[sodly]

This could be in our future in a couple of months??

 

[ExDilbert]

A couple of months may be a bit optimistic but within a couple of years we could see public availability in Canada. That depends on CRTC approval and the ability of Canadian companies to make it available. I doubt SpaceX will be allowed to sell directly in Canada, just as Sirius and XM were not. I'm sure the big Canadian internet providers have a lot to say about how it will be deployed. I'm hoping that this service will be kept out of the hands of incumbent Canadian telecoms.

Commercial and military uses may be available before widespread public service. Full deployment of the satellite constellation is not expected until 2027 but the service should be usable before then. Samsung, Telesat and Amazon have announced similar satellite internet services so, with a little luck, there will be competition to keep prices down. This will be a boon for rural and remote areas that lack wired internet service. It will provide more competition in urban areas as well.

 

[JamesK]

^^^^
Yet Canada, with it's remote areas could benefit the most from that sort of service. What happened with the satellite phones? They were available in Canada, but I have no idea how they were sold. I believe Irridium is still in service.

 

[ExDilbert]

I have no doubt that people who really need or want this service will find a way to get it fairly soon. It will be like satellite TV and radio. There will be a way to get it before, and after with some effort, Canadian regulators finally approve the Canadian version. I just hope that Bell or some similar company doesn't get hold of exclusive rights. If we are lucky, it will be treated as a common carrier and any internet provider will be allowed to resell it. SpaceX may have other plans.

 

[timlocke]

Hopefully it will be available with it having its own ISP so it will totally outside the CRTC or other parts of the Cdn government. If that happens I am sure that there will be pressure on the credit card companies to stop us paying or some other silly thing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ExDilbert]

It's more likely that companies like Bell will pressure the CRTC to make it illegal for Canadians to purchase the service from non-Canadian owned companies, similar to what they did with satellite TV. Internet access is different because, unlike TV content, it's a common carrier that merely facilitates communication, not the resale of copyrighted content. Even that was relaxed for internet services like Netflix. I'm hoping that the CRTC will extend the same philosophy to internet satellite.

While SpaceX internet sales may possibly be restricted in Canada, Canadians are breaking no laws or treaties by subscribing to internet from another country. It will also be very difficult to enforce. The only thing that currently limits internet service sales to Canadians is that the infrastructure has to be located in Canada. The SpaceX satellite constellation changes that physical restriction in a revolutionary way, not just in Canada but worldwide. Unlike existing satellite internet services, the SpaceX constellation has the potential to directly compete with fibre and cable internet in every way.

 

[sodly]

Why I asked !

SpaceX has now launched 302 Starlink satellites, counting two prototypes launched in 2018. The company is targeting 24 Starlink launches this year, and plans on starting regional service in Canada and the northern United States later this year, with near global coverage by 2021.
Quoted from https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-fifth-batch-of-starlink-satellites-misses-booster-landing/

 

[ExDilbert]

I find it interesting that Canadian coverage would be included in the initial phase. There may be something in the works for Canadians this year but I'm not holding my breath. The planned 24 rocket launches this year will add 1,440 satellites to the 302 now in orbit. Some or all of them may be needed to start commercial operations.

The eventual goal is to have over 10,000 satellites in orbit in order to provide full global coverage. In order to reach that goal, SpaceX is working on a rocket that can launch 400 satellites at a time. Half of the over 10,000 satellites are projected to be in orbit in 2024 with full deployment in 2027. As BTO said, "You ain't seen nothing yet!"

 

[JamesK]

I find it interesting that Canadian coverage would be included in the initial phase.

That would depend on the inclination angle, which determines how far from the equator it travels. The greater the angle the further north and south it travels. These satellites are supposed to be in a circular orbit, which means it will have equal coverage north & south of the equator. An elliptical orbit can favour one hemisphere. The Russians had a system where the satellites spent most of their time over the northern hemisphere.

 

[ExDilbert]

The Sirius radio satellites are an example of using an elliptical orbit to favour just one continent, North America. It looks like the Starlink satellites will create a crosshatch pattern that will cover almost the entire globe, with the exceptions of the north and south poles. The satellites will also operate at several different altitudes at about 340km, 550km and 1,200km. Another interesting feature is that inter-satellite communication will use laser technology. I assume that is to provide rapid, high speed, global communication. There will be no need for fibre to span the globe.

