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This May, sleuths at IEEE Spectrum revealed something exciting -- Facebook appeared to be secrely working on an experimental satellite that could beam internet down to Earth using millimeter wave radio signals.
Now, Facebook has confirmed to Wired and CNET that the satellite, dubbed Athena, is indeed a Facebook project -- and that Facebook is a believer in satellite internet technology.
"While we have nothing to share about specific projects at this time, we believe satellite technology will be an important enabler of the next generation of broadband infrastructure, making it possible to bring broadband connectivity to rural regions where internet connectivity is lacking or non-existent," a Facebook spokesperson told CNET and Wired.
But Wired does have more to share about this specific project. Using a Freedom of Information Act request, Wired says it obtained emails from the FCC that reportedly show Facebook plans to launch the Athena satellite in early 2019. In space launch terms, that's coming up pretty dang fast.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @11:29AM (11 children)
Bit paranoid are we? I'm not saying Facebook isn't trying to collect as much information about everyone on the planet as possible, but why would they want to be able to look at your back yard? Watching your rusty grill slowly succumb to the elements doesn't seem like information worth selling.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Monday July 23 2018, @11:38AM (1 child)
But they intend to use this to provide internet, as well, so become a full MITM packet inspection service, as well as nice pictures of your neighbourhood
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @12:48PM
Given that providing continuous coverage while keeping radio round trip latency at reasonable levels requires a ring of - likely small - sats in a low orbit, it seems unlikely they'd be able to also stuff bulky and heavy high-res, high magnification imaging equipment into one...
I'm too lazy to look up specs now, but conventional spy sats a la Keyhole are pretty bulky and heavy - and these don't also house high bandwidth, high gain radio/telco equipment.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday July 23 2018, @02:06PM (4 children)
> Bit paranoid are we?
After Facebook, and after Snowden, that card no longer works. In fact, it should disqualify you from playing.
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug into other computer. Right-click paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @02:22PM (3 children)
Yeah tell me about it posting AC :) I'm not saying they're not out to get you, but you need to stay realistic and be paranoid where it counts. If Facebook wants to put optical sensors on these sats and use some fancy image stacking to obtain a resolution matching already available aerial/satellite imagery, good for them. They won't be able to offer anything the market doesn't already have though.
There are images of your back yard being sold (as well as available freely on Google Maps and the like), so what's the scare again?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @02:42PM
Of course, you are right, Troubles is, in the today's world, it counts everywhere/everytime.
No scare. But it's my property and my backyard is not public - i they sell images of it, I want my share.
(Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday July 23 2018, @02:50PM (1 child)
A real-time map of where their users are calling from, perhaps, and/or other correlation data. Doesn't have to be video.
But let's keep drinking the monopoly Kool-Aid instead, in letting organizations become exa-corps. (If not in the literal sense of the word though I have my questions, definitely the Parker Brothers sense of the word. Now that I think about it, maybe I'd like some literal Kool-Aid too....)
This sig for rent.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 23 2018, @04:57PM
You're not getting real-time (or even video) feed from stacking some low-res images cropped out of panorama stills taken during consecutive passes by different sats. What you'll get is an image of the static landscape, minus moving objects because they will be disregarded as noise by the stacking algorithm.
People using the Farcebook app probably already volunteer their precise GPS location (I have no idea since I'm not installing that on my phone), might as well just overlay that on a map based on existing carthographic material.
Signal triangulation from a ring of low-orbiting (i.e. very fast) satellites might be something the NSA or CIA would be interested in, but they seem to be confident enough targeting their missiles based on the data regular cell towers combined with IMSI catcher-wielding drones give them.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday July 23 2018, @02:36PM (2 children)
To make sure it is you that sends those packets?
On the contrary. Expect more barbeque ads with you FB experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday July 23 2018, @07:18PM
I was gonna say that, but they don't need a sat pic of your backyard for that, since your friend, your SO, your neighbors, and occasionally you ... will post FB/instagram pics of said backyard, optionally with a comment about the crumbling grill.
FB just needs to work on reaching more people who have little internet. The ones who already do have the app are self-sustaining and don't need much investment.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 24 2018, @10:35AM
How dare you presume I have a FB experience.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 24 2018, @05:38AM
No, but your local city may be very interested if you put up a shed in your back yard, or re-did your patio, without pulling the proper permits and permission fees to do so.