$42 billion more tax dollars going to President Musk.

[FAUlty Gator]

Weird how this kind of stuff never gets stopped by DOGE.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/business/musks-starlink-federal-program/index.html

—
The Commerce Department has changed its rules in a way that could open the door for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, to become part of a federal $42 billion grant program to bring high-speed service to rural and poor areas of the United States.

The rules of the program — known as Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment or BEAD — previously gave preference to fiber-optic service. That essentially shut out services like Starlink, a unit of Musk’s SpaceX company, which beams high-speed online access from its satellites in low-earth orbit to terminals on the ground.

 

[Moral]

Graft, graft everywhere.

 

[THE_DEVIL]

With Trusk being president does this mean Starlink is being nationalized? I don't think repubs who like that very much

 

[RileyHawk]

Nothing but a grift. SMFH

Starlink vs. Traditional Fiber Broadband for Home and Business Users

Both Starlink (a satellite-based internet service by SpaceX) and traditional fiber broadband have their advantages and disadvantages depending on location, speed, reliability, and cost. Here’s how they compare:

---

​

1. Speed & Performance

Feature	Starlink (Satellite)	Fiber (Wired)
Download Speed	50-250 Mbps (Residential)	300 Mbps - 10 Gbps+
Upload Speed	10-30 Mbps	100 Mbps - 10 Gbps+
Latency	25-50 ms (Better than older satellites but still higher than fiber)	1-5 ms (Lowest possible)
Consistency	Can experience slowdowns during congestion	Extremely stable

• Winner: Fiber → Higher speeds, lower latency, and better consistency, especially for gaming, video conferencing, and large file uploads.

---

​

2. Reliability

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Weather Sensitivity	Can be affected by heavy rain, snow, or obstructions	Unaffected by weather
Outages	Possible congestion during peak hours	Highly reliable with minimal outages

• Winner: Fiber → More reliable, especially in bad weather.

---

​

3. Cost & Installation

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Monthly Cost	$90-$120 (Residential) / $250 (Business)	$50-$150 (Varies by ISP and speed)
Equipment Cost	$599 (Residential) / $2,500 (Business) for hardware	Often free or subsidized by ISPs
Installation	DIY setup or professional installation	Requires fiber infrastructure but no dish

• Winner: Fiber → Cheaper overall (if available), but Starlink is the best option in areas with no fiber access.

---

​

4. Business Use & Scalability

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Best for Businesses?	Good for remote work but not ideal for data-heavy operations	Ideal for high-bandwidth applications, VoIP, and cloud services
Supports Multiple Users?	Can slow down with heavy use	Easily scales for large businesses

• Winner: Fiber → Essential for businesses, especially those needing high-speed uploads and reliability.

 

[Sharky1203]

Weird how this kind of stuff never gets stopped by DOGE.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/business/musks-starlink-federal-program/index.html

—
The Commerce Department has changed its rules in a way that could open the door for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, to become part of a federal $42 billion grant program to bring high-speed service to rural and poor areas of the United States.

The rules of the program — known as Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment or BEAD — previously gave preference to fiber-optic service. That essentially shut out services like Starlink, a unit of Musk’s SpaceX company, which beams high-speed online access from its satellites in low-earth orbit to terminals on the ground.

This is only true if Nancy Pelosi is buying the stock. Someone check what she and others in congress are investing in. If they are investing in Starlink, then this is true.

 

[Moral]

This is only true if Nancy Pelosi is buying the stock. Someone check what she and others in congress are investing in. If they are investing in Starlink, then this is true.

Sweet whataboutism that is basically a false equivalency with what is going on now.

 

[KFsdisciple]

Nothing but a grift. SMFH

Starlink vs. Traditional Fiber Broadband for Home and Business Users

Both Starlink (a satellite-based internet service by SpaceX) and traditional fiber broadband have their advantages and disadvantages depending on location, speed, reliability, and cost. Here’s how they compare:

​

---

​

1. Speed & Performance

Feature	Starlink (Satellite)	Fiber (Wired)
Download Speed	50-250 Mbps (Residential)	300 Mbps - 10 Gbps+
Upload Speed	10-30 Mbps	100 Mbps - 10 Gbps+
Latency	25-50 ms (Better than older satellites but still higher than fiber)	1-5 ms (Lowest possible)
Consistency	Can experience slowdowns during congestion	Extremely stable

• Winner: Fiber → Higher speeds, lower latency, and better consistency, especially for gaming, video conferencing, and large file uploads.

