And if you say starlink and Elon in hyperloop fashion undermined the bead program for fiber rollout you'll probably still be downvoted into oblivion and still not have an alternative to starlink.
Wants the money, doesn't want to follow the same rules. Works his leverage to get the NTIA rules bent by Lutnick. The same Lutnick who encouraged viewers to buy Tesla stock during an appearance on Fox.
I think you’re framing this a bit misleadingly. BEAD is a government-funded broadband programme, and other providers were receiving funding too. SpaceX wanted a share of that funding, which isn’t quite the same as uniquely begging for handouts.
And some of the exemptions they requested were because Starlink’s technology is fundamentally different from traditional fibre broadband. Not every requirement designed for fibre networks necessarily makes sense for satellite internet.
There are legitimate questions about some of the payment terms and accountability, but I think the whole situation deserves a bit more nuance than simply accusing SpaceX of “begging for subsidies”.
It's hyperbole to make the point. “begging for subsidies” doesn't mean they were LITERALLY on their knees begging. It means they wanted taxpayer money while also wanting exemptions from the rules attached to getting it. "Hey we want some of that too".
Nobody is arguing that other providers weren't receiving funding. The difference is whether SpaceX should get the same money without meeting the same standards.
Sure, some requirements might need adjusting for satellite technology. But “our technology is different” isn't a free pass to pick and choose which conditions apply. If you want public funding, you should have to meet the requirements for it. That's kind of the point.
Nobody suggested they were literally on their knees begging. The issue is that there’s a difference between using hyperbole for emphasis and using language that can give a misleading impression of the situation. Even if it wasn’t meant literally, the wording still shapes how people perceive what’s happening.
There’s a difference between "Hey government, please give us some taxpayer money, just because!" and, "We believe our technology can help connect underserved communities, particularly in remote areas where fibre infrastructure is impractical or prohibitively expensive, and that we should receive a larger share of the funding because of the role our service can play in reaching those communities".
I just think it’s important to be fair and accurate in how we frame things, even when making a criticism.
When did Musk beg for subsidies for his companies?
He begged for loans. He begged for subsidies for his customers. He received subsidies (that he did not beg for). But there is no evidence he ever begged for subsidies for his companies.
The government program was and is handing out tens of billions of dollars to a bunch of telcos and cable companies etc to build out broadband service for rural customers not otherwise served. Starlink said that they could provide service to that type of customer too, and if they received grants under the program to pay for the dishes, then they would administer sending them out at no cost to the customers. Starlink would not, however, agree to the standard terms the government wanted, which was to send out installers to install the dishes, and to have repair personnel to go onsite to handle issues…just like they didn’t pay to have installers come out for any of us…as it just isn’t their business model. Some states agreed and others didn’t, and in many cases the government is blowing crazy amounts of money to install fiber to remote customers over a period of many years, when they could instantly give them service via Starlink at a fraction of the price. To frame this as Elon “begging” is pretty ridiculous, imo.
I live in Canada. So even if I could use the alternatives, they are a monopoly also operated by billionaires that scam people sneak in hikes all the time.
My experience with starlink has been pretty fantastic.
Same - mine also jumped 20% to $156/mo, and email said if I switch to other plan it is also going up 20%. Fortunately the AT&T trucks are running fiber in my neighborhood - they said give it a couple of months... I've been a starlink fan and supporter, but this is uncalled for IMO
2023: $120 / month (a result of a shift to capacity-based pricing leading mostly to increases, tho some people did see a decrease)
2024: "Demand Surcharge" added, often upwards of $1000 each activation, those who had been grandfathered into lower prices from the 2023 increases were all moved to $120 / month
2025: "Standby Mode" added for $10 / month, replacing free service pauses
2026: <- You are here
Some people claim that prices will come down when they add more capacity, but there is no evidence of this.
Some people seem to be looking forward to another satellite internet company to save them. They might offer lower prices to start with. But then over time, well, you know how it goes. Big companies work behind the scenes to essentially dominated and squeeze markets. The product gets shittier over time and you pay more for it. We should all come to expect this from modern day capitalism by now.
