{
    "meta": {
        "title": "D-Central — Off-Grid & Satellite Bitcoin Connectivity",
        "description": "How to move Bitcoin without a terrestrial ISP: 12 non-terrestrial connectivity options (satellite block downlink, LEO/GEO broadband, LoRa-to-satellite, direct-to-cell, sat-phone data, ham radio) scored on direction, Bitcoin fit, bandwidth, hardware, coverage, cost and internet-independence — with the broadcast asymmetry (receive free, send needs an uplink) up front.",
        "generated": "2026-07-18T17:34:40+00:00",
        "version": "1.0",
        "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
        "license_name": "CC BY 4.0",
        "source": "https://d-central.tech/off-grid-bitcoin-connectivity/",
        "method": "The non-terrestrial complement to the terrestrial-mesh dataset. The load-bearing axis is DIRECTION: receive-only (Blockstream Satellite downlink — free, solves block sync) vs two-way (which alone can BROADCAST a signed tx). Costs and consumer availability are marked unverified where they come from reseller/aggregator pages rather than rate cards. Fast-moving items (AST timeline, Starlink DTC V2, pricing) are dated and flagged. Verified July 2026 against primary/near-primary sources.",
        "provenance": "blockstream.github.io, starlink.com, rogers.com, iridium.com/Ground Control, lacuna-space.com, sateliot.space, SEC filings (AST, EchoStar). Discontinued option (Swarm) retained as a warning.",
        "disclaimer": "Satellite/connectivity offerings and pricing change fast — verify with the provider before relying on any option. Amateur-radio financial traffic sits in a legal gray zone (treat as emergency-only). This is an availability/capability reference, not connectivity advice."
    },
    "rows": [
        {
            "name": "Blockstream Satellite (block/tx downlink)",
            "category": "sat-broadcast-rx",
            "direction": "receive-only",
            "what": "Blockstream leases four GEO satellites to continuously broadcast the full blockchain (blocks, mempool txs, Lightning gossip) one-way to anyone with a small dish + receiver. A local Bitcoin Satellite node stays in full consensus sync with ZERO internet.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Full-node sync: receives complete blocks + new txs 24/7, so a node validates the chain and confirms incoming payments fully offline. It CANNOT transmit — you cannot broadcast your own signed tx through it.",
            "bandwidth": "~100-200 kbps continuous downlink (keeps pace with 10-min blocks; a full IBD over satellite takes weeks — most users sync once via internet/USB then hold sync via satellite)",
            "latency": "Seconds behind internet propagation (GEO one-hop ~250 ms); real-time for confirmations",
            "hardware": "45-90 cm dish + Ku/C-band LNB + receiver (RTL-SDR ~US$30-50, or TBS/Novra pro); DIY ~US$100-200; kits historically ~US$250-500 (2026 kit pricing unverified)",
            "coverage": "Near-global: Galaxy 18 (North America incl. most populated Canada), Eutelsat 113, Telstar 11N (EU/Africa), Telstar 18V (APAC). High-Arctic Canada marginal (GEO look angle).",
            "cost": "US$0/month — free and unmetered forever once you own the receiver",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "Confirmed operational into 2025-2026 (Telstar 11N restored, new frequencies, API/GUI updates). Receive-only is the defining constraint: you still need SOME uplink to broadcast a spend."