​

---

​

2. Reliability

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Weather Sensitivity	Can be affected by heavy rain, snow, or obstructions	Unaffected by weather
Outages	Possible congestion during peak hours	Highly reliable with minimal outages

• Winner: Fiber → More reliable, especially in bad weather.

​

---

​

3. Cost & Installation

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Monthly Cost	$90-$120 (Residential) / $250 (Business)	$50-$150 (Varies by ISP and speed)
Equipment Cost	$599 (Residential) / $2,500 (Business) for hardware	Often free or subsidized by ISPs
Installation	DIY setup or professional installation	Requires fiber infrastructure but no dish

• Winner: Fiber → Cheaper overall (if available), but Starlink is the best option in areas with no fiber access.

​

---

​

4. Business Use & Scalability

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Best for Businesses?	Good for remote work but not ideal for data-heavy operations	Ideal for high-bandwidth applications, VoIP, and cloud services
Supports Multiple Users?	Can slow down with heavy use	Easily scales for large businesses

• Winner: Fiber → Essential for businesses, especially those needing high-speed uploads and reliability.

This doesn't take into account the cost of laying and maintaining the fiber line though. For the consumer there is a 1-time installation fee if a tech is needed, but the actual costs to running the fiber lines is the reason it's not available in rural areas. If you build a new home and need to have a fiber line run to it... I have known people who had to pay in the thousands of dollars.

 

[RileyHawk]

This doesn't take into account the cost of laying and maintaining the fiber line though. For the consumer there is a 1-time installation fee if a tech is needed, but the actual costs to running the fiber lines is the reason it's not available in rural areas. If you build a new home and need to have a fiber line run to it... I have known people who had to pay in the thousands of dollars.

It's a comparison of the technologies. The BEAD program was designed to bring the needed technology to rural areas. Starlink is merely satellite internet that has been around for decades. It's inferior in many ways which is why it has not been widely adopted.

Likewise, the investment in the fiber infrastructure will end up costing customers less in the long run due to efficiencies, ability to grow as technology needs expand and the monthly costs being less than Starlink.

This is another in a long list of examples where gullible rubes will look at the headline of "Starlink is Cheaper" and then believe (no matter the evidence) that it is the appropriate solution. Shortsighted is being kind.

 

[Joes Place]

Weird how this kind of stuff never gets stopped by DOGE.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/business/musks-starlink-federal-program/index.html

—
The Commerce Department has changed its rules in a way that could open the door for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, to become part of a federal $42 billion grant program to bring high-speed service to rural and poor areas of the United States.

The rules of the program — known as Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment or BEAD — previously gave preference to fiber-optic service. That essentially shut out services like Starlink, a unit of Musk’s SpaceX company, which beams high-speed online access from its satellites in low-earth orbit to terminals on the ground.

As noted in the other thread:

Starlink will COST consumers in those areas >$5B a year MORE than the fiber connection will, at reduced reliability and slower speeds.

In other words, the fiber connectivity investment pays for itself within 10 yrs. And enables nearly unlimited expandability.
Additional Starlink connections will cost a few billion more ($600/pop for consumers, $2500/pop for businesses).

 

[Joes Place]

This doesn't take into account the cost of laying and maintaining the fiber line though

Literally what the grant money is allocated for.

 

[thewop]

Weird how this kind of stuff never gets stopped by DOGE.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/06/business/musks-starlink-federal-program/index.html

—
The Commerce Department has changed its rules in a way that could open the door for Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, to become part of a federal $42 billion grant program to bring high-speed service to rural and poor areas of the United States.

The rules of the program — known as Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment or BEAD — previously gave preference to fiber-optic service. That essentially shut out services like Starlink, a unit of Musk’s SpaceX company, which beams high-speed online access from its satellites in low-earth orbit to terminals on the ground.

It would be way cheaper to send those people a satellite setup than run fiber to their homes. Satellite Internet had been around since long before starlink (albeit less reliable and kind of slow), but if there was a federal program to get Internet to rural populations why weren't they using satellite long ago?

 

[Pinehawk]

The theft is coming from inside the House!

 

[Huey Grey]

Trump and the Rs will make Starlink the official voting platform. All ballots will have to be run on Starlink machines. And wouldnt you know it, Rs will magically win it all

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

A program that hasn't connected a single person to the internet is going to remove restrictions to actually allow advancement to happen......


"4.2 billion tax dollars going to musk"


Change your pants.

 

[Joes Place]

It would be way cheaper to send those people a satellite setup than run fiber to their homes.

