyezOpen
      link
      English
      141 year ago

      Countries like Russia could make an argument for attacking these satellites.

      Russia’s best shot would be accidentally crashing a lunar lander into one.

        • @demlet
          link
          English
          51 year ago

          They just need to try and land on one, that’s the trick.

      • @Illuminostro
        link
        English
        -21 year ago

        Like when the US crashed a lander into Mars. Good times.

        • @SkyezOpen
          link
          English
          61 year ago

          Uhh, yeah in 1999. Proving yet again that Russia is stuck 20+ years behind us technologically.

          • @Illuminostro
            link
            English
            -41 year ago

            “But… but… muh daddy can beat up yur daddy!”

            Brilliant.

            • @SkyezOpen
              link
              English
              41 year ago

              Yeah if your daddy keeps kicking over neighbor’s fences I’d certainly hope my daddy could beat him up. Cope.

    • @PFShady
      link
      English
      131 year ago

      My parents have it because of where they live. The only other option they had was century link DSL at 1.5Mbps. Now she can watch streaming services, work from home, etc. The service has been great, Musk is a douche.

    • @dustyData
      link
      English
      4
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      It’s a supposed civilian, consumer aimed service

      The internet was invented to wage war. It’s not an admirable goal, but it’s what it was made for. Only after the fact did we turn it into the banal meme stream it is now. When SpaceX requested permission to the FAA to launch its hundreds of thousands of garbage cans, military infrastructure backup was actually part of the pitch to justify the sky contamination. The Pentagon agreed to acquire Starlink for UA because it was part of the listed capabilities of the network. And military operations are not just about destroying things and killing people. Military operations include rescuing the wounded and safeguarding civilians from harm. Armies need to have good communications for this, to avoid destroying non-military targets, reduce the risk of collateral damage, coordinate evacuations and to defend themselves from the opposing force. A communication network should be a neutral channel, what Musk has done with it is to politicize and weaponize it, like the Russians weaponize medical care, judicial freedom and other things that should be basic human rights but are used to coerce individuals to commit atrocities against others.