You Can’t Just Slap a Starlink Dish Onto Your Car, Motorist Finds Out

Somebody acquired the intense thought to slap a Starlink satellite tv for pc dish on the hood of their automobile, and now they’re paying the value.

On Friday, a California Highway Patrol officer ticketed a motorist driving a Toyota Prius that had what seems to be a Starlink antenna hooked up to its hood, in line with a Facebook post from the company.

“Sir I stopped you today for that visual obstruction on your hood. Does it not block your view while driving?” the officer mentioned, as quoted on CHP Antelope Valley’s Facebook web page. At which level the motive force assured them: “Only when I make right turns.”

The driver, who obtained a ticket for a transferring violation, informed the officer that they had been utilizing the antenna to get wifi for a enterprise they run out of the automobile, a CHP consultant informed CNBC.

“Yes, it is in fact illegal to mount a satellite dish to the hood of your vehicle, obstructing your view under section 26708(a)(2) of the California Vehicle Code,” CHP Antelope Valley mentioned on Facebook. “You also may not hang things from your rear view mirror, mount a GPS or cell phone in an unapproved location on your windshield, or display a handicap placard while the vehicle is in motion under this section. It’s about safety folks.”

G/O Media could get a fee

Starlink is SpaceX’s fast-growing high-speed web service that depends on greater than 1,500 satellites orbiting Earth. Since launching its open beta in February, the community has surpassed 69,000 energetic customers throughout 12 nations, and the corporate goals to hit roughly 500,000 customers by this time subsequent 12 months, in line with CEO Elon Musk.

While unconfirmed, the motive force could have gotten this harebrained thought from Musk himself. As the Verge notes, Musk as soon as mentioned in a 2020 earnings name that Starlink terminals are so small—concerning the measurement of a pizza—that he supposed “technically, you could buy one and just stick it on the car.”

Of course, simply since you can doesn’t imply it is best to. He later backtracked on Twitter, noting that the terminals weren’t designed to be placed on automobiles, however fairly meant for bigger automobiles corresponding to plane, ships, vans, and RVs to connect with the corporate’s satellite tv for pc community. To this finish, SpaceX has reportedly requested authorization from the Federal Communications Commission to attach its terminals to transferring automobiles.

In the meantime, if you actually need wifi on the go, possibly attempt exploring much less unlawful choices, corresponding to investing in a cell hotspot or tethering your telephone as a substitute.