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Starlink tries to block Virginia's plan to bring fiber Internet to residents

58 points by worik 1y ago

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
barbazoo 1y ago
> Starlink operator SpaceX is fighting Virginia's plan to deploy fiber Internet service to residents, claiming that federal grant money should be given to Starlink instead. SpaceX is already in line to win over $3 million in grant money in the state but is seeking $60 million. Classy.
MarkusQ 1y ago
SpaceX bid $60 million, a competitor bid over $600 million, and the state is giving it to the highest bidder. SpaceX is objecting that that's not how competitive bidding is supposed to work.
- ThePowerOfFuet 1y ago
  The lowest bid is not always the best. Fiber can have competition; Starlink cannot.
Terretta 1y ago
Starlink is generally seen as more beneficial in harder-to-serve areas because of its capacity limits, but Starlink and the Trump administration want satellite technology to be treated the same as fiber when it comes to giving out grants. "more"? The rest of the sentence makes more sense with the word "less". From later in the article: "project areas span from mountains and hills to farmland and coastal plains... tree canopy, rugged terrain, and slope can complicate installation and/or obstruct line-of-sight" [meaning] low-Earth orbit satellite technology "can have signal degradation, increased latency, and reduced reliability". Meanwhile, Virginia said its plan will allocate $613.3 million to serve 133,472 locations, including: - SpaceX's Starlink: $3.26 million for 5,579 locations - Amazon's Kuiper: $4.46 million for 6,957 locations - All Points Broadband: $171.4 million for 19,801 locations - Comcast: $146.4 million for 24,343 locations
- cman1444 1y ago
  More beneficial in rural areas than in urban areas because of the capacity limits. Not more beneficial in urban areas than alternative providers.
  - Terretta 1y ago
    TY, I puzzled a while. So "less challenged by its capacity limits when used in rural areas" and I can now read the original that way but it's still a weird phrasing.
jethronethro 1y ago
Reminds me of a voting machine company that tried to sue a state back in the early 2000s for going with a competitor. Then there's the attitude of entitlement that Musk and his companies seem to have. So much for the free market ...
hoppp 1y ago
Don't be evil is not in their code of conduct.
- NoPicklez 1y ago
  I don't think its in anyone's, especially after Google removed it
greenavocado 1y ago
The State of Virginia is actually well run compared to many other states. The infrastructure is good and generally works.
rlt 1y ago
“Tries to block” is different than “fights for a piece of the same pie”. While Starlink is never going to compete with fiber purely on speed, it’s available now, cheaper, and fast enough for residential customers. It will get faster over time as well.
- malfist 1y ago
  That latency isn't going to change though

58 points by worik 1y ago

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

> Starlink operator SpaceX is fighting Virginia's plan to deploy fiber Internet service to residents, claiming that federal grant money should be given to Starlink instead. SpaceX is already in line to win over $3 million in grant money in the state but is seeking $60 million. Classy.

MarkusQ 1y ago

SpaceX bid $60 million, a competitor bid over $600 million, and the state is giving it to the highest bidder. SpaceX is objecting that that's not how competitive bidding is supposed to work.

ThePowerOfFuet 1y ago
The lowest bid is not always the best. Fiber can have competition; Starlink cannot.

Terretta 1y ago

Starlink is generally seen as more beneficial in harder-to-serve areas because of its capacity limits, but Starlink and the Trump administration want satellite technology to be treated the same as fiber when it comes to giving out grants. "more"? The rest of the sentence makes more sense with the word "less". From later in the article: "project areas span from mountains and hills to farmland and coastal plains... tree canopy, rugged terrain, and slope can complicate installation and/or obstruct line-of-sight" [meaning] low-Earth orbit satellite technology "can have signal degradation, increased latency, and reduced reliability". Meanwhile, Virginia said its plan will allocate $613.3 million to serve 133,472 locations, including: - SpaceX's Starlink: $3.26 million for 5,579 locations - Amazon's Kuiper: $4.46 million for 6,957 locations - All Points Broadband: $171.4 million for 19,801 locations - Comcast: $146.4 million for 24,343 locations

cman1444 1y ago
More beneficial in rural areas than in urban areas because of the capacity limits. Not more beneficial in urban areas than alternative providers.
- Terretta 1y ago
  TY, I puzzled a while. So "less challenged by its capacity limits when used in rural areas" and I can now read the original that way but it's still a weird phrasing.

jethronethro 1y ago

Reminds me of a voting machine company that tried to sue a state back in the early 2000s for going with a competitor. Then there's the attitude of entitlement that Musk and his companies seem to have. So much for the free market ...

hoppp 1y ago

Don't be evil is not in their code of conduct.

NoPicklez 1y ago
I don't think its in anyone's, especially after Google removed it

greenavocado 1y ago

The State of Virginia is actually well run compared to many other states. The infrastructure is good and generally works.

rlt 1y ago

“Tries to block” is different than “fights for a piece of the same pie”. While Starlink is never going to compete with fiber purely on speed, it’s available now, cheaper, and fast enough for residential customers. It will get faster over time as well.

malfist 1y ago
That latency isn't going to change though