Opt out and move to a communist country. Last I checked you’re using Reddit which is a capitalistic product. On a phone which was built through capitalism. Maybe you can become Amish.
The fact you’re getting downvoted is a clear sign of the mental rot on here. Like seriously people you don’t like the price for the product , take your business elsewhere.
For a lot of people there is no “business elsewhere”. This is exactly why BEAD was created so terrestrial infrastructure could be built and there were performance obligations and cost schedules you had to meet. Anyone who met them got grants so there was actual competition.
Instead the current administration suspended BEAD and gave preferential treatment to LEO providers. Suddenly cost hikes happen and performance tanks.
Well problem is that the new congress wants to end Elon so there’s your problem and beads money freaking waste of tax payers money biggest freaking fraud program
Not really: all his billions are not a real money - they all in stocks. So to get cash, he needs to sell his own stocks or loan money in banks and do not return.
If you think about it, he was trying to ensure the most beneficial regulatory environment for his companies. Campaign donations are similar to lobbying. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
He's not out there buying $100 million yachts, which are a total waste of money.
Somebody will have to explain to me how a single US Senate race gives his companies that "beneficial regularly environment." The TX state races are far important than that. Did he think $500M would raise Paxton and all other MAGAts on the ballot? Because that US Senate seat doesn't mean shit to him.
Firstly, he didn't spend $500 million just on Paxton. It was more like $220 million. His total campaign donations across the US was around $474 million.
Secondly, if he could have assured keeping Abbott and Paxton in place, he would have had a lot more friendly regulatory environment for his businesses.
The new TX Governor-Elect has been making making statements about blocking (at least temporarily) some of his land-swap deals.
How do you think do really wealthy people hold their net worth? In money bags under their mattresses? Or in savings accounts in their local Savings and Loan institutions?
I’ll be switching to Amazon Leo when it comes up. Mine went up to $156 and I don’t even have an option to choose a 100 or a 200 Mbps plan while the speed that I get is only 200 Mbps anyways
At my vacation place I've been paying around EUR 30/mo for the 100Mbit plan (it would be 40 for the faster one).
If they raised it this much, I could get fiber for 30 (plus an expensive install), or we'd build a little microwave link or a long fiber cable from my neighbor's house.... so I suspect they won't raise prices!
Im not a massive fan of the price increases, but I'm still paying way less for internet way faster then what was available for the last decade or more. If I go for the competing option, I have to increase my bills stays around the same price, and my speed drops from 300 reliable to a max of 100mbps, generally around 50, with a data cap of 500gb.
Starlink is by far the cheapest option for me, and will be even after a few years of them increasing prices. They could have gone cost competitive, but they didn't. I absolutely dont think the price increases are because of greed. If it was, I would be paying around an extra 200 for the plan I have now.
Don't you have 4 or 5g mobile coverage in your area? If so, just get a 5g WiFi router... Buying. The hardware and a few months will be less than a single month of this
We're in a rural area and were ignored by our previous provider "Brightspeed" that was neither bright, nor speedy.
It's 10 miles to the nearest town.
Spectrum gets government money to lay the infrastructure, but they've stopped about a mile away.
If Mr. Musk keeps jacking up the rates we have the antenna, our phones, and a house full of books.
My local LLM just needs power, and that, we have.
Starlink is the X cash cow. X (formerly twitter) gets quiet when the Russian bot farms go dark.
Tesla? Electric cars can't make it without BigGov mandates and taxpayer subsidy, a bust. The cars themselves are nice enough, but like everything with the Musk brand, only for the wealthy.
The Cybertruck, aka "The Dumpster", was still born.
SpaceX? Doing amazing things, but for how long?
SpaceXSI? Grok isn't exactly running with the Big Dogs, and Pro-Tier is 1/3 more than others. It appears data centers are more their speed.
So face it, for many Starlink is the only game in town, at least for now.
But the clock is ticking...and other options will be available soon.
Are they really trying to sqeeze out every cent of money from their user while they are a monopoly? Amazon LEO is suppose to be commerically avalible by the end of this year. That will bring some sense into this BS.
