Iran shuts down Starlink internet for first time (191 points, 2 days ago) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46575224
Iran is likely jamming Starlink (135 points, yesterday, 273 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46573384
The perpetual struggles everywhere: rich vs. poor, and open vs. traditional.
Does Starlink has a licence to operate in Iran ? (Is the Starlink transmitter homologated in Iran).
Sending RF signals without authorization will put you in trouble with law enforcement in most of the world, US included.
1. make a starlink+wireless mesh-network (eg. using BLE) that can handle multiple connects/disconnects seamlessly
2. mount those starlinks on cars/trucks/motorcycles/etc. hide those on ditches, buildings, etc.
Elon should work on that "starlink <-> wireless mesh-network" part (eg. app or device)
Every single commercial mobile satellite system, other than VSAT needs to tell the network where it is in order to function. None of them are designed for low probability of interception/detection.
Asynchronous (you don't know when and where you will get Internet/local network connectivity) mesh (there is no gov infrastructure to be trusted) networking in presence of malicious (gov operated) and unreliable (destroyed by gov) nodes is probably among hardest problems known to computer science.
Elon? You mean the team behind starlink? The cult of personality around this nerd is amazing
That said, the technical problem is hard regardless. Direction-finding equipment can locate them. Moving helps but you are broadcasting position whenever active. Military SATCOM (MUOS, AEHF) uses frequency hopping, directional antennas, burst transmissions, techniques Starlink was not architected for.
The mesh idea has a bandwidth mismatch problem too. BLE tops out around 1 Mbps; Starlink pushes 100+. You would want 802.11s or a MANET protocol, but then you just have a cluster of RF emitters pointing back at the terminal anyway.
