The path to fixing ground-based broadband in America doesn't seem obvious given how deeply entrenched the big ISPs are. It's probably actually much, much cheape

The path to fixing ground-based broadband in America doesn't seem obvious given how deeply entrenched the big ISPs are. It's probably actually much, much cheaper to build, launch, and operate a thousands-strong satellite constellation than it would be to dig out Comcast and its ilk, and quicker too. That's an extremely depressing fact (assuming it's correct, being a semi-educated guess), but it is what it is. But there's another dimension, which is that Starlink is supposed to be funding the only company that's materially doing anything new in the domain of spaceflight technology. For a bunch of nerds who grew up drenched in science fiction and promises of humanity's bright future in space, who've instead seen decades of regression in capabilities, and who live in the same world where my first paragraph is true ... that's very meaningful, far beyond the "fanboy" slur. Not saying I come down on either side of the Starlink should/should not exist fence, but I think the motives and attitudes of its proponents are often misrepresented and that's no way to have a productive conversation about it.