Development
Elon Musk’s new Satellites Could Sneak Internet Past the Taliban Edited by Ana Campoy NOTE: Your DAWN Team is presenting this article as written by Quartz via Techio. However, we ask that you turn your attention to the broader benefits of the technology advancement discussed. Connecting B2B, B2C and C2C across the African continent with less interference can contribute to great economic advancement for Africa's businesses (economy) and for consumer access to education, information and financial services. General use of the updated satellite internet service pose challenges to be sure, but the Africa-based tech and financial communities are up to the task.
TODAY, SPACEX AND OTHER SATELLITE internet providers can’t easily sneak internet access into repressive countries with their permission—the technical and legal challenges are too difficult. But a new generation of laser-equipped spacecraft being developed by Elon Musk’s space company may solve some of those problems, allowing the internet to slip past iron curtains. SpaceX’s Starlink network is an unprecedented approach to delivering internet from space—with 1,740 satellites launched about 500 miles above the planet, it is the biggest constellation out there. Currently in beta testing, it provides broadband connectivity to users below (when trees aren’t in the way.) Starlink is now available in fourteen countries. But what if someone wanted to use Starlink in a country without permission from that government? One key challenge to eluding censorship is technical: Starlink users need to be within several hundred miles of a ground station that is plugged into the internet, so the satellites can relay data back and forth between them. SpaceX is not going to be able to set up these stations in authoritarian countries, or likely many of their neighbors. Enter the Lasers SpaceX is rolling out new satellites that may alleviate this technical challenge. The company
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halted Starlink launches in May to wait for new spacecraft that are equipped with optical laser communications, which have higher throughput than radio transmissions. If it works, the satellites will be able to link directly to each other more efficiently. That, in turn, means that instead of needing a ground station a few hundred miles away, a user could have their data sent back and forth through the Starlink network to a ground station anywhere. “Lasers [sic] links alleviate ground station constraints, so data can go from say Sydney to London through space, which is ~40% faster speed of light than fiber & shorter path,” Musk tweeted. If the system is up in 4 to 6 months, as Musk promises (and you should probably add some significant margin to that), dissidents could potentially be able to log into the global communications network to share their stories, report human rights violations, organize resistance, and undermine official narratives. There are still some very practical obstacles. DAWN
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