Nope. Math's been run for you on this one.

Starlink to the 8,500,000 homes targeted will cost $50B MORE than fiber will over a 10 yr period.
Ergo, fiber pays for itself in under 10 yrs, with more robust, expandable and better service.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

Nope. Math's been run for you on this one.

Starlink to the 8,500,000 homes targeted will cost $50B MORE than fiber will over a 10 yr period.
Ergo, fiber pays for itself in under 10 yrs, with more robust, expandable and better service.

If you take the 2 seconds to listen to the guy running this, the goal is to open up places like Appalachia and Alaska where drilling fiber isn't an option. Not 8.5 million homes.


But that doesn't give you the anxiety fix you need.

 

[KFsdisciple]

It's a comparison of the technologies. The BEAD program was designed to bring the needed technology to rural areas. Starlink is merely satellite internet that has been around for decades. It's inferior in many ways which is why it has not been widely adopted.

Likewise, the investment in the fiber infrastructure will end up costing customers less in the long run due to efficiencies, ability to grow as technology needs expand and the monthly costs being less than Starlink.

This is another in a long list of examples where gullible rubes will look at the headline of "Starlink is Cheaper" and then believe (no matter the evidence) that it is the appropriate solution. Shortsighted is being kind.

I wouldn't try to run a business using it, but we use T-mobile 5G wifi at home and we can do all the things we want with little issue like streaming and gaming and during the hurricanes, we lost power before we lost internet signal.

I'm not knocking either fiber is a great product, delivers a great service.

 

[luvmyhawks]

This is only true if Nancy Pelosi is buying the stock. Someone check what she and others in congress are investing in. If they are investing in Starlink, then this is true.

Must defend and deflect all the time for dear leader.

This shit is getting ridiculous. They aren't even trying to hide any of it anymore. And it is because of people like you and his other supporters just don't care.

 

[Joes Place]

If you take the 2 seconds to listen to the guy running this

If it's a Trump appointee, why would I bother?

 

[Joes Place]

If you take the 2 seconds to listen to the guy running this, the goal is to open up places like Appalachia and Alaska

They can run mobile-based internet, which is, again, FAR cheaper than Starlink.

 

[ThorneStockton]

Will these rural people accept socialism whether it's fiber optic or satellite form? The whole thing should be scrapped.

 

[Pinehawk]

Will these rural people accept socialism whether it's fiber optic or satellite form? The whole thing should be scrapped.

Seems like a lot of potential government savings if we didn't have to provide Musk's internet service to people who chose to live outside of the service area of current providers. I thought DOGE was trying to save money?

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

They can run mobile-based internet, which is, again, FAR cheaper than Starlink.

That's great Joe, and every situation can be dissected to the point of paralysis by analysis but what you are actually seeing is an admin that wants to get shit done.


This was approved 4 years ago and hasn't connected a single home.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

Seems like a lot of potential government savings if we didn't have to provide Musk's internet service to people who chose to live outside of the service area of current providers. I thought DOGE was trying to save money?

Then you should have fought the original bill.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

It has been fascinating to watch Whiskey's transformation from pissing his pants over everything the last four years to not giving a shit about anything that Trump does. Totally not a political hack.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

It has been fascinating to watch Whiskey's transformation from pissing his pants over everything the last four years to not giving a shit about anything that Trump does. Totally not a political hack.

I've actually heard the guy speak about this so I happen to believe him at his word that his focus is very much fiber and this was done specifically for "alaska and Appalachia".

 

[win1forthe]

Pretty soon the government going to shut down all internet, telecommunications networks and such. The last thing they want is for citizens have access to information.

 

[Joes Place]

That's great Joe

You're welcome.

You seem so myopic and ill-informed on such a myriad of topics here, nice to know we're helping you out.

 

[ThorneStockton]

Seems like a lot of potential government savings if we didn't have to provide Musk's internet service to people who chose to live outside of the service area of current providers. I thought DOGE was trying to save money?

I'd be willing to provide them bootstraps, as long as they concede they are socialist straps.

 

[Joes Place]

This was approved 4 years ago and hasn't connected a single home.

And it's been laid out for you in very clear detail what the timeframe was.

Including the numbers that demonstrate "Starlink satellite" isn't really a cost-effective long-term option for most.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

You're welcome.

You seem so myopic and ill-informed on such a myriad of topics here, nice to know we're helping you out.

You just self admitted to not being willing to listen to what the guy who runs the program actually says and then want to present as an intellectual elitist.




