Musk's Starlink hooked rural customers. Then came the price increases.

[Zorro]

The billionaire’s satellite internet service is a lifeline to many, but some users who face higher prices say Starlink has amassed too much power.

When Julie Slama and her husband moved to a home outside Dunbar, Nebraska, in April 2022, they were happy customers of Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The satellite-based internet service from Musk’s rocket-maker, SpaceX, was the only practical option for them in their rural community, and their $90 monthly rate has felt reasonable in the years since.

SpaceX is set to list on the stock market this week at a valuation of more than $1 trillion, and Slama is now feeling the squeeze. She and her husband, parents of three who run a law firm from their home, face a 44 percent jump in their internet bill, an annual increase of nearly $500.

Starlink told some U.S. customers last month it was raising prices and increased the cost of most plans for a service that counts millions of users across the country.

“I can complain about Starlink raising their prices, but it’s the only real option we have,” said Slama, a Republican and former Nebraska state senator. “Once they have rural customers on their service with no meaningful alternatives, they’re free to raise prices at will.”

https://wapo.st/3Si4g1z

[Cheezoholic]

1. This isn't isolated to Eloon. Company's have been gouging for a long time now. It's why utilities are regulated

The Biden administration was moving towards something akin towards regulating Internet service providers because internet access is increasingly, if not already there, a necessary "utility" in my eyes. Especially after the internet backbone "lines" across the country got a substantial investment from our tax dollars and Biden. This included Starlink who received tax breaks for offering internet at "affordable" prices to rural customers had little or no access. This is the kind of shit Republicans quietly do. This is the kind of shit we need to work into the affordability message because it seems we never call them out on it. People just don't see it as a republican issue. We have to do a better job, consistently and together, at getting through these peoples heads that republicans will always pick your pocket when you're not looking, IMHO.

[RussBLib]

2. found a Starlink price chart

Most Starlink monthly rates are increasing by around 10%. That's in line with most other increases over the last couple of years. Starlink is Musk's sole cash income stream, so he just boosted it by around 10%, and when you are talking about 12 million subscribers across 160 countries, a 10% increase could represent anywhere from $60 million to $100 million more per month. Pocket change to Elon.

We don't plan on ever using Starlink services.

https://russblib.blogspot.com