Guess the problem (watch the video). I'm torn between good coverage and wrecking the night sky. Mobile coverage across the country with SpaceX:

We're very proud to announce a new collaboration with SpaceX to provide 100 percent mobile coverage across the New Zealand.

@Miraz Plus being reliant on Musk

@rom @pratik I’d forgotten about Musk… It’s wrecking the night sky that disturbs me. And the location in the video is an area of exceptional dark sky in NZ which just makes it all the more poignant.

@Miraz is this different to the spaceX starlink service that is already in NZ?

@pratik “reliant on musk” … now there’s a single point of failure for you!

@JohnPhilpin Vodafone has become One. This was in their Press release today.

@Miraz yes … saw that … but wasn’t starlink something different? Like an affordable satellite service?

@JohnPhilpin Indeed. I guess they’re partnering up to provide mobile signal.

@Miraz i wonder if @billbennettnz could provide more insight as to what it really means - and how it stacks up for them against their competitors - this is definitely his area of expertise.

@Miraz my wife wants to bring our Starlink dish to NZ when we visit next.

@dejus You’d be better off buying one when you get here… they are now only NZ$199 and when you leave there is a ready second hand market on Trademe.co.nz

@dejus BYO Internet — sounds good. 😀

@JohnPhilpin @Miraz At first the deal is about using Starlink for emergency mobile phone calls from areas outside cell coverage, then later for more general mobile phone use. It may take some time, while you can buy Starlink direct from the company today.

Was planning to write a big feature about this soon.

@billbennettnz thanks Bill … I look forward to your piece and see if I have more questions after that. Appreciates.

@billbennettnz wow, that’s cheap. Is that price a temporary reduction? It must be subsidized. How available are they? We plan to visit in the second half of 2024, so things may change by then.

@Miraz we are considering visiting for a few months, touring both islands in a hired campervan (smaller than our current motorhome!), which means we need reliable internet to be able to work.

@dejus I hope our part of the world will be on your itinerary. In fact, we have an actual caravan power hookup with a lead long enough to reach from the powerbox to a vehicle.

@Miraz we haven’t planned our route yet (or even decided on the duration), but we may well be passing near your beach.

@dejus Well, if you do, make sure to at least say hello.

@dejus In theory it is temporary, but last year’s price cut from NZ$1040 to NZ$520 was also meant to be temporary, so who knows for sure? I expect prices will rise again before you get here. It’s more likely the subscription price will rise by then, but again, maybe not, Starlink seems to be going for customer numbers more than profitability.

The dishes are sold in a nationwide chain of stores called Noel Leeming, there are dozens of stores across the country (which might not sound a lot to an American, but in a population of 5 million, that’s close to blanket coverage). Every store I’ve been to has a decent supply of dishes.

@billbennettnz thanks. I guess we’ll see the situation when we’re about ready to visit. (BTW my brother, Neville Lambert, used to be a branch manager of Noel Leeming, and I even worked there briefly, decades ago back in my uni days.)