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.”

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