It is amazing how our traditional telcos have failed us. Buildout of broadband was fully-funded by the government in the 90s, and it flopped; They took the money and never built anything. These communities still do not have access to reliable broadband as it was defined then.
Comcast could have built out service in so many of our current residential areas, but chose not to. For no apparent reason but that it cost capex.
There was so much funding to extend internet access to rural areas. None of the major vendors engaged these funds and used them to provide capacity.
If Starlink succeeds, I'll raise a glass to the memory of Comcast and others.
spot on:
>> a quality of life improvement for a small group of wealthy individuals
Only question is, will the money from this small group of wealthy individuals be sufficient to pay for the full system? We'll see in about 4 years the latest, when satellites will start falling down, and will have to be replaced by new ones...
Although Comcast is a thing in town, most of the otherwise eminently suitable locations have no cable access. The choices are old-style satellite or Starlink.
We have met an increasing number of people who have left the Bay Area and moved to our area. Nearly all of these are remote tech workers. They have generally held their noses and signed up for geosynchronous satellite while waiting for their Starlink service. Those who have transitioned to Starlink are very happy they made the move when they did.
I think Starlink will prove useful to so many people that it will increase pricing for rural real estate.