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A tangent: it's honestly really disappointing to me that Starlink requires proprietary equipment to use. High-speed, low-latency satellite internet would've been a real game-changer in countries where the government seeks to control information flow by blocking websites and online services. But because you need the proprietary dish made specifically for Starlink, they'll of course just restrict import of these.


Maybe when the open source community successfully executes manned space missions, we can free ourselves from the tyranny of proprietary satellite technology…


They could've published their documentation so it would be possible to build a client terminal yourself out of readily available parts. You'll still have to pay for the service itself, obviously. And I'm not talking about satellites themselves, only about the user equipment.


I don't think you understand the complexity of what you're suggesting. I doubt there are any off-the-shelf chips suitable to build a Starlink terminal and even if there were it would still cost over $10M and maybe more like $100M to design the terminal.


This isn't WiFi. A starlink terminal is complex. It isn't something you can cobble together with readily available parts.

For that matter, it's amazing to me what WiFi can do, and yet you can buy a WiFi device for a couple of dollars!


Are generic phased array antennas available in those markets?




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