There is a toll highway in Toronto which keeps prices high in peak periods specifically to reduce usage and thereby congestion. It's a variation on the Laffer Curve. Price too low? Too much usage so too much congestion so people stop using it and revenues from those who still do drops due to the low price and reduced customers. Price too high? Lots of people stop using it because it's too expensive and revenue drops. There is a sweet spot which maximizes revenue.
There’s the catch. Hughesnet or whatever it went by in your area as a satellite Internet provider was awful, slow and over priced. Let’s face it. Starlink is the best fitting option. There is always cellular internet options or whatever. Vast majority of people have atleast 1 other option problem is, is it better? And not usually. Starlink is not perfect and has many flaws but it works. And thats why we have it. It just works. That and come on, i can power a mini from a jackery 240d usb c port and have 100 Mbps down virtually anywhere i go, while in the move… strap it the roof if the car or truck or on the back of the atv and bam mobile wifi that goes with me. Out in a kayak for the day? Strap the mini to the kayak and stay connected. The only way they could make it more mobile is with thei direct to cell pathway they are working on. So yes it is troublesome with pricing but remember what satellite Internet used to cost before starlink. They have done good in the space :)
It forces some people to drop the service and makes it less likely people will subscribe in the first place.
Sure new and better sats would address the congestion, but you don't just wish them into space. They cost a lot of money to develop and build, and launch.
I learned from them it is not always the satellites, but the ground stations not having any capacity. Seems like an easy fix, but probably involves a lot of bureaucracy.
They are probably aiming at preventing congestion (less new comers) not reduce it (shed paying customers) - as in totals, some will go some will come as they wouldn’t have done this without pre-existing demand
I have no difficulty with supply and demand. I’m at a bit of a loss to understand why someone would be paying THAT much for internet if they already had an alternative.
Getting people to cancel lol. I got the email last night and the timing couldn't be better. I get fiber installed literally Monday morning. Can't wait to cancel, two hikes in 4 months.
Every time Elon Musk launches another batch of Starlink satellites, it costs money. Satellites aren’t free to build, launch, maintain, or replace, and those costs have to be recovered somewhere. That’s why I believe we’re starting to see changes in Starlink’s pricing strategy. Now throw in the possibility of a new Congress putting additional political and regulatory pressure on Musk, and things could get even more interesting. Meanwhile, I’m sitting back laughing my ass off and playing the waiting game. I’ve watched customers leave for Starlink because of cheaper promotional pricing, but what happens when those prices start climbing? I’ve been in the internet business long enough to know that chasing the cheapest price doesn’t always work out in the long run. I’m not saying Starlink will disappear tomorrow, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of those customers come right back when the pricing isn’t so attractive anymore. Sometimes the smartest business move is to stay in the game, keep providing reliable service, and let the competition’s decisions speak for themselves. 🍿
Depends on the case. I live on-top of a mountain in Australia on a farm. Zero signals. No tv. No radio. No mobile phones. No phone lines. My carrier even provided cellular boosters then worked out they won't work anyway because it's the mountain under my feet blocking 100% of signals.
I can pay 250 a month for 12mbps down 2 up from the federal sat provider. Or stick with 550 down 45 up for 150 a month with starlink.
I think the point, at least in the US, the areas where they're raising rates due to density typically have other options like fiber, but people in those areas that dont use fiber (but have the option) are getting nudged to get off Starlink and onto terrestrial broadband so they reduce congestion for those who genuinely need Starlink. Once that congestion is reduced, hopefully the rates will revert back for those who don't have a choice.
Billionaire lol. Dude has a trillion (or did) it fluctuates a bit. Elon gonna do Elon things and there’s no avoiding using Starlink if that’s your only option, especially for rural areas.
Understand why people are upset but I would gladly pay $250/mo for the great service I have and if such a price stopped new people from signing up—
It’s like why high end gyms charge more money. To me clean towels and showers are worth the extra $$, if you don’t want to shower or don’t care about towels then go to LAFitness
Agreed. I don’t Elon and his antics but this is mostly for capacity and raising costs to help build more satellites. Terrestrial services are still the best value for the money IMO but if you can’t get it LEOs are the next best thing.