        },
        {
            "name": "Iridium (SBD / Certus / sat phones)",
            "category": "sat-phone-data",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "The only truly pole-to-pole LEO network (66 cross-linked satellites): voice, ~2.4 kbps data, Short Burst Data (340 B up / 270 B down), and Certus mid-band (22-704 kbps). Mature 25-year infrastructure, consumer gear from Garmin inReach to Iridium GO!.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Purpose-fit for the broadcast problem: one ~250-vbyte signed tx fits in a SINGLE 340-byte SBD message to a relay endpoint (a RockBLOCK 9603 does it for well under a dollar). Certus 100/200 can even limp a pruned node or Lightning gossip.",
            "bandwidth": "SBD 340 B/message; GO! 2.4 kbps; Certus 100 ~22-88 kbps; Certus 700 up to 704 kbps",
            "latency": "Seconds (real-time network, no pass-waiting — unique among small-data options)",
            "hardware": "RockBLOCK 9603 ~US$250-300; Iridium GO! ~US$800; 9555 phone ~US$1,100; inReach ~C$300-500 (messaging only, no raw-tx API — unverified)",
            "coverage": "100% of Earth including the entire Canadian Arctic — the ONLY option here with no northern-latitude caveat",
            "cost": "SBD line ~US$12-20/month + per-credit usage; GO! plans ~US$55-160/month (reseller figures)",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "The professional-grade answer to 'broadcast a tx from anywhere on the planet, today, with certainty.' Expensive per byte, but the byte you need to send is small."
        },
        {
            "name": "Starlink (LEO broadband)",
            "category": "LEO-broadband",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "SpaceX's ~7,000+ satellite LEO constellation delivering full two-way broadband from a phased-array dish, no terrestrial last mile. To Bitcoin it is simply a fast, low-latency ISP that works anywhere with sky view.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Everything: run a full archival node, IBD in hours, serve peers, run Lightning with normal routing, remote-manage an off-grid mining site (Stratum traffic is a few kbps per fleet). The default answer for off-grid mining in Canada.",
            "bandwidth": "~100-300+ Mbps down / 10-30 Mbps up typical in Canada",
            "latency": "~20-50 ms (Canada typical ~36 ms)",
            "hardware": "Standard kit ~C$649; Starlink Mini ~C$249 (2026 aggregator pricing); needs ~50-100 W continuous — a real load on a small battery bank",
            "coverage": "Effectively all of Canada incl. territories and high latitudes (polar shells); global land coverage in licensed countries",
            "cost": "Canada 2026: ~C$110-140/month residential; Roam C$70 (100 GB) or C$189 unlimited (verify on starlink.com/ca)",
            "independent": "partial",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "Avoids terrestrial ISPs but is still one company's KYC'd, shut-offable service with ground-station backhaul — resistant to local outages, not to SpaceX or a state ordering disconnection. Pair with a Blockstream Sat receiver for a path that survives Starlink loss."
        },
        {
            "name": "Starlink Direct to Cell (Rogers Satellite / T-Satellite)",
            "category": "direct-to-cell",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "650+ Starlink satellites with onboard LTE eNodeBs act as roaming cell towers for unmodified 4G phones anywhere with sky view. Live since July 2025 as Rogers Satellite (Canada) and T-Satellite (US): texting, MMS, and narrow 'satellite-optimized app' data.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Enough to broadcast a signed tx from your pocket: paste a raw tx to an SMS-to-broadcast gateway, or push it through a whitelisted messaging app to a relay bot. Cannot run a node; general TCP data is gated until V2 satellites (5G-class, targeted 2H 2027).",
            "bandwidth": "Text/MMS-class today; shared per-beam LTE — kbps-per-user for app data",
            "latency": "Seconds for messages; app data usable but bursty",
            "hardware": "Any recent unmodified 4G/5G smartphone — zero extra gear",
            "coverage": "Canada-wide via Rogers Satellite (5.4M km² beyond terrestrial networks); US via T-Mobile; cross-border roaming live since Apr-May 2026",
            "cost": "Canada: C$15/month add-on, bundled free into many Rogers 5G+ plans in 2026; US: US$10/month",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "🔴 The single biggest 2025-26 shift here: every Canadian with a Rogers add-on now carries a satellite uplink able to move a signed tx — the natural back-channel companion to a receive-only Blockstream Sat node. Data stays app-gated on V1; 'run a wallet normally' is 2027+ (V2)."
