Fiber optic is far cheaper than satellites. Karl Denninger over at MarketTicker.org has written on this.
I will say I was waiting with baited breath for Biden’s rural internet, and never saw anything. We were considering Starlink when one of the local cable companies came through and extended coverage to our neighborhood.
We’re using their service right now.
I too was considering Starlink when I was given the opportunity to move to a rural town. But too many trees would have blocked it. There is fiber there in the town, however, the property owner wouldn’t allow it to be connected to the unit. Instead they favored an AT&T/T-Mobile connection instead.
“Fiber optic is far cheaper than satellites.”
I’d dispute that. I was in that business for 10 years. Even in rural areas fiber costs run somewhere around $250-300 per foot in the ground. In dense urban areas that quickly goes to $8,000 to $10,000 per FOOT.
Then there are the access issues. Got a stream or river in the way? You’re done. Railroad rights of way? You’re done. It takes 6 months to a year to get them to sign off crossing their tracks.
We used to joke that we were really a paving company that happened to leave fiber in the ground.
So a blanket statement like that makes no sense to me.
L