HACKER Q&A
📣 markjonsona989

Could internet-only phone work?


I've been thinking about this for a long time and when Starlink announced Direct to Cell feature the other day it made me think it might be actually possible to create a satellite receiver small enough to fit into a smartphone, remove 3G antenna and have a truly private internet-only (https) phone. You know, StarPhone.

Could that work if it meant making phone numbers and ISPs obsolete (considering we use phone numbers for authentication in a lot of our public and private infrastructure)?

  👤 i-use-nixos-btw Accepted Answer ✓
This is the way landline phones are going in the UK (edit: I’m referring to the “phone over the internet” aspect, not the space aspect). I don’t see why the same doesn’t apply to mobile phones.

However the notion that it makes phone numbers and ISPs obsolete is naive in my opinion, as is the notion that it would improve privacy. Quite the opposite. Aside from death and taxes, certainties include that businesses adapt to changing markets, and that privacy is always at threat.

👤 eimrine
Why do you think it is going to be more private than 3G? SpaceX can observe your connections, Starlink is hard to pay with cash, it still needs a precise info about your location.