Fun Fact: When Arthur C. Clarke first postulated geosynchronous satellites in 1945, he speculated that the entire world's orbital communications needs could be satisfied by only three strategically placed satellites.
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@lauren It should have been 6 satellites; as expected for a Northern Hemispherist he didn't think about covering South America, southern Africa, Australia and the southern Pacific
@boomfish Theoretically you can do the entire planet (except parts of the polar regions) with three at 120 degrees apart.
@lauren I am idly curious what a bandwidth chart per year looks like... Because in 1945 he might have been right. 😄
... That having been said, I imagine this is related to the project Europe is engaged in right now and I think they're correct. Starlink is a lot more about giving SpaceX an excuse to keep launching tonnage then about being the only correct way to blanket the planet in space-based internet.
@lauren Geosynchronous orbit was originally called the Clarke orbit, in his honor, iirc