[Kutta]

Are you literally not aware that all pieces of internet infrastructure currently in use have to be replaced every N years?

[stuaxo]

This doesn't involve littering our sky.

[db48x]

You consider a few thousand satellites hundreds of miles above the surface of the earth to be litter, but the existing network of cables is beneath your notice? The internet is a web of copper, plastic, and glass that literally touches every place on Earth. It’s like a fungus that grows beneath our feet and over our heads.

[squarefoot]

Just to keep some perspective on the numbers, all Starlink satellites launched so far, I mean all of them together, don't make the MTOW of three Boeing 747s or ten 737s.

[dgan]

Are you really comparing bridges to be replaced every 50 years, and regular satellites expected to operate for 2 decades, with these Spacex sattelites which are expected to last 5 years?

You are being dishonest here

[rand49an]

Residential broadband involves millions of items such as switches, transceivers and billions of miles of cables. Much of this is replaced every 5 years by ISPs. Not even taking wireless routers into account which are probably replaced much sooner than that.

I'd imagine Starlink at least has less impact than our current infrastructure.

[AYBABTME]

Networking equipment is replaced more frequently than every 50y.