Yeah, I definitely disagree that it is "virtually everywhere" or "cheap", but I definitely agree with the parent's overall point that it is way more ubiquitous these days by orders of magnitude. To the point where it enables a lot of things that were pretty much impossible back then, both in technical aspects and societal/job market aspects.

Maybe he is writing from the near future where Starlink is fully operational :-)

Joking aside, globally available broadband from space would be a huge game changer.

85% of Americans have access to 250 mbps broadband in their local market.[1] Prices for Internet only packages are typically cheap in the US. For example I pay $40 a month for 100 mbps (and usually get 125+ mbps). This price is about typical for the major providers.[2]

[1] https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-50A1.pdf [2] https://www.allconnect.com/blog/cost-of-high-speed-internet

> 85% of Americans have access to 250 mbps broadband in their local market.

It's meaningless if it's available “in your local market” but not at your address. I really can't imagine any real use for that stat except exaggerating broadband access.