Elon Musk’s Starlink provides free internet in West German areas ravaged by floods:
A week after Germany was hit by devastating floods that released two months’ worth of rainfall in just two days, several areas of the country remain severely hobbled by the effects of the natural disaster. Rescue operations are still underway, but in locations such as Rhineland-Palatinate, communication remains difficult due to limited cellular reception and internet service.
This is where Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system is making a difference. Rhineland-Palatinate has set up Starlink kits to provide free web access to citizens to help them communicate with family and authorities. Twelve Starlink systems were initially deployed to the Ahrweiler district, in Liers, Ahrbrück, Brück, Pützfeld, Kreuzberg, Rech Nord, Rech Süd, Dernau, Marienthal, Heimersheim and Heppingen. Plans are also underway to expand the system to 35 Starlink dishes, though the locations for these systems are yet to be released.
[...] Granted, Starlink’s deployment in Rhineland-Palatinate is but a short-term solution to the area’s current internet connectivity issues, but even such small efforts are valuable. Starlink could help improve communication in the area, for example, especially as efforts to rebuild cell coverage in Rhineland-Palatinate continue.
The state government has stated that cellphone coverage in the Rhineland-Palatinate area is still not fully available, thanks in part to numerous cellular facilities being destroyed during the floods. Alexander Schweitzer, digitization minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, however, noted that the rebuilding process is well underway. “More than 70% of the well over 500 failed mobile radio stations have already been put back into operation,” he said, adding that work is now underway to fix more “difficult” facilities.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @03:46PM (4 children)
All you need is a credit card and if you don't cancel in 30 days, we'll conveniently auto-charge your card. (To cancel, you simply need to notify us 90 days in advance of canceling by sending us a notiarized notification via registered mail to our PO box in Borneo).
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday July 24 2021, @08:53PM (3 children)
Also remember that the biggest Chicago mob bosses ran the best soup kitchens, to help polish their reputation/image.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Monday July 26 2021, @08:24AM (2 children)
Were they really worse than modern leaches that run the world?
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 26 2021, @09:40AM
Same leeches, different pond(s).
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Monday July 26 2021, @11:49AM
Depends on whether or not you're one of the people who are getting their kneecaps broken, or disappeared in the river with concrete shoes. By reputation, the mob did that more often than our modern leeches. In practice? Hard to know.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday July 24 2021, @03:50PM (17 children)
The period of most critical threat to lives has probably passed already. But, if the system somehow prevents the loss of another life or six, then it's well worth it.
Those silly fools flying their rockets up the Karman line can't begin to touch what Musk is accomplishing here. Bezos or that British fool could rush in and donate a billion dollars after the fact, I suppose, but Musk's internet is there NOW, when it counts.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @05:39PM
Emergency porn access, what a hero.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Tork on Saturday July 24 2021, @06:43PM (2 children)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @09:39PM
Same here, but if and when he goes he won't be coming back. He's intent on Mars to Stay whether or not anyone else is along for the ride.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @10:21PM
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/2/18053824/elon-musk-death-mars-spacex-kara-swisher-interview [vox.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @07:01PM (1 child)
Pedophile divers got nothing on Elon. Where's the underwater spaceship now, Elon? Germany needs rescuing - bring your civilization-saving ubermenches.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @08:51PM
Only genetically engineered catgirls can save Germany now.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @09:54PM (2 children)
Probably has nothing to do with his gigafactory that he's building in Germany, and the red tape and local governmental issues he's been having.
I'll agree with you that it is there NOW, when it counts, but perhaps we might disagree on the reasons for that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @08:29AM (1 child)
Calm down, he's providing internet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @02:18PM
Sure. And they should be grateful he needs all the goodwill he can get from the German government. Imagine where'd they be if his factory was completed!
(Score: 3, Flamebait) by Tork on Sunday July 25 2021, @12:04AM (5 children)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Sunday July 25 2021, @12:17AM
It's the Runaway fan club.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @12:39AM (1 child)
As Takyon almost points out, that is the work of one or more sock puppets that log in just to downmod Runaway and select other non-liberal members.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @01:01AM
And I guess millions of illegal Mexicans voted in the election and Trump STILL won (if Judas Pence hadn't sold him out for 50 pieces of silver).
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Tork on Sunday July 25 2021, @01:20AM (1 child)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @08:32AM
Doh! When will they ever learn if you mention a mod, the fairies will collude to mod you that. (+5 Insighful *COUGH*)
(Score: 2) by quietus on Sunday July 25 2021, @10:30AM (1 child)
It (StarLink) was irrelevant. True, ordinary mobile phone and internet connections failed during the flooding but the emergency network never did.
