Considering funding the dark side… any Starlink subscribers?

[seminole97]

Your bait post about waiting on the FCC ignores that massive acreage in the US is sparsely settled and will never attract the invisible hand to provide services.

This is amazing coming from a guy who just relied on the invisible hand to provide him internet service.

Did you not just buy a Starlink terminal?

Those citizens deserve services. The IRA is a step in that direction.

Our FCC is thwarting that.

Why?
Because it's about where the money flows, not the citizens.

In a recent panel, Gary Bolton, CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), spoke candidly about the idea of SpaceX getting Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds. Bolton said he thought using federal funding for low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite broadband coverage was “absurd.” He said SpaceX’s top boss Elon Musk already has his roadmap set for deploying Starlink satellites. He added that it would be a big “cop out” if the BEAD program left the most difficult-to-reach locations to satellite broadband. The U.S. government managed to reach every rural location with electricity in the 1930s—so surely it can now reach those locations with fiber broadband, Bolton said.

Now why is he so adamant about laying cables?

Extreme high-cost deployments of fiber got a lot of attention in 2022 when reports surfaced of some USDA ReConnect grants being allocated for crazily expensive fiber deployments. For example, the Alaska Telephone Company won a $33 million ReConnect grant to run fiber to 211 homes and five businesses at a shocking cost of nearly $204,000 per passing. The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is working with the consulting company Cartesian to develop business models for deploying fiber in extremely high-cost situations.

That's a great business, if you can bribe the government into funding it!

Do you like the idea of the federal government paying 50% of the rate on a 45Mbps (forty-five!) connection at the cost of just over $1700/mo, or do you wish cheaper, faster options were on the bureaucrats' menu?

 

[ericram]

I'm saying Russia has setup lots of ways to buy things overseas and get them into Russia.

The idea that Musk is working for the Russians when has forbids the sale there and has donated thousands of terminals and free service for months to Ukraine is amazingly incongruent.

On February 26, the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian minister Mykhailo Fedorov asked Elon Musk on Twitter to provide Starlink assistance to Ukraine. Musk agreed, and SpaceX responded by activating country-wide service, with the first shipment of Starlink terminals arriving two days later on February 28.
By 6 April 2022, SpaceX had sent 5000 Starlink terminals. 3667 or 73% of those were donated by SpaceX, which also removed the monthly service fees, while USAID had purchased the balance of the terminals. By mid August 2022, Ukraine internet service was being provided by more than 20,000 Starlink terminals.
In early 2023, SpaceX made a deal with the US and European governments to pay for another 100,000 new satellite dishes to Ukraine. In February 2023, Ukrainian minister Mykhailo Fedorov called Musk "one of the biggest private donors of [Ukraine's] future victory," estimating SpaceX's contributions at the time as over $100 million.

I could see that. The thing is his boy biff is also wanting the Russians to win.

 

[billanole]

This is amazing coming from a guy who just relied on the invisible hand to provide him internet service.

Did you not just buy a Starlink terminal?


Our FCC is thwarting that.

Why?
Because it's about where the money flows, not the citizens.

In a recent panel, Gary Bolton, CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), spoke candidly about the idea of SpaceX getting Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds. Bolton said he thought using federal funding for low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite broadband coverage was “absurd.” He said SpaceX’s top boss Elon Musk already has his roadmap set for deploying Starlink satellites. He added that it would be a big “cop out” if the BEAD program left the most difficult-to-reach locations to satellite broadband. The U.S. government managed to reach every rural location with electricity in the 1930s—so surely it can now reach those locations with fiber broadband, Bolton said.

Now why is he so adamant about laying cables?

Extreme high-cost deployments of fiber got a lot of attention in 2022 when reports surfaced of some USDA ReConnect grants being allocated for crazily expensive fiber deployments. For example, the Alaska Telephone Company won a $33 million ReConnect grant to run fiber to 211 homes and five businesses at a shocking cost of nearly $204,000 per passing. The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is working with the consulting company Cartesian to develop business models for deploying fiber in extremely high-cost situations.

That's a great business, if you can bribe the government into funding it!

Do you like the idea of the federal government paying 50% of the rate on a 45Mbps (forty-five!) connection at the cost of just over $1700/mo, or do you wish cheaper, faster options were on the bureaucrats' menu?

Yes, I ordered a Starlink. The cost of the gear and the $120/ month fees put it out of reach for many poors. The country/world needs affordable broadband for all.

 

[seminole97]

Yes, I ordered a Starlink. The cost of the gear and the $120/ month fees put it out of reach for many poors. The country/world needs affordable broadband for all.

Which the FCC is actively thwarting, in lieu of more expensive options that aren’t in place and will take years to put in place (and never make financial sense).

If you were told they could run you a fiber line for $200k you’d tell them no thanks, and buy a Starlink.

But for some people it’s ok for the government to shell out $200k to run that line to a single house. Ignoring entirely the cheaper (and more survivable, and portable…) options and the opportunity costs associated with poorly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Would you ever pay >$1700/mo for a 45Mbps connection?
Bureaucrats in charge of USAC grants think it’s a brilliant idea. They’re not spending their money. Who cares? Get it spent.