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I’m pretty sure rest of starlink customers will get similar treatment in the future. Their potential customer base is limited and it’s only ISP that literately

I’m pretty sure rest of starlink customers will get similar treatment in the future. Their potential customer base is limited and it’s only ISP that literately burns their backbone network every few years and has to replace to keep it running. On top of that, their claims it’s profitable does some heavy lifting with how to account for the cost of launching rockets. It’s extremely cool product and very useful for many customers. But sustainability of current pricing is very questionable.

mattmaroon 2mo ago
Their potential customer base is literally everybody because they are the only ISP that can cover the entire globe. Everybody’s potential customer base is technically limited because there are only so many humans, but they have the least limited potential customer base of anything that exists.
- novafunc 2mo ago
  Yes, but the primary reason for Starlink is for areas with poor traditional ISPs. If you had a choice between Fiber or Starlink, you’d choose Fiber. So as traditional ISPs improve service and coverage, Starlink becomes less in demand.
  - grim_io 2mo ago
    Sounds like a great long-term investment. Starlink would only make sense if the world was not getting more and more concentrated around densely populated areas.
    - scottyah 2mo ago
      I think it'd be easier for Starlink to start building and deploying wide area ground stations (like 5g towers or something) to serve urban areas than it would take all the other telcos to deploy satellites.
      - Alpha3031 2mo ago
        Why in the world would any MNO or WISP choose satellite backhaul for urban areas when their next tower is presumably only a few kilometres over (as opposed to tens of kilometres in more regional areas)?
        scottyah 2mo ago
        I don't know, that's an interesting, albeit unrelated question. Do you have an answer?
        Alpha3031 2mo ago
        How is the question of "how satellite backhaul is useful in urban areas" unrelated to your implicit thesis that satellite backhaul is useful in urban areas?
      - grim_io 2mo ago
        Why are the satellites required at all? Telcos manage many multiples of Starlink's traffic just fine over terrestrial high-bandwidth optic fiber.
        scottyah 2mo ago
        They really don't manage the traffic well over terrestrial lines for the globe, that's why starlink, iridium, viasat, even directv have all used satellites. Billions of taxpayer money and even more private funding have been devoted to bringing lines to rural areas and the area covered is still so small.
        grim_io 2mo ago
        Areas where Starlink makes sense are usually the same areas where people experience economic troubles: rural areas. Starlink has excellent military applications. The consumer business is a dishonest joke to fool investors.
  - StephenMelon 2mo ago
    The killer app is military usage, so they just need enough consumer and b2b demand to keep what they charge governments within what they can justify to taxpayers
    - Alpha3031 2mo ago
      Which militaries are you thinking and how much do you anticipate them spending and/or being willing to try and justify?
- justapassenger 2mo ago
  For any dense populated area, starlink cost explodes exponentially to support customers there, while fiber/5G is linear. You cannot just put more satellites on top of cities, as they aren’t geostationary (which is why they’re fast), so you need to add insane amount of satellites, that would do nothing most of the time, when they’re not on top of densely populated area.
  - mattmaroon 2mo ago
    Fair point. But they still have more potential customers than any other individual ISP. Lack of potential customers is not their limiting factor.
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- kingleopold 2mo ago
  At some point in next decade they can literally be the biggest ISP by far, insane potential always. It's all about how long it takes to get there
- ruszki 2mo ago
  First, they would need global coverage for that. Because looking at this map tells a different story: https://starlink.com/gb/map https://starlink.com/gb/map It’s still the best option, but far from “global”. Also Iran is an obvious lie with that “coming soon” color, so god knows what else isn’t true on this.
  - inemesitaffia 2mo ago
    They have global coverage. You don't need a map to know that.
- bakies 2mo ago
  if you're in a city (where most people live) it'll never be cheaper to get this than fiber
  - scottyah 2mo ago
    Tell that to the Ukrainians and Syrians.
latchkey 2mo ago
it has already gone up in price two times since i got mine. i still happily pay for the convenience and safety of having internet on my campervan in the middle of a national forest. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- mauvehaus 2mo ago
  What harm are you worried about coming to in the middle of a national forest that having the internet could possibly save you from? You're in a van, for heaven's sakes. You can roll up the windows, lock the doors, and/or drive off from most dangers save a breakdown or a wildfire, and the internet won't save you from a wildfire. I've tent camped a lot on forest service land (and BLM land) both out west and in the east. Generally having arrived there by human power. Not once have I been confronted with a situation where the internet would've added to my safety in any way whatsoever.
  - latchkey 2mo ago
    i can think of 1000 reasons to need to call for help. heck, two months ago i fell on my skateboard and shattered my femur at the hip. it sure was nice to be able to call 911 and have someone come pick me up given that i couldn't drive anywhere. my van was parked right at the skatepark and there was no way i was going to drive. obviously not skating in a national park, but it isn't out of the question to not have a major injury in a remote location. but it isn't just about harm, as i said "convenience". i like being able to download detailed maps for trail hiking on-demand, and being off-grid and still able to be working (as my job requires me to be online).
    - runarberg 2mo ago
      If American infrastructure is in such a bad shape that it requires starlink to make emergency calls, then I think we have bigger problems. And please, when you go hiking, download and print all the maps you need before you depart, and share a detailed plan with somebody able to call help, including a time estimate where you will make contact. As for work. Please just take time off and take a proper vacation. By being constantly on call you will burn out at a much faster rate.