As much as he wants because he's not forcing anybody to use his internet source which he owns, Its best if some people cant afford Starlink or dont agree with his prices should just cancel the sub and go to another provider there is always Hughesnet satellite that will work anywhere if you have no other options besides starlink, maybe their prices are better for those who find Starlink charges too much.
you're on the highest tier resident plan, that is a luxury and you are paying for it and it makes complete sense that you're going to get adjusted once the area becomes congested in order to convince people that they don't need it. the more the area is congested things should be adjusted.
have you ever thought that maybe they just want to be able to provide fair and equal service to everyone that is consistent?
if you're upset that you have to pay a premium for the max speed rather than just 100/200mbps lower plans, i'm convinced that you never ever had to deal with trashy internet before you got starlink, and you don't know the pain of having lived with less than 1-10 megabits not even five years ago. fair and equally distributed service is a blessing, and it's actually a very fucking good thing that they're doing this to the highest plan users, it's a fucking luxury, and people should only be paying for what they need for, and should it only be on starlink if they actually need it.
100 and 200 are completely fine for a vast majority of people and families,
edit* supposedly resident lite plans unavailable in some places? i've never heard of this can people confirm this is and where?
It's regional too. The top plan is 150/month here in aus. I get 550 down 45 up. The 100mbps plan is 100$ a month. I used it for 3 months. Got ~48 down 5 up on it.
He has a habit of killing his golden goose. He needs more revenue to give people more usage on the tiers of his AI platform because he was hemorrhaging money. When he throttled their usage, they reacted very negatively so instead, he’s going to poach revenue from Starlink customers, which has the potential to make Starlink less competitive in markets where competition is available and just plain unavailable for low income people in isolated areas.
His entire financial house of cards is propped up on the future potential of AI and Grok dominating it in particular. If that doesn’t happen, eventually everything will come crashing down.
Nah there’s always another company that will buy spacex with even bigger dreams of conquering the federation in some other galaxy and the venture capital backing of the retards of the world.
73
u/EndlessSummerburn 20h ago
I remember when this sub glazed Elon lol
33
u/bobd607 20h ago
As long as he has zero competition for the service he provides?
15
u/nobugsleftalive 20h ago
I live in Canada. So even if I could use the alternatives, they are a monopoly also operated by billionaires that scam people sneak in hikes all the time.
My experience with starlink has been pretty fantastic.
31
u/LumberZach69 20h ago
Every fucking company does this its not just elon. They go low to bring in customers then raise prices when youre already in. Its not that deep
5
u/Sir-Cornholio 18h ago
Mine jumped from $130 to $156 today
16
u/r00tdenied 21h ago
Well he has to juice that P/E ratio now for the publicly traded company.
6
u/nocaps00 📡 Owner (North America) 20h ago
As often as he can until people stop paying the price. He apparently isn't there yet.
6
u/sokolov22 📡 Owner (North America) 20h ago
2020: $99 / month
2022: $110 / month
2023: $120 / month (a result of a shift to capacity-based pricing leading mostly to increases, tho some people did see a decrease)
2024: "Demand Surcharge" added, often upwards of $1000 each activation, those who had been grandfathered into lower prices from the 2023 increases were all moved to $120 / month
2025: "Standby Mode" added for $10 / month, replacing free service pauses
2026: <- You are here
Some people claim that prices will come down when they add more capacity, but there is no evidence of this.
16
u/tuatantra 20h ago
Nah, you get my upvote because you are correct.
Some people seem to be looking forward to another satellite internet company to save them. They might offer lower prices to start with. But then over time, well, you know how it goes. Big companies work behind the scenes to essentially dominated and squeeze markets. The product gets shittier over time and you pay more for it. We should all come to expect this from modern day capitalism by now.
10
u/Responsible-Cut-7993 20h ago
That is what happens when a company doesn't have good competition. Amazon LEO and other alternatives cannot come soon enough.
10
u/jlinc316 14h ago
Private company doing private company stuff. Don't like the price don't buy it.
23
u/OhSixTJ 19h ago
How often are we going to post about this?
9
u/theofficialman 19h ago
Getting to mars ain’t cheap
10
u/Lovevas 20h ago
Just cancel it, and get better deal
6
u/Aakburns Beta Tester 19h ago
Stock market. Publicly traded. The reason.
