Quote:
Originally Posted by DeMac
SpaceX wants to put Starlink Internet on Rural School Buses
Jon Fingas
09.22.22
"SpaceX told the FCC in a filing that it's piloting Starlink aboard school buses in the rural US. "
"The spaceflight company simultaneously backed FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel's May proposal to bring WiFi to school buses..."
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when COVID hit and schools all went to E-learn, one thing became apparent is that inb low income neighborhoods kids couldnt get internet.. the libraries, coffee shops, and even public town centers where these kids may have had access before were all closed and shuttered.. some had free cell phones from the government however that didnt include anywhere near enough data and bandwidth for kids to do school work..
Busses were outfitted with cellular routers and fairly high power antennas and parked in neighbirhoods.. in some cases kids were loaned tablets which would only connect to the school sites and they were designed ot connect to the Bus-fi.. I helped on a couple such projects for a smaller districts.. busses were parked all day in neighborhoods and retrieved in the evening.. cameras kept them from getting vandalized.. and 2 group 31 batteries were more than enough to beam wifi signals all day and still have plenty of power left over..
many districts now are using their E-learn systems for homework and so the same issue arised.. even though everything is open now.. the idea exists that wifi enabled busses can be used for everything from homework data-centers to parking them near community centers, or school activities such as sports events, etc.. where kids can gain access to what they need..
another thought was busses that get taken home by drivers could be starlink equipped and then set up with point to point antennas to other rural houses to provide those kids with internet.. the possibilities are endless.. whether it becomes a thing or not remains to be seen.. but there are good reasons other than just giving the kids a way to net-surf. and tik-tok,