On viewing SpaceX Starlink through the Social Media Lens

TL;DR

This paper explores how social media can be used as a tool to analyze and understand the rapidly evolving SpaceX Starlink satellite internet ecosystem, providing user-centric insights at scale.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach of leveraging social media data to study space-based internet services, addressing the lack of comprehensive measurement infrastructure.

Findings

Social media reveals user perceptions and experiences with Starlink.

Analysis uncovers trends and issues in the satellite internet ecosystem.

Social media data complements traditional measurement methods.

Abstract

Multiple low-Earth orbit satellite constellations, aimed at beaming broadband connectivity from space, are currently under active deployment. While such space-based Internet is set to augment, globally, today's terrestrial connectivity, and has managed to generate significant hype, it has been largely difficult for the community to measure, quantify, or understand the nuances of these offerings in the absence of a global measurement infrastructure -- the research community has mostly resorted to simulators, emulators, and limited measurements till now. In this paper, we identify an opportunity to use the social media `lens' to complement such measurements and mine user-centric insights on the evolving ecosystem at scale.