        },
        {
            "name": "Amateur radio HF data (JS8Call / packet)",
            "category": "ham-radio",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "JS8Call (built on FT8) and HF packet move tiny keyboard-to-keyboard payloads thousands of km via ionospheric skip with NO infrastructure — no satellites, no ISPs, no accounts. Proven: a mainnet tx relayed Toronto to Michigan over 40m; a Lightning payment Toronto to San Francisco (2019).",
            "bitcoin_fit": "A ~250-byte signed tx encodes into a JS8Call transfer taking several minutes at ~10-40 bps; the receiving station (with internet) rebroadcasts it. Nothing more than tx-sized payloads is practical — no blocks, no node.",
            "bandwidth": "~6-40 bps effective (JS8 normal/turbo); HF packet ~300 bps",
            "latency": "Minutes per message + needing a listening counterparty and open propagation",
            "hardware": "HF transceiver + antenna + computer: ~US$500-1,500 new (used QRP + wire antenna <US$300); requires an amateur licence (ISED Basic in Canada, free exam)",
            "coverage": "Global-capable via skip, weather/solar dependent; works anywhere in Canada",
            "cost": "US$0/month forever",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "niche",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "🔴 Legal gray zone: amateur rules ban encrypted content and 'pecuniary interest' traffic — a signed tx is public (not encrypted), but routine financial use arguably violates the commercial-traffic ban; treat as emergency-only. Zero-infrastructure is the last-resort property nothing else here has."
        },
        {
            "name": "Blockstream Satellite API (pay-to-broadcast down)",
            "category": "sat-broadcast-rx",
            "direction": "send-only",
            "what": "A REST API where you pay a per-byte Lightning bid to have arbitrary data (e.g. a signed tx) queued at Blockstream's teleport and broadcast globally over the same beams. Highest bid transmits first.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Delivers data TO offline satellite receivers worldwide — useful to REACH an off-grid node. But the API request + Lightning payment must go over the internet, so it does NOT solve the off-grid uplink; it is the mirror image of it.",
            "bandwidth": "Message-oriented; a ~250-byte tx is trivial; queue-based",
            "latency": "Seconds to minutes depending on bid/queue",
            "hardware": "None to send (any internet device); a Blockstream Sat receiver on the far end to hear it",
            "cost": "Millisatoshis per byte via Lightning (spot rate; historically ~1 msat/byte floor — current unverified)",
            "independent": "no",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "Frequently misunderstood: it broadcasts DOWN to receivers, it is not an uplink FROM an off-grid site. Real use: a connected friend/service relaying data to your disconnected receiver."
        },
        {
            "name": "Traditional GEO VSAT (Viasat / Hughesnet / Xplore)",
            "category": "GEO-broadband",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "Legacy two-way consumer/enterprise internet from geostationary satellites. A fixed dish talks to one GEO bird 36,000 km up: usable but high-latency, usually data-capped broadband.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Can run a full node (slow sync) and broadcast txs normally. Lightning is degraded (600+ ms RTT sluggish HTLC/gossip) but functions. Fine as mining-site backhaul; painful for anything interactive.",
            "bandwidth": "Viasat Unleashed ~25-60 Mbps real-world; Hughesnet ~8-20 Mbps",
            "latency": "~600-750 ms round trip (GEO physics; cannot improve)",
            "hardware": "~75 cm dish + modem, usually pro-installed/leased",
            "coverage": "Southern Canada (GEO beams degrade above ~60-65N); practical Canadian incumbent is Xplore GEO (details unverified)",
            "cost": "~US/C$65-150/month with priority-data caps (specifics unverified)",
            "independent": "partial",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "B",
            "notes": "A dying category: EchoStar disclosed (Nov 2025) it is exiting consumer satellite internet, referring HughesNet customers to Starlink. Only choose GEO VSAT where Starlink is unavailable or as a dissimilar-path backup."