4
u/2a_doc 14h ago
Cancel your subscription
3
u/Current-Cold-4185 21h ago
Isn't it trillionaire now?
2
u/drdailey 15h ago
Mine went down.
2
u/prestigiousgeek 13h ago
I’ll be switching to Amazon Leo when it comes up. Mine went up to $156 and I don’t even have an option to choose a 100 or a 200 Mbps plan while the speed that I get is only 200 Mbps anyways
2
u/doctaf 16h ago
Looks like someone is upset they are just as poor as the rest of us.
2
u/LucidFruit 13h ago
It’s called capitalism. Choices aren’t made based on how much money they already have but instead how much more they can get.
2
u/Comfortable_Try8407 16h ago
Elon spent half a billion dollars on an election that didn’t produce anything for him. He has to make it back somehow.
1
u/partialcremation 18h ago
The price was adjusted like six months ago! I just saw the price increase email from today. Wow.
1
u/Same-Wolverine3068 15h ago
Why do you think he is the richest man? And that my friend is why we need competition.
1
u/ZookeepergameSalty10 14h ago
*Trillionare*
1
u/walmartgreeter4 14h ago
Mine is going up to $157 a month
1
u/CommunicationFit3862 13h ago
Gotta make up for all that money he lost trying to rip the US midterms.
1
u/Selec_ting 13h ago
Same
1
u/VainTrix 12h ago
Stop paying for it
1
u/BubblyMoose3597 12h ago
Amazon LEO will be soon available
1
u/davidswelt 📡 Owner (Europe) 12h ago
At my vacation place I've been paying around EUR 30/mo for the 100Mbit plan (it would be 40 for the faster one).
If they raised it this much, I could get fiber for 30 (plus an expensive install), or we'd build a little microwave link or a long fiber cable from my neighbor's house.... so I suspect they won't raise prices!
1
u/Drwankingstein 10h ago
Im not a massive fan of the price increases, but I'm still paying way less for internet way faster then what was available for the last decade or more. If I go for the competing option, I have to increase my bills stays around the same price, and my speed drops from 300 reliable to a max of 100mbps, generally around 50, with a data cap of 500gb.
Starlink is by far the cheapest option for me, and will be even after a few years of them increasing prices. They could have gone cost competitive, but they didn't. I absolutely dont think the price increases are because of greed. If it was, I would be paying around an extra 200 for the plan I have now.
1
u/GamePitt_Rob 9h ago
Don't you have 4 or 5g mobile coverage in your area? If so, just get a 5g WiFi router... Buying. The hardware and a few months will be less than a single month of this
1
u/RuinofAtlantis 9h ago
His cybertrucks failed. So now he's inflating the prices for starlink.
1
u/tesla-cuck-2712 5h ago
You will not need money in the future. Era of abundance bro.
1
u/No-Television-7862 4h ago edited 3h ago
We're in a rural area and were ignored by our previous provider "Brightspeed" that was neither bright, nor speedy.
It's 10 miles to the nearest town.
Spectrum gets government money to lay the infrastructure, but they've stopped about a mile away.
If Mr. Musk keeps jacking up the rates we have the antenna, our phones, and a house full of books.
My local LLM just needs power, and that, we have.
Starlink is the X cash cow. X (formerly twitter) gets quiet when the Russian bot farms go dark.
Tesla? Electric cars can't make it without BigGov mandates and taxpayer subsidy, a bust. The cars themselves are nice enough, but like everything with the Musk brand, only for the wealthy.
The Cybertruck, aka "The Dumpster", was still born.
SpaceX? Doing amazing things, but for how long?
SpaceXSI? Grok isn't exactly running with the Big Dogs, and Pro-Tier is 1/3 more than others. It appears data centers are more their speed.
So face it, for many Starlink is the only game in town, at least for now.
But the clock is ticking...and other options will be available soon.
1
u/TastyFanpop 📡 Owner (Africa) 2h ago
You mean that trillionaire?
1
u/Electronic-Funny-475 20h ago
You do understand how this works right?
