this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2023
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It's just not a sustainable idea. To expand service, they need to launch even more satellites. Which degrade and fall down after a year. The only reason it could exist thus far is because the US taxpayer paid for it with subsidies like this.
America has problems with getting cable companies to actually lay cable after giving them money to do that, which is a separate thing. But at least if you get cable laid, it is in the ground providing service for hundreds of years instead of 1 year.
After 5 years.
SpaceX sells services. Just because they're selling services to the government doesn't make it a subsidy.
Starlink is a service sold to you, not the American government. You seem confused. You don't get it for free paid for by taxes.
You have to buy it, and the American government subsidies it to encourage private sector spending on low to no profit endeavours like Internet to remote regions
SpaceX has paid for starlink through selling flights on their rockets, not through "subsidies like this"
You seem confused if you're flip flopping between starlink being paid for by consumers and subsidies.
No, they didn't. They got almost a billion a year in subsidies, which is what this whole thread is about.
Starlink is paid for by consumers and heavily subsidized by governments. It's not that hard to follow.