if satellite TV has been a thing for years why is satellite internet just becoming a thing?

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Seems to me like Dish tv has been around forever while spaceX is just now providing internet via satellite, what took so long?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Satellite internet has been available for decades, it just wasn’t desirable.

Bandwidth from satellites is small and the latency is astronomical. 650ms is about the best you can expect from a satellite internet connection which translates to a half second delay in real-time voice, video, or a click in a video game.

So it was only ever practical for extremely remote locations that couldn’t get a physical wire.

Satellite TV has the advantage that’s it’s only 1 way communication and latency on a TV signal isn’t relevant because it isn’t interactive.

Starlink has the advantage that the satellites are much closer to the Earth so the latency is far more tolerable.

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