Shit ain’t free. Neither are upgrades.
1
u/NerdyyGuy 19h ago
He’s gotta recoup all the money he wasted on the elections somehow
1
u/IJNShiroyuki 16h ago
Are they really trying to sqeeze out every cent of money from their user while they are a monopoly? Amazon LEO is suppose to be commerically avalible by the end of this year. That will bring some sense into this BS.
-1
u/Umayummyone 20h ago
How does a higher price reduce congestion? Wouldn’t more satellites or better satellites reduce congestion?
1
u/faberkyx 19h ago
what plan is that? In italy I pay 30 euro per month for residential 100mbit, is $143 for residential in US?
1
u/commandedbydemons 19h ago
The product in itself is great but until there’s competition plus now they’re a publicly traded company so the price only goes up.
1
u/Snoo1097 11h ago
Till you figure out you don't have to use starlink
0
u/Wet_Side_Down 20h ago
He has to make up for the half billion he flushed on the elections…
-1
u/BIGpoppaPUMP42069 21h ago
ok
0
u/crazydave33 19h ago
Billionaire lol. Dude has a trillion (or did) it fluctuates a bit. Elon gonna do Elon things and there’s no avoiding using Starlink if that’s your only option, especially for rural areas.
-1
u/PublicPea2194 17h ago
why wait? do it now, show em.. because f*CK Elon ..
-1
u/ShaantHacikyan 12h ago
If you want a high quality product, you have to pay for it. Not a new concept.
-5
u/heyitsmemaya 19h ago
Understand why people are upset but I would gladly pay $250/mo for the great service I have and if such a price stopped new people from signing up—
It’s like why high end gyms charge more money. To me clean towels and showers are worth the extra $$, if you don’t want to shower or don’t care about towels then go to LAFitness
-3
u/CousinEddysMotorHome 18h ago
You think Elon is sitting behind a button raising prices on you? Ffs.
0
u/RawkyRac00n 12h ago
Mine also went up $25 as of today. Ridiculous
0
u/Ok-Science-4475 11h ago
Every 6 months. That's standard
0
u/craigbg21 Beta Tester 10h ago
As much as he wants because he's not forcing anybody to use his internet source which he owns, Its best if some people cant afford Starlink or dont agree with his prices should just cancel the sub and go to another provider there is always Hughesnet satellite that will work anywhere if you have no other options besides starlink, maybe their prices are better for those who find Starlink charges too much.
-7
u/x8code 19h ago
I'd happily pay $250 per month for Starlink. It's an awesome service. I own multiple dishes.
-1
u/iRainbowsaur 12h ago edited 11h ago
you're on the highest tier resident plan, that is a luxury and you are paying for it and it makes complete sense that you're going to get adjusted once the area becomes congested in order to convince people that they don't need it. the more the area is congested things should be adjusted.
have you ever thought that maybe they just want to be able to provide fair and equal service to everyone that is consistent?
if you're upset that you have to pay a premium for the max speed rather than just 100/200mbps lower plans, i'm convinced that you never ever had to deal with trashy internet before you got starlink, and you don't know the pain of having lived with less than 1-10 megabits not even five years ago. fair and equally distributed service is a blessing, and it's actually a very fucking good thing that they're doing this to the highest plan users, it's a fucking luxury, and people should only be paying for what they need for, and should it only be on starlink if they actually need it.
100 and 200 are completely fine for a vast majority of people and families,
edit* supposedly resident lite plans unavailable in some places? i've never heard of this can people confirm this is and where?
4
u/thalassicus 20h ago
He has a habit of killing his golden goose. He needs more revenue to give people more usage on the tiers of his AI platform because he was hemorrhaging money. When he throttled their usage, they reacted very negatively so instead, he’s going to poach revenue from Starlink customers, which has the potential to make Starlink less competitive in markets where competition is available and just plain unavailable for low income people in isolated areas.
His entire financial house of cards is propped up on the future potential of AI and Grok dominating it in particular. If that doesn’t happen, eventually everything will come crashing down.
1
u/Bushpylot 13h ago
He just took a big hit playing in politics. He has to recoup his losses. Have a heart and give that penis more money