Ask HN: Is Satellite Internet Viable for Remote Dev Work?

[madmonk]

My wife and I both work from home and are looking to move so to a bigger house so we can both have an office. We would also like to move to a more rural area so that we can have more acreage. The problem is that many of the more rural areas that have the homes we're looking for are not services by high speed internet providers.

Does anyone currently use satellite internet? If so, would it be a viable alternative for us? Regarding our specific use case: I work as a front end developer and my wife has an administrative job. We also get all of our "TV" via internet using roku sticks and do not rely on cable.

Thanks!

[db48x]

Starlink will do everything you want. Older satellite services relying on geosynchronous satellites will not; they have very limited bandwidth and very high latencies.

[madmonk]

Checked their map and it's pretty spotty in the areas we're looking: Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia. I'll keep an eye on the map going forward to see if they expand.

[db48x]

Yea, they’re at capacity in a lot of places in the Eastern US. The coverage is great, but they’ve also got a lot of people using it.

[reaperman]

Will it drop out on zoom calls?

[sarcasmatwork]

Rural satellite internet is slow and they will throttle your bandwidth when you go over. It would not be enjoyable or reliable imho. However, your results with an ISP may be better.

You may want to look into doing a cellular hotspot, or starlink if available.

[surprisetalk]

FYI carriers like Verizon have also recently launched "home internet" products, which essentially are WiFi routers that connect to 5G.

[1] https://www.cnet.com/home/internet/verizon-5g-home-internet-...

[mardiyah]

Imho simply depends on aerospace condition ie. zonal climate and weather

EM waves can be affected by atmospheric conditions, such as rain, fog, and snow. These conditions can cause radio waves to scatter or absorb, which can lead to communication disruption

cheated chatgpt:

Satellites use various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation to perform their jobs, depending on the specific purpose of the satellite. Here are some examples of satellite applications and the corresponding wavelength ranges they typically operate in:

Communications satellites: These satellites use microwave frequencies, typically in the range of 1 to 50 GHz. This allows them to transmit and receive signals over long distances and through the Earth's atmosphere.

Earth observation satellites: These satellites use a range of wavelengths, from visible light to microwave and radio frequencies. Visible and near-infrared wavelengths are used for imaging the Earth's surface, while microwave and radio frequencies can penetrate clouds and vegetation to provide information on things like soil moisture and ocean surface temperature.

Weather satellites: These satellites use a range of wavelengths to observe different features of the atmosphere, including visible and infrared for cloud imaging, microwave for temperature and moisture profiling, and radio frequencies for communication with ground stations and other satellites.

Navigation satellites: These satellites use radio waves in the microwave frequency range, typically around 1.2 to 1.6 GHz, to provide precise location information to users on the ground.

Proportion of wavelengths used by satellites depends on the specific mission and application of the satellite

[karthie]

in the same mode as your self , recently discovered starlink covers the whole of country, one of my colleagues from previous work place been a starlink user for past few years he is in semi urban area in remote part of the country. Never heard complaints from him till date.

[madmonk]

It looks like a lot of the areas we're searching are currently on the waitlist for starlink, but I'll keep watching their map.