mattmaroon 2mo ago

Their potential customer base is literally everybody because they are the only ISP that can cover the entire globe. Everybody’s potential customer base is technically limited because there are only so many humans, but they have the least limited potential customer base of anything that exists.

novafunc 2mo ago
Yes, but the primary reason for Starlink is for areas with poor traditional ISPs. If you had a choice between Fiber or Starlink, you’d choose Fiber. So as traditional ISPs improve service and coverage, Starlink becomes less in demand.
- grim_io 2mo ago
  Sounds like a great long-term investment. Starlink would only make sense if the world was not getting more and more concentrated around densely populated areas.
  - scottyah 2mo ago
    I think it'd be easier for Starlink to start building and deploying wide area ground stations (like 5g towers or something) to serve urban areas than it would take all the other telcos to deploy satellites.
    - Alpha3031 2mo ago
      Why in the world would any MNO or WISP choose satellite backhaul for urban areas when their next tower is presumably only a few kilometres over (as opposed to tens of kilometres in more regional areas)?
      - scottyah 2mo ago
        I don't know, that's an interesting, albeit unrelated question. Do you have an answer?
        Alpha3031 2mo ago
        How is the question of "how satellite backhaul is useful in urban areas" unrelated to your implicit thesis that satellite backhaul is useful in urban areas?
    - grim_io 2mo ago
      Why are the satellites required at all? Telcos manage many multiples of Starlink's traffic just fine over terrestrial high-bandwidth optic fiber.
      - scottyah 2mo ago
        They really don't manage the traffic well over terrestrial lines for the globe, that's why starlink, iridium, viasat, even directv have all used satellites. Billions of taxpayer money and even more private funding have been devoted to bringing lines to rural areas and the area covered is still so small.
        grim_io 2mo ago
        Areas where Starlink makes sense are usually the same areas where people experience economic troubles: rural areas. Starlink has excellent military applications. The consumer business is a dishonest joke to fool investors.
- StephenMelon 2mo ago
  The killer app is military usage, so they just need enough consumer and b2b demand to keep what they charge governments within what they can justify to taxpayers
  - Alpha3031 2mo ago
    Which militaries are you thinking and how much do you anticipate them spending and/or being willing to try and justify?
justapassenger 2mo ago
For any dense populated area, starlink cost explodes exponentially to support customers there, while fiber/5G is linear. You cannot just put more satellites on top of cities, as they aren’t geostationary (which is why they’re fast), so you need to add insane amount of satellites, that would do nothing most of the time, when they’re not on top of densely populated area.
- mattmaroon 2mo ago
  Fair point. But they still have more potential customers than any other individual ISP. Lack of potential customers is not their limiting factor.
deleted 2mo ago
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deleted 2mo ago
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kingleopold 2mo ago
At some point in next decade they can literally be the biggest ISP by far, insane potential always. It's all about how long it takes to get there
ruszki 2mo ago
First, they would need global coverage for that. Because looking at this map tells a different story: https://starlink.com/gb/map https://starlink.com/gb/map It’s still the best option, but far from “global”. Also Iran is an obvious lie with that “coming soon” color, so god knows what else isn’t true on this.
- inemesitaffia 2mo ago
  They have global coverage. You don't need a map to know that.
bakies 2mo ago
if you're in a city (where most people live) it'll never be cheaper to get this than fiber
- scottyah 2mo ago
  Tell that to the Ukrainians and Syrians.

latchkey 2mo ago

it has already gone up in price two times since i got mine. i still happily pay for the convenience and safety of having internet on my campervan in the middle of a national forest. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

mauvehaus 2mo ago
What harm are you worried about coming to in the middle of a national forest that having the internet could possibly save you from? You're in a van, for heaven's sakes. You can roll up the windows, lock the doors, and/or drive off from most dangers save a breakdown or a wildfire, and the internet won't save you from a wildfire. I've tent camped a lot on forest service land (and BLM land) both out west and in the east. Generally having arrived there by human power. Not once have I been confronted with a situation where the internet would've added to my safety in any way whatsoever.
- latchkey 2mo ago
  i can think of 1000 reasons to need to call for help. heck, two months ago i fell on my skateboard and shattered my femur at the hip. it sure was nice to be able to call 911 and have someone come pick me up given that i couldn't drive anywhere. my van was parked right at the skatepark and there was no way i was going to drive. obviously not skating in a national park, but it isn't out of the question to not have a major injury in a remote location. but it isn't just about harm, as i said "convenience". i like being able to download detailed maps for trail hiking on-demand, and being off-grid and still able to be working (as my job requires me to be online).
  - runarberg 2mo ago
    If American infrastructure is in such a bad shape that it requires starlink to make emergency calls, then I think we have bigger problems. And please, when you go hiking, download and print all the maps you need before you depart, and share a detailed plan with somebody able to call help, including a time estimate where you will make contact. As for work. Please just take time off and take a proper vacation. By being constantly on call you will burn out at a much faster rate.