A big part of the plan is scooping up backhaul traffic-- latency for long distance communication will be very fast with a few laser-linked satellites, compared

A big part of the plan is scooping up backhaul traffic-- latency for long distance communication will be very fast with a few laser-linked satellites, compared to many (hundreds?) of hops linked by glass fiber (wherein the speed of light is significantly slower). That and the billion+ potential customers currently without any access at all can probably provide a very healthy revenue stream, even if they don't pay much at all.