I took a quick look through the companies and didn’t see Starlink in there. I think Elon will force rural internet to become competitive and efficient.
I see it more like their getting closer tabs on and control of rural populations before booting them off their land.
I’m from the government-funded Internet and I’m here to help you.
Yeah, sure.
“Most of these set ups could be done for less than one percent of what the idiots that run this government are paying.”
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Indeed. However the federal government is corrupt and rotten to the core. All government run programs are rife with dirty, underhanded, shady deals which not only enrich the lobbyists and the companies they represent but also the gov employees that award the contracts. If they are not getting a kickback under the table, then they are getting a sweetheart deal when the leave their jobs and go into the private sector. Kinda like when a president or Congress critter leaves office. They are all getting a cut.
Which is why they hate and fear Trump. They know if he gets back in the White House again, he will shut them down.
Been going on for 10 years or more. Millions of dollars spent burying fiber and when you ask to see the business model that will light it up and use it to deliver services, they just give you a blank stare. The USDA Community Meddling...i.e. “Economic Development” branch is a huge joke - the staff is a bunch of dimwitted sociology majors who couldn’t get a job anywhere else and now are considered experts. Yeah, I’ve had some experience with them (spit).
The coop system has driven the line of sight wireless provider mostly out of business now and it is about 2/3 the price and three times the speed.
Try this one at $694,000 per household served. How can you spend that much money on internet? Answer, you can’t.
Applicant: Big Bend Telephone Company, Inc.
Location: Texas
Total Square Miles: 52.2
Funded Service Area Households: 36
Award Amount: $25,000,000
This Rural Development investment will be used to deploy a fiber-to-the-premises network to provide high-speed internet. This network will benefit 64 people, one business and eight farms in Terrell, Val Verde and Brewster counties in Texas. Big Bend Telephone Company Inc. will make high-speed internet affordable by participating in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Lifeline and Affordable Connectivity Programs.
Must be why our phone/dsl company just got brand new trucks and ran a little fiber