Starlink : Markets and Marketing

[matthewkantar]

I am not sure its first in and first out. I ordered the moment i was able to (in February) , my brother 70 miles away at the same latitude ordered in July and got it a week later.

[su27k]

Elon Musk’s Starlink in talks with Vodafone for UK expansion

Elon Musk’s Starlink is eyeing a tie-up with Vodafone to expand its satellite broadband service in the UK.

The US satellite company, which uses low orbit small sats to provide internet connectivity in rural locations, is understood to be hunting for spectrum deals in an effort to expand the capacity of its service.

<snip>

Industry insiders said Starlink has been hunting for ground station infrastructure, which provides a link to the backbone of the UK’s fibre network, and high frequency spectrum, which is held in the UK by four providers including Vodafone.

[plank]

Is regulatory approval the reason why its so quiet regarding Star Link launches?  Buy this time last year it seem like there was one every week.

[Jarnis]

Unknown, but the latest launch was the first with "final" laser interlinks. Perhaps some issue with the satellites that they elect to fix before launching more? Granted, they got pretty close to launch at Vandenberg before calling it off and we don't know exactly why, so... can only make wild guesses. I'm sure they'll launch more as soon as everything is ready.

[Mandella]

Some folks are reporting that new signups in some areas are being told by Starlink that they won't be serviced until late 2022. Existing signups haven't changed however, so I'm going to assume they've reached their limit for now, either in cell population or in estimated dish production.

Checking mine, I'm still holding steady at "mid to late 2021."

[vsatman]

Some folks are reporting that new signups in some areas are being told by Starlink that they won't be serviced until late 2022. Existing signups haven't changed however, so I'm going to assume they've reached their limit for now, either in cell population or in estimated dish production.

they've reached their limit for now   - Yes! and only in USA.
In Australia and Europe you can order and  have own terminal in 2-3 week...

[ninjaneer]

I refunded my deposit last night since I was sick of the lack of communication regarding the wait and I'm not even going to excuse SpaceX/Starlink on that lapse.  It's completely unprofessional.

[RedLineTrain]

I refunded my deposit last night since I was sick of the lack of communication regarding the wait and I'm not even going to excuse SpaceX/Starlink on that lapse.  It's completely unprofessional.

I thought they communicated to you every time you logged in.  Is that incorrect?

[Lar]

I'm still showing "mid to late 2021" so ... am hopeful.

I choose not to refund my deposit as I really want to be shut of Comcast

[ulm_atms]

I'm still showing "mid to late 2021" so ... am hopeful.

I choose not to refund my deposit as I really want to be shut of Comcast

At least you have Comcast.  I have supper crappy ADSL.  Their is ZERO hope for me except for Starlink for anything better.  I have no choice but to wait really.....so I wait...  At least I signed up within the 1st 30 minutes so I have some hope...

Come on Dishy!!!!

[ninjaneer]

At least you have Comcast.  I have supper crappy ADSL.  Their is ZERO hope for me except for Starlink for anything better.  I have no choice but to wait really.....so I wait...  At least I signed up within the 1st 30 minutes so I have some hope...

Come on Dishy!!!!

Nope, Hughesnet here.  They have become noticeably worse over the past year, possibly to play the "satellite spectrum interference" card.  It doesn't end during off-peak hours.

[Tomness]

At least you have Comcast.  I have supper crappy ADSL.  Their is ZERO hope for me except for Starlink for anything better.  I have no choice but to wait really.....so I wait...  At least I signed up within the 1st 30 minutes so I have some hope...

Come on Dishy!!!!

Nope, Hughesnet here.  They have become noticeably worse over the past year, possibly to play the "satellite spectrum interference" card.  It doesn't end during off-peak hours.

When I called HughesNet to cancel when I got my kit, the CSR was in Brownsville and we was curious about Starlink with SpaceX being down the road. Stay the course buddy your kit will be better then original kits. I used my HughesNet mount and pipe adapter but im limited by obstructions of couple trees in my yard.

[DigitalMan]

I'm still showing "mid to late 2021" so ... am hopeful.

I choose not to refund my deposit as I really want to be shut of Comcast

We're still on the list too, but I suspect we will have a while to wait since we around 28 degrees latitude. Funny, I wasn't thinking of signing up at the time but I mentioned signups had opened and she immediately went and signed up on the spot.

We've had a lot of issues with our cable internet.

[Mandella]

I'm still showing "mid to late 2021" so ... am hopeful.