Way to reinforce a stereotype small dick.

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

This is only true if Nancy Pelosi is buying the stock. Someone check what she and others in congress are investing in. If they are investing in Starlink, then this is true.

Sharky, you are one stupid sumbitch.

No offense.

 

[srams21]

It would be way cheaper to send those people a satellite setup than run fiber to their homes. Satellite Internet had been around since long before starlink (albeit less reliable and kind of slow), but if there was a federal program to get Internet to rural populations why weren't they using satellite long ago?

Boy oh boy, and the guy who would happen to profit from all that is President Musk. What a world baby!

 

[Pinehawk]

Then you should have fought the original bill.

Bills by Congress approving spending don't seem to matter anymore. Musk was supposed to cut inefficient and wasteful spending...except it seems that is not the case for any spending that he may profit from.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I've actually heard the guy speak about this so I happen to believe him at his word that his focus is very much fiber and this was done specifically for "alaska and Appalachia".

Who's word?

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

Bills by Congress approving spending don't seem to matter anymore. Musk was supposed to cut inefficient and wasteful spending...except it seems that is not the case for any spending that he may profit from.

Are you of the belief the 42 billion is newly spent or that the 42 billion has already been designated but this allows other options for thr money to be used on to achieve the goal?

 

[franklinman]

Nothing but a grift. SMFH

Starlink vs. Traditional Fiber Broadband for Home and Business Users

Both Starlink (a satellite-based internet service by SpaceX) and traditional fiber broadband have their advantages and disadvantages depending on location, speed, reliability, and cost. Here’s how they compare:

​

---

​

1. Speed & Performance

Feature	Starlink (Satellite)	Fiber (Wired)
Download Speed	50-250 Mbps (Residential)	300 Mbps - 10 Gbps+
Upload Speed	10-30 Mbps	100 Mbps - 10 Gbps+
Latency	25-50 ms (Better than older satellites but still higher than fiber)	1-5 ms (Lowest possible)
Consistency	Can experience slowdowns during congestion	Extremely stable

• Winner: Fiber → Higher speeds, lower latency, and better consistency, especially for gaming, video conferencing, and large file uploads.

​

---

​

2. Reliability

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Weather Sensitivity	Can be affected by heavy rain, snow, or obstructions	Unaffected by weather
Outages	Possible congestion during peak hours	Highly reliable with minimal outages

• Winner: Fiber → More reliable, especially in bad weather.

​

---

​

3. Cost & Installation

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Monthly Cost	$90-$120 (Residential) / $250 (Business)	$50-$150 (Varies by ISP and speed)
Equipment Cost	$599 (Residential) / $2,500 (Business) for hardware	Often free or subsidized by ISPs
Installation	DIY setup or professional installation	Requires fiber infrastructure but no dish

• Winner: Fiber → Cheaper overall (if available), but Starlink is the best option in areas with no fiber access.

​

---

​

4. Business Use & Scalability

Feature	Starlink	Fiber
Best for Businesses?	Good for remote work but not ideal for data-heavy operations	Ideal for high-bandwidth applications, VoIP, and cloud services
Supports Multiple Users?	Can slow down with heavy use	Easily scales for large businesses

• Winner: Fiber → Essential for businesses, especially those needing high-speed uploads and reliability.

MUSK = THIEF.

 

[Pinehawk]

Are you of the belief the 42 billion is newly spent or that the 42 billion has already been designated but this allows other options for thr money to be used on to achieve the goal?

I'm of the belief that Musk is rewriting the rules to hand himself a 42 billion dollar contract, redirecting those funds into his personal business, exclusively due to his position inside the White House.
The kind of things you'd be demanding hearings about if it had been done under Biden's administration.

 

[Dr. Spaceman]

I'm of the belief that Musk is rewriting the rules to hand himself a 42 billion dollar contract, redirecting those funds into his personal business, exclusively due to his position inside the White House.
The kind of things you'd be demanding hearings about if it had been done under Biden's administration.

42 Billion for the big guy!!!

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

I'm of the belief that Musk is rewriting the rules to hand himself a 42 billion dollar contract, redirecting those funds into his personal business, exclusively due to his position inside the White House.
The kind of things you'd be demanding hearings about if it had been done under Biden's administration.

Ok, well, what is actually happening is 42 billion dollars has been "sitting" for 4 years because of a shit ton of red tape and those restrictions are actually being removed instead of protected so that maybe we actually get something from it before we all focus on the next 50 billion dollar windmill that never turns out to be a dragon.