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

There are two main differences between Starlink and dish TV. First is that Internet requires a two way communication for every individual connecting to it. A TV signal is one-way and everyone gets the same signal so they only have to send it once. That is much easier than sending different things to 1 million people separately. The second difference is latency, or how long it takes the signal to go the distance between you and the satellite. Starlink is far far closer than TV satellites. At these distances even the speed of light becomes relevant. Additionally, being closer means lower power antenna but also that they need more satellites to be able to see every place at once and more satellites are more expensive than fewer satellites but SpaceX is making spaceflight quite cheap now.

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