        },
        {
            "name": "Sateliot (5G NB-IoT from LEO)",
            "category": "LoRa-satellite",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "Spanish LEO operator running standards-based 5G NB-IoT (3GPP NTN) so ordinary NB-IoT modules roam onto its satellites via partner operators — no proprietary modem. Six satellites up, five more slated for 2026; sparse constellation = store-and-forward pass windows.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Small-packet two-way: adequate to uplink a signed tx to a relay endpoint and receive short confirmations. Nowhere near node or Lightning capable.",
            "bandwidth": "NB-IoT class: hundreds of bits to a few kbps in short sessions",
            "latency": "Minutes to hours per pass (early constellation); improves as satellites launch",
            "hardware": "Standard NB-IoT NTN module/dev kit (~US$20-100 class); sold wholesale via MNO/MVNO, not retail",
            "coverage": "Global-by-design incl. Canada, but sold through operator agreements — consumer availability in Canada unverified",
            "cost": "unverified (wholesale per-device IoT, reportedly a few US$/month class)",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "beta",
            "grade": "B",
            "notes": "The most credible future 'cheap tx uplink' because it uses commodity 3GPP silicon, but in mid-2026 it is early-commercial and not something a Canadian pleb can just sign up for. Someone must still run the ground-side relay that hands your tx to the network."
        },
        {
            "name": "Lacuna Space (LoRaWAN LR-FHSS to LEO)",
            "category": "LoRa-satellite",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "UK operator whose payloads receive standard LoRaWAN LR-FHSS uplinks from unmodified LoRa sensors direct to LEO satellites. As of May 2026: six operational satellites guaranteeing a minimum of six 50-byte messages/day over three passes.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Marginal: uplink-oriented, 50-byte messages mean a ~250-byte signed tx must be fragmented across ~5+ messages and reassembled by a custom ground relay — a hack, not a product. No node/Lightning.",
            "bandwidth": "~50-byte messages, min 6/day; ~300 bps-class LR-FHSS bursts",
            "latency": "Hours-scale (pass-dependent, store-and-forward)",
            "hardware": "Standard LoRa/LR-FHSS module (Semtech LR11xx class, ~US$10-50) + antenna",
            "coverage": "Polar LEO orbits give global reach incl. northern Canada; individual availability unverified",
            "cost": "unverified (B2B; now also licensing the tech to other operators per MWC 2026)",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "niche",
            "grade": "B",
            "notes": "Interesting because your existing Meshtastic-class LoRa hardware family can, with LR-FHSS, reach orbit — the conceptual bridge between the terrestrial-mesh dataset and this one. Fragmenting a tx across six daily 50-byte slots is survivalist-grade."
        },
        {
            "name": "EchoStar Mobile LoRa (GEO S-band, Europe)",
            "category": "LoRa-satellite",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "Pan-European bi-directional real-time LoRa IoT network from the geostationary EchoStar XXI in licensed S-band. Being GEO, links are continuous rather than pass-based — no waiting for a satellite.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Real-time small-packet two-way that could relay a signed tx to an internet gateway in seconds — technically the best LoRa-satellite fit for tx broadcast, but only inside Europe.",
            "bandwidth": "LoRa-class: tens to hundreds of bytes per message, low duty cycle",
            "latency": "Near-real-time (GEO ~600 ms path)",
            "hardware": "EchoStar/Semtech S-band LoRa module (EM2050 class) via IoT partners; cost unverified",
            "coverage": "Europe only — no Canada/North America service",
            "cost": "unverified (B2B via partners + Swisscom)",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "operational",
            "grade": "B",
            "notes": "Listed for category completeness; irrelevant to Canadian off-grid users today. EchoStar's 2025-26 spectrum turmoil makes long-term continuity worth watching (unverified)."