 

[tdotwriter]

Along with 5G, satellite internet in the longer term will another major and possibly even larger game changer for telecom services in our market. Unlike terrestrial cellular services that can largely be effectively geo-blocked and incidental adequate reception on Canadian-registered devices of signals from American cell towers in border regions, satellite signals not contained within limited spot beams are true defiers of geopolitical boundaries.

Furthermore, unlike grey-market satellite TV which scared domestic service providers enough after the launch of DirecTV's then revolutionary "DSS" Digital Satellite Service in 1994 to prompt the enactment of protectionist laws dissuading the domestic sales of receiving equipment on the home front, the world wide web today is infinitely flexible in what it can provide. That needs no further explanation. It is also in extremely high under-fulfilled demand in many rural and remote communities in our large, geographically varied and sparsely populated land. Our tel-cos have essentially opted not to expand and improve service in such communities simply because they either haven't had to or have struggled with resource limitations stemming from the historical under-development of consumer satellite telecommunication technology.

Simply put, we have even more of a reason to embrace this than most of the US does. I really hope to see this go down in history as another great destroyer of the long-standing digital divide across not only our land, but that of the entire world.

 

[sodly]

Found this to be of interest . https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starlink-more-satellites-than-it-can-launch/

 

[gdmaclew]

If SpaceX is successful in the short term in bringing an alternative Internet infrastructure to Canada and either the CRTC puts up unreasonable barriers or the current Big Three put up enough of a stink to effectively hobble SpaceX, there will be such a hue and cry in the country, saying "FIX, FIX!

This is a pivital point in communications history. It is yet to be seen whether the "powers that be" forge ahead or stick to the current untenable system.

If the Satellite terminals are offered at the right cost, I, for one will go for it despite any ruling contrary to it. Let them try and find me!

 

[ExDilbert]

It would be unreasonable for the CRTC to prevent the resale of SpaceX Starlink or any other global satellite internet in Canada. The incumbents have done a lousy job of providing high speed internet to rural and remote areas in Canada so denying access to people in those areas might violate their rights. What remains to be seen is how it will be licensed. I can see the CRTC requiring that it be sold only through Canadian owned resellers. Provided prices are competitive, that will keep most people on Canadian ISPs.

Personally, I don't like the idea of being on a US ISP due to privacy concerns. The Canadian government has a long way to go to protect electronic privacy in Canada but Canadians on a US system have absolutely no rights or protections from snooping by the US government or other US institutions. That could affect travel and, in some cases, the ability to do business in the US.

 

[Bp86]

I hope this does come to Canada and puts xplornet out of business. Maybe it'll also force the big three to have real offerings for rural Canadians.

 

[timlocke]

I don’t want to see Xplorenet or anyone else put out of business. But I would like to see the CRTC and the federal and provincial governments out of the internet regulating business. They haven’t been too bad so far but it looks as if they will start regulating shortly...as soon as the pandemic dies down.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ExDilbert]

I don't want the CRTC to stop regulating internet providers. If they did, Teksavvy, Start and all the other TPIAs would disappear overnight and prices would skyrocket. Without them, unlimited internet would disappear as an option, low data caps would be implemented and overage charges would be ridiculous. That's the way it was before TPIAs were mandated by the CRTC. Don't think that competition from US companies would make internet cheaper in Canada either. With very few exceptions, internet access south of the border is more expensive, slower and less available.

@Bp86, I don't expect SpaceX Starlink will be cheap. The satellite constellation being deployed is massive and the technology is new, complicated and untested. It's not yet known if SpaceX will even be able to turn a profit. The bulk of its customers will likely be in less populated and rural areas in NA or, at a future date, in less developed countries. Meanwhile, the major population growth areas are all urban, where fibre and 5G are relatively cheap to deploy.

 

[reidw]

Wow. Thousands of small satellites cluttering up near space. Talk about pollution. Mankind can't go anywhere without wantonly dirtying up the environment.

 

[LONSat]

I would much rather Starlink be stopped in its tracks. It has the potential to destroy earth based astronomy. Near earth space junk as the eventually die and the reflective light pollution of the night sky. This project was poorly thought out.

 

[CenturyBreak]

@reidw and @LONSat, amen brothers!

These things are terrible. They're clearly visible with the unaided eye and are horrible for astrophotography, both amateur and professional. :crying