Meaning that you could still call the local version of 911 and report your situation. Separate from that, the emergency services have their own network (in Belgium: ASTRID [astrid.be]) which is designed to be always up, no matter the circumstances. (Yes, that probably includes a nuclear attack too).
It was not the first ever flooding in history that cut conventional communications.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 25 2021, @03:21PM
Ahhhh, the details that were left out!! Thank you!
(Score: 1) by crm114 on Saturday July 24 2021, @07:45PM (5 children)
When the beta was made available in our area, it was an insta-buy.
Where I live, its not going to be shipped until "2nd Quarter 2021" - which means December or early 2022.
I'm a renter, so don't have solar (although negotiating that.) When (not if) the grid goes down, how do you get connectivity? I'm 2 miles from a cell tower that is down more than its up.
Power goes out, if we have to rely on a gas generator, at least everyone in the neighborhood 2Mb/1Mb (yes, I understand traffic shaping.)
2Mb is two orders of magnitude lower than what people here are used to. But its enough to make a voice call to a loved one.
Its not if its "good" or not ... The question is: "Is it in my 'emergency kit'".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday July 24 2021, @08:13PM (4 children)
a gpon client device doesn't need much power.
in my area the regional head office of my ISP doesn't get as much brown-outs as i do and they have backup power.
so to keep yar intarwebs via gpon, you need a 12v battery and a 40W solar panel.
if your lucky, your gpon-modem adaptor will output DC @12V and you just connect the AC-in of the gpon modem straight to the battery. to charge, disconnect battery and connect to solarpanel (beware overcharge, volt across battery terminals not over 13v)
if you wanna go fancy, add a battery charge control (10 bucks?).
if your gpon modem AC adaptor outputs something else then either 5v (weeeh usb) or 12v (weee car battery) write email and make youtube video to shame them by making their shit non-apocalypse proof. in this case get a cheap DC-2-AC inverter that can also plug into the cigarette lightet socket of your car (or straight up any 12v battery) and then plug the gpon modem adapter into it.
-or-
-duh-
get a UPS (which mostly has a 12v battery inside and can be charged via solar panel when ups is disconnected from the mains/grid).
(Score: 1) by crm114 on Saturday July 24 2021, @08:24PM (3 children)
Absolutely.
Except what comes to our residence is good old coax copper. With Lightning Strikes and everything. Only way we get GPON is if there is what the insurance companies call "an act of God" that nukes everything. One can hope. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @08:38AM
I pray for nukes so I can have Elon's phone service and can hear my loved ones scream their last breath as their scorched lungs dissolve into pus.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @06:33PM
ewww ... cable-tv internet.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 26 2021, @02:10AM
If that happened they'd just replace it with more coax so they don't have to replace equipment, and of course they would also replace the fried equipment with the same so they don't have to replace existing lines. And then they'd refuse to install fibre for the next twenty years because they just upgraded the area.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by corey on Sunday July 25 2021, @01:04AM (5 children)
I don’t get why the media always attribute great stuff to the billionaire at the top. Thousands of great engineers, scientists, project managers, support staff got Starlink up. They’re collectively known as SpaceX.
But, I’m an engineer, I know we never get the recognition for the stuff we design. It’s always the program lead or project manager or whoever.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @04:41AM
Jobs like that are handled such that in as many cases as possible a role in a company is re-fillable in case someone gets hit by a bus. There are, indeed, famous engineers ... they aren't the interchangeable ones.
This is not at all a dig at engineers. What CxO would want to pay more than a flat salary for work on billions in revenue?
(Score: 2) by Opportunist on Sunday July 25 2021, @10:23AM (2 children)
For the same reason Caesar crossed the Rubicon, not his armies.
(Score: 2) by tizan on Monday July 26 2021, @05:38PM (1 child)
that is why Apollo 11 flight was known as Paine's NASA flight to the moon or was it Nixon's NASA flight to the moon ?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 26 2021, @05:55PM
Apollo 11 was Armstrong's but the entire Apollo program was JFK's. George Washington lead the Revolution. Kaiser Bill went up the hill to take a look at France. Magellan sailed around the world. WWII was mostly a fight between Hitler and Stalin. Hannibal laid siege to Rome. Starlink is Musk's. The list is endless.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 25 2021, @05:57PM
There's 1000s of engineers... 10's of 1000s... generations of engineers... who didn't do it.