I choose not to refund my deposit as I really want to be shut of Comcast

At least you have Comcast.  I have supper crappy ADSL.  Their is ZERO hope for me except for Starlink for anything better.  I have no choice but to wait really.....so I wait...  At least I signed up within the 1st 30 minutes so I have some hope...

Come on Dishy!!!!

We're in the same boat (and about the same latitude) although I do have Geo-sat. They can hold my deposit until there is some real competition out here, with the caveat that I'd probably hold out longer if said competition is from Verizon or Viasat.

But as stated, my estimate is mid to late 2021, so not actually late yet...

[wannamoonbase]

I refunded my deposit last night since I was sick of the lack of communication regarding the wait and I'm not even going to excuse SpaceX/Starlink on that lapse.  It's completely unprofessional.

This is a common complaint with Tesla customers too.  Not much communication and unclear delivery dates.

[gongora]

Nope, Hughesnet here.  They have become noticeably worse over the past year, possibly to play the "satellite spectrum interference" card.  It doesn't end during off-peak hours.

Viasat and Hughes are both launching more capacity next year, should help a bit for those using their networks.

[ninjaneer]

I refunded my deposit last night since I was sick of the lack of communication regarding the wait and I'm not even going to excuse SpaceX/Starlink on that lapse.  It's completely unprofessional.

I thought they communicated to you every time you logged in.  Is that incorrect?

There's a boilerplate "late 2021" near-static availability listing but a nice unrequested "hey we have your money in out bank account so we'd thought we'd say hi" message is not a big cost sink for what amounts to crowdsource investors.

[Mandella]

I refunded my deposit last night since I was sick of the lack of communication regarding the wait and I'm not even going to excuse SpaceX/Starlink on that lapse.  It's completely unprofessional.

I thought they communicated to you every time you logged in.  Is that incorrect?

There's a boilerplate "late 2021" near-static availability listing but a nice unrequested "hey we have your money in out bank account so we'd thought we'd say hi" message is not a big cost sink for what amounts to crowdsource investors.

Obviously you've got to make the financial decisions that work best for your comfort zone, but I'm okay with them not wasting time telling me things I already know from their website.

But I do agree that many people feel differently, but one thing that is true for both Tesla and Starlink -- they have more demand than they have product. Their stuff sells itself, and one person cancelling an order just opens up a slot for the next, so they have little inducement for hand-holding.

Viasat, Direct TV, Dish and AT&T, on the other hand, I notice have just cranked up an advertising assault (including telemarketing) in my area, oddly enough right before Starlink is scheduled to roll out...

And I should make the note again that, as per my reckoning, Starlink is not late in delivering to me. If they delay past the end of the year I will feel differently, but once again unless a competitor pops up pretty fast out here they are still going to get my business, just in default.

[RedLineTrain]

I refunded my deposit last night since I was sick of the lack of communication regarding the wait and I'm not even going to excuse SpaceX/Starlink on that lapse.  It's completely unprofessional.

I thought they communicated to you every time you logged in.  Is that incorrect?

There's a boilerplate "late 2021" near-static availability listing but a nice unrequested "hey we have your money in out bank account so we'd thought we'd say hi" message is not a big cost sink for what amounts to crowdsource investors.

I agree with everything that Mandella said.  Obviously, you've got to make the choice that's best for you and your household.

There are a few ways to manage a line.  The typical way would be to increase prices until demand matches supply.  I'm sure Starlink could get a lot more than $100/month for its service right now.  Another would be to demand a higher deposit to thin the line a bit.  So far, SpaceX has taken neither approach.

Saying "hi" is sometimes good, and it sounds like it could have helped you.  But for others, it may have raised hopes that their dish shipment was imminent, leading to support being bombarded with requests for updates.  Sometimes, there's no perfect way to manage expectations or hopes.

So far as I have seen over the last 20 years, Musk's companies have not been very communicative with customers when a new product is being introduced.  They just keep their heads down and work on the product.  You think you have it bad.  Those poor people who have paid full price in advance for a Tesla Roadster 2.0 have it much, much worse.  But the final product always seems to compensate, and then some.

[vsatman]

But I do agree that many people feel differently, but one thing that is true for both Tesla and Starlink -- they have more demand than they have product. Their stuff sells itself, and one person cancelling an order just opens up a slot for the next, so they have little inducement for hand-holding.

in my opinion, the situation for Starlick is much more alarming. They launched 1,500+ satellites and were able to serve  only 100,000 users in the United States and Canada. And it is obvious that there is no bandwidth for the USA, since there are no problems in Europe and Australia, that is, there are enough  terminals in the warehouse.