
Latency of Starlink v2 could be as low as 8ms - tosh
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1272363466288820224
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LargoLasskhyfv
Ahem! _...could be_ as low as 8ms latency.

~~~
KuiN
Yeah I'm struggling to get too excited here. Theoretically latency with
current geostationary satellites "could be as low as" 477ms, but they're
usually 600ms+.

Plus this is for v2, which Elon has said will be launching on Starship ... so
some years away.

~~~
toufka
These are _not_ geostationary orbits. Starlink's network is of a
fast/low/hand-off variety rather than a high/stationary/single-
satellite->communications variety.

Their satellites are MUCH closer and are constantly whizzing across the
horizon (and so require a motorized antenna) than the transitional
geostationary communications satellites. This would require a huge number of
satellites to get full-sky-coverage, but that's exactly what Starlink is
doing.

1) Speed of light in space is faster than speed of light in a fiber optic
cable...

2) And the number of hops in the void of space could be MANY fewer than from
city to city to ocean to city.

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RealityVoid
I'm pretty sure the antenna is not motorized but is a phased array instead.

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toufka
Looks like both? (I'm not qualified to really assess...)

[https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/gr284b/satellite_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Starlink/comments/gr284b/satellite_tracking/)

[https://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedias/phased-array-
ant...](https://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedias/phased-array-antennas)

~~~
RealityVoid
Neither am I, honestly, maybe I phrased it too strongly. Pretty sure = I think
I read it somewhere and it makes sense.

Regardless, hybrid makes a lot of sense! TIL!

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joezydeco
Musk needs that latency below 100ms for phase 1 or he could get shut out of
the rural auction. The auction is next month so the PR blitz is on. He's also
running early trials so there's hard data to give to the skeptics at the FCC.

[https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starlink-user-terminal-
beta...](https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starlink-user-terminal-beta-test/)

~~~
wmf
This is a very roundabout PR blitz. Just show a speedtest!

~~~
joezydeco
My hunch is that version 1 isn’t quite at the 100msec mark or he _would_ be
showing ping tests.

Version 2 is the real starlink but it’s not going to be ready for this crucial
window. So it’s going to take some FCC finesse to move ahead.

~~~
wmf
That's the obvious inference, but how is Starlink 1 over 100 ms when their
goal is 20 ms?

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joezydeco
The second version will use laser links between satellites.

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wmf
That should make latency worse, not better. Right now all traffic goes through
just one satellite so it doesn't make sense that latency is so much worse than
projected.

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supernova87a
FCC review of their preliminary application (I believe for access to the
subsidized US rural market) said that they had a hard time believing the total
network roundtrip would have better than 100ms latency, and now it's 8ms?

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aaron695
Why would you believe the FCC over Elon Musk?

Then.... they have not even commented specifically on Starlink.

Then.... it was just one page in 141, hardly a report or anything of note.

[https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-77A1.pdf](https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-77A1.pdf)
(Page 42)

Elon Musk has put billions into this, and it's not going to really work if
it's above 100.

Clearly the 8ms is a optimistic hope, no one expects it to be that for all
people all the time. But it'll be below 100ms.

~~~
gamblor956
Because the FCC doesn't care, but Elon Musk has billions on the line dependent
on getting below 100 latency.

Musk has a reason to misrepresent the facts... And a history of doing so.

~~~
woodandsteel
"Because the FCC doesn't care"

Not at all true. The head of the FCC, Ajit Pai, is very much in the pocket of
the telecom industry.

