I don't completely agree with that. It could reasonably be argued that satellite companies could provide rural broadband more cost effectively than almost anyone else. They are, in fact, building infrastructure to cover the entire planet, which happens to also cover rural America.
bp
<part15sbs{at}gmail{dot}com>
.....the original point was about SpaceX though. I don't think satellite companies should get rural broadband funding. They didn't build any rural infrastructure. It's not as though they have designated "rural" satellites that they launched for that purpose. Hughes uses their funding to subsidize CPE installation costs, and I assume SpaceX will do the same.
On 12/16/2020 1:28 PM, Adam Moffett wrote:
I do understand that position. Until a year or two ago I called myself a Libertarian (that's a whole other story).
There are places that would never have phone or electric without government intervention. The choice was made 90 years ago to develop those areas. If we're not going to continue that with internet access then logically we should take away the rural phone and electric too. Let the free market not serve them or charge them the true cost of serving them. Facing brutal choices like that swayed me away from pure Libertarianism. It didn't help that the other Libertarians tended to be lunatics (but again, that's another story).
On 12/16/2020 1:01 PM, Jason McKemie wrote:
I'm a big fan of letting the market take care of it. If there is a demand, then a WISP will likely meet it. If not, either deal with it or move somewhere that has service. Maybe that is another argument entirely, but I think we're searching for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
On Wed, Dec 16, 2020 at 11:34 AM Adam Moffett <[email protected]> wrote:
--Is it better to fund Frontier FTTH and risk them being evil, incompetent Frontier or better to leave rural WV unserved? It's easy to sit back in our comfy chairs and say Frontier doesn't deserve that money, but then what do we do after not giving it to them?
On 12/16/2020 12:24 PM, Jason McKemie wrote:
It should probably be a requirement that you aren't under bankruptcy protection if you're going to be getting public money. Plus Frontier is just generally incompetent, hence the bankruptcy.
On Wed, Dec 16, 2020 at 10:58 AM Adam Moffett <[email protected]> wrote:
--I saw the senator's complaint. I can't speak to Frontier's competency, but Frontier threw their hat in the ring to voluntarily serve unprofitable areas with government assistance. I'm betting the senator's complaint is moot because nobody else wants that job.
On 12/15/2020 12:50 PM, Ken Hohhof wrote:
I forget who was complaining that SpaceX was getting RDOF money to serve areas like universities and airports, but FreePress is complaining about the same thing.
Keep in mind this is FreePress, which likes criticizing Internet policy a lot. Also winners still have to submit their long forms.
I also saw that a WV senator was objecting money to Frontier which she said was not competent to deliver gigabit service in her state.
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