The End of DIRECTV?

[PMKS]

DirecTV subscriber since 1995
I live in rural South Texas

Only internet options are two WISPs and Satellite

The WISPs are expensive and “slow”

Nearby small town of 1700, Time Warner was the cable provider, now Spectrum
They only provide SD channels, no internet, no HD, no DVR
Their website says they provide internet here, until you call them to order it
The Mayor can’t do anything to force them to provide internet service or change providers thanks to our state laws

Verizon was the landline provider, now Frontier, phone service only, no internet, unsure why Frontier bought this county from Verizon, they can’t be making money on it
After Hurricane Harvey the landline phone system stayed working one day, then was dead for weeks

Cell Phone;
I have a T-Mobile cell tower 1.5 miles from me, Microwave backhaul, speeds are slow and easily congested
AT&T cell tower is 8 miles away, spotty coverage
Verizon and Sprint have no cell service here, nearest cell Towers for them are over 12 miles away, Verizon had a cell tower built here almost 10 years ago now, still empty

So if I lose Directv because they shut it down, I’d have to swap to Dish, or?

I am sure there are many out there in the same predicament I am...

Between the town and immediate surrounding rural area is 2500 ppl with no landline internet whatsoever, almost every house has a Satellite Dish for Dishnet or Directv

 

[comp9]

DirecTV subscriber since 1995
I live in rural South Texas

Only internet options are two WISPs and Satellite

The WISPs are expensive and “slow”

Nearby small town of 1700, Time Warner was the cable provider, now Spectrum
They only provide SD channels, no internet, no HD, no DVR
Their website says they provide internet here, until you call them to order it
The Mayor can’t do anything to force them to provide internet service or change providers thanks to our state laws

Verizon was the landline provider, now Frontier, phone service only, no internet, unsure why Frontier bought this county from Verizon, they can’t be making money on it
After Hurricane Harvey the landline phone system stayed working one day, then was dead for weeks

Cell Phone;
I have a T-Mobile cell tower 1.5 miles from me, Microwave backhaul, speeds are slow and easily congested
AT&T cell tower is 8 miles away, spotty coverage
Verizon and Sprint have no cell service here, nearest cell Towers for them are over 12 miles away, Verizon had a cell tower built here almost 10 years ago now, still empty

So if I lose Directv because they shut it down, I’d have to swap to Dish, or?

I am sure there are many out there in the same predicament I am...

Between the town and immediate surrounding rural area is 2500 ppl with no landline internet whatsoever, almost every house has a Satellite Dish for Dishnet or Directv

This is at least a decade away. Relax

 

[navychop]

Starlink, the LEO satellite Internet system from SpaceX, is expected to go online in the mid 2020s. It will have almost 12,000 smallsats.

I’d say within five years we should know for sure if this, or something similar, will become reality. And by then AT&T will either be in full swing moving custies off DirecTV satellites, or deferring the move.

The question is, can Starlink provide 20 million distinct HD feeds without problem? Seems a tall order.

Side note on Starlink: I just read where it can provide financial data something like 30 ms faster than fiber. And that is enough to get financial institutions to pony up some bucks.


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[nelson61]

Side note on Starlink: I just read where it can provide financial data something like 30 ms faster than fiber. And that is enough to get financial institutions to pony up some bucks.

Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys

Doubt if satellites can beat the speed of light.

The big financial guys rent space next door to the trading floors so they can shave that little extra time off the data delivery delay

 

[navychop]

It was referring to intercity transactions.

Don’t forget, the speed of light varies by the medium it travels in. It is slower in fiber than in (mostly) a vacuum.


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[nelson61]

It was referring to intercity transactions.

Don’t forget, the speed of light varies by the medium it travels in. It is slower in fiber than in (mostly) a vacuum.

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Did a little digging to clear my mind.
Their latest plans drop the orbit lower by 30-40 percent as compared to their original permits, so as to make the satellites deorbit fast at end of life (5) years, minimizing space clutter.
A side effect is the transmission delays get really small and yes indeed, they can probably match or beat ground networks if uploading and downloading in the same geographical area (Conus).

 

[Jimbo]

DirecTV subscriber since 1995
I live in rural South Texas

Only internet options are two WISPs and Satellite

The WISPs are expensive and “slow”

Nearby small town of 1700, Time Warner was the cable provider, now Spectrum
They only provide SD channels, no internet, no HD, no DVR
Their website says they provide internet here, until you call them to order it
The Mayor can’t do anything to force them to provide internet service or change providers thanks to our state laws

Verizon was the landline provider, now Frontier, phone service only, no internet, unsure why Frontier bought this county from Verizon, they can’t be making money on it
After Hurricane Harvey the landline phone system stayed working one day, then was dead for weeks

Cell Phone;
I have a T-Mobile cell tower 1.5 miles from me, Microwave backhaul, speeds are slow and easily congested
AT&T cell tower is 8 miles away, spotty coverage
Verizon and Sprint have no cell service here, nearest cell Towers for them are over 12 miles away, Verizon had a cell tower built here almost 10 years ago now, still empty

So if I lose Directv because they shut it down, I’d have to swap to Dish, or?

I am sure there are many out there in the same predicament I am...