        },
        {
            "name": "AST SpaceMobile (BlueBird direct-to-device)",
            "category": "direct-to-cell",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "Giant (~223 m2) phased-array LEO satellites designed for true broadband (not just texting) to unmodified phones, partnered with AT&T/Verizon/Vodafone, FCC-cleared for US commercial in May 2026. Commercial launch deferred (July 15 2026 filing) to early 2027; 13 satellites expected by Aug 2026.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "None yet (pre-commercial). If it delivers claimed multi-Mbps to handsets it would support full wallet apps and lightweight nodes from a phone — but that is a 2027+ promise, not a 2026 capability.",
            "bandwidth": "Claimed ~20-120 Mbps per beam to standard phones (demo figures; commercial rates unverified)",
            "latency": "LEO-class, tens of ms",
            "hardware": "Any unmodified smartphone",
            "coverage": "Initial intermittent US coverage first; Canada unannounced (no disclosed Bell/Telus deal — unverified)",
            "cost": "unverified (future carrier add-on)",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "announced",
            "grade": "B",
            "notes": "Track, don't rely on: timeline has slipped repeatedly (late-2026 to early-2027) and Canadian carrier partnerships are absent. Starlink Direct-to-Cell is the one you can actually buy in Canada today."
        },
        {
            "name": "Swarm (SpaceX VHF IoT) — DISCONTINUED",
            "category": "LoRa-satellite",
            "direction": "two-way",
            "what": "Swarm's store-and-forward VHF picosatellite network carried tiny two-way IoT packets (~192 bytes) for US$5/month — once the cheapest satellite uplink ever sold. SpaceX bought it, ended device sales July 2023, and shut commercial service down March 2025.",
            "bitcoin_fit": "Historically could carry a ~250-byte signed tx in two packets to an internet-side API for rebroadcast. Now: NONE — the network is gone.",
            "bandwidth": "Was ~1 kbps bursts, 192-byte packets, store-and-forward",
            "latency": "Was minutes to hours (waiting for a pass)",
            "hardware": "Swarm M138 modem (~US$119) — now e-waste for connectivity",
            "coverage": "Was global incl. polar",
            "cost": "Was US$5/month per device",
            "independent": "yes",
            "status": "discontinued",
            "grade": "A",
            "notes": "🔴 Included as a WARNING: guides written 2021-2024 still recommend Swarm for off-grid tx broadcast; that path died March 2025. Its spiritual successor is Starlink Direct-to-Cell."
        }
    ],
    "context": {
        "broadcast_problem": "Receiving Bitcoin off-grid is solved and free — Blockstream Satellite pushes every block and mempool tx to a ~$150 dish setup forever. Broadcasting is the hard half: a signed ~250-byte transaction still needs SOME uplink, and every option is a trade — Starlink (full broadband, ~C$110+/mo, one KYC'd provider), Starlink Direct-to-Cell texting from a bare phone (C$15/mo, the cheap new 2025-26 answer), a single Iridium SBD burst (works from the North Pole for pennies-per-message on a ~$15/mo line), a LoRa-to-satellite hack, or a JS8Call HF transmission to a connected ham. The robust off-grid stack is asymmetric by design: free satellite downlink for blocks + the tiniest paid uplink you can tolerate for spends.",
        "canada_offgrid": "For a remote Canadian cabin or mining site the realistic 2026 stack is: Starlink as primary (full-Canada coverage incl. territories, runs nodes/pools/Lightning outright), Rogers Satellite (C$15/mo Starlink direct-to-cell on any modern phone, free on many 2026 Rogers plans) as the pocket tx-broadcast channel, a Blockstream Satellite receiver on Galaxy 18 as the outage/censorship-proof block feed, and Iridium (inReach/RockBLOCK/GO!) as the only layer that still works in the High Arctic where GEO look angles fail. Swarm is dead (Mar 2025), GEO VSAT (Hughesnet) is in managed decline, and AST SpaceMobile has no Canadian carrier and slipped to 2027 — none of those belong in a Canadian plan today.",
        "terrestrial_note": "Terrestrial LoRa mesh (Meshtastic/MeshCore, including relaying txs neighbor-to-neighbor) is covered in the separate mesh-protocols dataset; this dataset is its NON-terrestrial complement — how Bitcoin data reaches and leaves the sky when there is no neighbor and no ISP at all."
    }
}