Starlink internet could become unusable for many Americans. Here's why

[RV_]

From Yesterday 22Jun 2022.

Excerpt:

"SpaceX has warned that its Starlink internet service faces an existential threat.

The company announced on Tuesday, June 21, that its Starlink network would become "unusable for most Americans" if a proposal by Dish Network to use the 12 GHz band for terrestrial 5G is approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

SpaceX made its announcement in a strongly-worded letter to the FCC. The claims are part of a fierce ongoing feud with Dish Network.

SpaceX: A new 5G network proposal could cause 'harmful interference' to Starlink users

In its letter to the FCC, SpaceX highlighted the fact that U.S.-based satellite broadcaster Dish Network is seeking permission to operate a high-power 5G mobile service in the 12 GHz band.

The issue, according to SpaceX, stems from the fact that this is part of the same Ku-band spectrum used by Starlink, OneWeb, and other satellite operators to connect to user terminals.

The private space company said it has conducted tests in Las Vegas showing that Dish Network's proposal would cause Starlink users to "experience harmful interference" more than 77 percent of the time. 

In a separate press statement, SpaceX explained that, "despite technical studies dating back as far as 2016 that refute the basis of their claims, DISH has attempted to mislead the FCC with faulty analysis in hopes of obscuring the truth."

"If DISH’s lobbying efforts succeed," it continued, "our study shows that Starlink customers will experience harmful interference more than 77% of the time and total outage of service 74% of the time, rendering Starlink unusable for most Americans."

That is a big if of course, but DISH's 5G network currently serves roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population, and much like SpaceX, the company is making efforts to expand its coverage. Dish Network has also filed its own FCC complaints against SpaceX in the past, and it recently demanded the company deactivate customers using Starlink on the move.

SpaceX claims the FCC has received misleading analyses

SpaceX claims its recent Vegas study only serves to highlight an issue that should be obvious to the FCC and Dish Network. David Goldman, SpaceX senior director of satellite policy, wrote in the FCC complaint, "this analysis verifies what should be intuitive — that a high-power terrestrial network would blow out anyone using the high-sensitivity equipment satellite consumers must use to receive signals that comply with Commission and international power restrictions on satellite downlink transmissions."

"As a result, vastly fewer Americans could be connected using next-generation satellite services, and those that remain would experience degraded service and regular network outages."

Goldman also criticized a number of interference analyses conducted by companies looking to build 5G networks. One study, Goldman explained, was completely "untethered from reality", as it failed to address important factors such as the way satellite operators share their spectrum via coordination arrangements — one was recently agreed by SpaceX and OneWeb, for example.

Ultimately, SpaceX is calling on the FCC to reject Dish Network's 12 GHz 5G network proposal. The companys said it would impede its work to provide high-speed internet to the most underserved Americans. Others might argue that all that astronomical obstruction can't be for nothing. 

SpaceX also urged the government agency to investigate whether technical studies submitted to the regulator by DISH and other organizations were intentionally misleading."

Much more in the full article here:

https://interestingengineering.com/starlink-internet-could-become-unusable-for-many-americans-heres-why?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=organic&utm_content=Jun22

[pjstough]

Why didnt Musk solve this issue BEFORE he started launching satellites?

[RV_]

55 minutes ago, pjstough said:

Why didnt Musk solve this issue BEFORE he started launching satellites?

I believe he did - From the article you are asking about and my excerpt above:

"In a separate press statement, SpaceX explained that, "despite technical studies dating back as far as 2016 that refute the basis of their claims, DISH has attempted to mislead the FCC with faulty analysis in hopes of obscuring the truth."

 

Published: 09:04 EDT, 22 February 2018:

"Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched the first of nearly 12,000 'Starlink' satellites that could bring super-fast internet to billions of people."

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5422113/Elon-Musk-launch-internet-satellites.html

The FCC is who you should be asking, and looking at the Dish claims if you are interested, then post here. 👍

 

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by RV_

[Will B.]

Wish I knew where the FCC stands on this before investing hundreds in a Starlink for RVs setup.

[RV_]

Will I hear you. We will have to wait and see or take the risk and get one now

[TXiceman]

As an individual using Star Link, you can write the FCC and complain.  Amateur radio operators and the ARRL are constantly monitoring the cell carriers and their power grab for frequencies previously designated for amateur use.

Starlink needs to help put together a basic letter which outlines the issues and refutes the claims by Dish for the use of these frequencies.  If the FCC starts getting thousands of letters from citizens, they will launch a deeper inquiry into the issue.  You will have to fight to win.

Ken

[RV_]

Thanks Ken, good suggestion I will write them.

[palmeris]

On 6/23/2022 at 7:51 PM, TXiceman said:

As an individual using Star Link, you can write the FCC and complain.  Amateur radio operators and the ARRL are constantly monitoring the cell carriers and their power grab for frequencies previously designated for amateur use.

Starlink needs to help put together a basic letter which outlines the issues and refutes the claims by Dish for the use of these frequencies.  If the FCC starts getting thousands of letters from citizens, they will launch a deeper inquiry into the issue.  You will have to fight to win.

Ken

They have a link where they have put together a letter that will be sent to your elected officials. They are sending it to their customers.

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by palmeris

[palmeris]

here is the response received from one of my elected officials....

Thank you for contacting me in opposition to the proposed changes to the rules for the 12 GHz spectrum band. Your thoughts are important to me as I work to effectively represent you in Congress.

As you may know, the 12 GHz band includes 500 MHz of what is considered mid-band spectrum. The 12 GHz spectrum is currently restricted to downstream use. The requested rule change would allow it to be used bi-directionally. Any Congressional hearings or legislation on this topic would be referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Although I do not serve on this committee, I will definitely remember your opposition to expanding the 12 GHz Spectrum should a bill on this issue receive a vote in the House of Representatives.  In the meantime, I will continue working to support improvements to broadband internet access.