Between the town and immediate surrounding rural area is 2500 ppl with no landline internet whatsoever, almost every house has a Satellite Dish for Dishnet or Directv

I'm curious, what city are you in or closest too ?
I'm gonna be down that way next month.

 

[EarDemon]

DirecTV subscriber since 1995

Verizon was the landline provider, now Frontier, phone service only, no internet, unsure why Frontier bought this county from Verizon, they can’t be making money on it
After Hurricane Harvey the landline phone system stayed working one day, then was dead for weeks

It wasn't specific to your county, in 2015 Verizon offloaded their entire landline operations in Texas, Florida and California to Frontier. Verizon as a provider of landbased services gave up doing business in three of the largest states in the county, which are home to some of the biggest cities and metroplexs in the country to solely focus of wireless. I don't think it's a coincidence that they dumped those three states a year to almost the exact day after Verizon became the sole owner of Cellco dba Verizon Wireless. On Feb 21 2014 Verizon completed the acquisition of Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless, on Feb 6 2015 Verizon spun off it's properties in those three state to Frontier.

I live near Rochester, NY which Frontier has a strong corporate presence in, and everyone hates them, relatively speaking few have their service. Their DSL service has always been poor to non existent, and the landline service was extremely expensive for what you got. Plus the way they handled long distance, specifically 'local long distance' was a huge ripoff. If you lived on the county line and wanted to call a neighbor in the opposite county it was a 'local long distance' call. Things only got worse once Rochester got their own area code. In the early 2000s, when more people had landlines, people left Frontier in droves once Time Warner started offering phone service with unlimited nationwide calling for $35. Believe or not, some people I know were most ecstatic to now have the ability to call their neighbors toll free versus being able to call family toll free in a different state. It was just generally accepted that if you wanted to talk to someone in a different state you paid per minute.

In 2014 Frontier acquired some of AT&Ts operations in New England. So while Frontier has always been a mashup of smaller telcos they purchased, they have three unique systems, with no plans to make things more uniform. They are a second rate ILEC, but some how they keep kicking.

 

[slice1900]

The question is, can Starlink provide 20 million distinct HD feeds without problem? Seems a tall order.

Its a ridiculous idea. In what world could it be more cost effective to stream data to 20 million individual customers via satellite than to broadcast that data nationwide?

 

[Juan]

Its a ridiculous idea. In what world could it be more cost effective to stream data to 20 million individual customers via satellite than to broadcast that data nationwide?

The data they collect for advertisers makes individual streams very attractive .. advertisers can chose to advertise to only those interested in their products...ala google

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[navychop]

Its a ridiculous idea. In what world could it be more cost effective to stream data to 20 million individual customers via satellite than to broadcast that data nationwide?

My point is that one satellite can feed, 2 people, 20 million people or 200 million people in one stream for about the same cost. Feeding 20 million unique streams is gonna cost.

Now, if I’m avoiding 90% of the commercials, there’s no money to be made on tailored ads to me.


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[Juan]

My point is that one satellite can feed, 2 people, 20 million people or 200 million people in one stream for about the same cost. Feeding 20 million unique streams is gonna cost.

Now, if I’m avoiding 90% of the commercials, there’s no money to be made on tailored ads to me.


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Thats where you are wrong...its not just tv...its the internet of things..anything and everything connected to the internet...eventually you will walk into a store and you will get personalized alert (on your cell phone) for a product that some advertiser thinks you may be interested in..and maybe a digital coupon to go with it

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[navychop]

What’s that got to do with the inherent efficiency of one to many over many to many?


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[Juan]

What’s that got to do with the inherent efficiency of one to many over many to many?


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It has to do with why they are pushing streaming...DVRs destroyed the traditional advertising model for broadcast tv..everybody ignores the commercials...so advertisers need new ways to advertise products

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[navychop]

I’ll stick to discs and books and periodicals, before I ever sit thru commercials again.


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[slice1900]

The data they collect for advertisers makes individual streams very attractive .. advertisers can chose to advertise to only those interested in their products...ala google

Directv already does that with satellite, if you have a DVR which the large majority of customers do. They've been doing it for years!

 

[Juan]

Directv already does that with satellite, if you have a DVR which the large majority of customers do. They've been doing it for years!

Of course...thats why advertisers are looking for new ways to reach customers without tv commercials

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[slice1900]

Of course...thats why advertisers are looking for new ways to reach customers without tv commercials

Sure, but there's no advertising you can do with point to point IP streaming (whether via broadband, 5G or LEO satellite) that you can't do with broadcast satellite and a DVR with an internet connection.

 

[Juan]

Sure, but there's no advertising you can do with point to point IP streaming (whether via broadband, 5G or LEO satellite) that you can't do with broadcast satellite and a DVR with an internet connection.

Umm ever hear of google or facebook..its about collecting your habits and selling them...you..the customer..are the product being sold to advertisers...who inturn try to sell to you..point to point singles you out

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[The Fat Man]

I understand their plan. I just prefer satellite. One main reason is when a storm comes through and the lines are taken down. With my generator, I power up my TV and I'm all set. When cable goes out, my internet goes out. Cell signal in certain areas can be spotty. In my house, everyone needs to be on my wifi with their wifi calling settings turned on. If not, I need to be outside to get a signal. Again, I just don't see the infrastructure with internet ready to support the majority of the population using the net to rely on in home television.