from the very-briefly-had-an-ethical-backbone dept
SpaceX’s Starlink service can be a big improvement for those completely out of range of broadband access. But contrary to what many Republicans and c-tier comedians turned conspiracy podcasters imply, Starlink is not magic. And it comes with a growing list of caveats. Including the increasingly unhinged behavior and far right political alliances of its conspiratorial CEO.
The technology has been criticized for harming astronomical research and the ozone layer. Starlink customer service is largely nonexistent. It’s too expensive for the folks most in need of reliable broadband access. The nature of satellite physics and capacity means slowdowns and annoying restrictions are inevitable, and making it scale to meet real-world demand is many years away.
Still, many politicians seem under the impression that Starlink is some kind of quick, permanent, and magical fix for the lack of rural broadband access or their failure to push 5G wireless and fiber into unserved neighborhoods. It’s simply not.
There’s also the small fact the CEO of the company is a raging conspiratorial bigot cozying up to and installing right wing dictatorships the world over. That was apparently very briefly a problem for Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who initially said the imposition of Donald Trump’s ignorant tariffs was causing the Province to tear up a $100 Million (Canadian) contract with Starlink:
Ford then announced that that the deal was back on after Trump temporarily backed off the threat after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada promised a bunch of things that weren’t really new: like plans to station 10,000 “frontline personnel” at the 5,500-mile-long Canada-U.S. border.
So Ford didn’t want to “do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” but he did apparently want to do business with a racist, sexist, opportunist with a head full of conspiracy theories, currently aiding an authoritarian coup of his Southern trading neighbor.
Trump’s tariff threats are best viewed as classic mobster shit. He’ll impose random and unpredictable violence on you and your business or family unless you sheepishly approach him, hat in hand, with a growing list of erratic concessions. In this case Trump didn’t gain much of anything beyond Canada’s willing participation in Trump’s fear-mongering border hysteria kayfabe.
Still, this is likely the first of many such feints, so calling any of this a “win” for anyone (outside of avoiding the worst case scenario that was likely never real to begin with) feels like a stretch.
It’s curious that Ontario and Doug Ford are still ok with Starlink despite (waves around) everything else, including Musk’s ongoing oligarchic coup of U.S. governance, the rabid racism, the undermining of public health advice, the widespread support for radical far right politics, the rampant misogyny, the labor abuses, the alleged sexual harassment, and the broad, sustained global jackassery.
Even Musk’s problematic politics aside (a huge aside), at the very least his erratic nature is bad for business and economic stability. And tariffs or not, you’d think that people who respect human dignity and basic global stability would stop throwing money at such a preposterous asshole, or his expensive, environment-harming half solution for remote broadband access.
Again, as Starlink signs more and more partners and reaches capacity constraints, the already pricey service is going to be subject to all manner of new slowdowns and restrictions not seen on wireless broadband. Assuming Musk can keep a steady parade of low Earth satellites consistently in orbit. And doesn’t destroy the ozone layer. Neither the ethical nor practical sacrifices have ever been worth it.
Filed Under: canada, democracy, doug ford, elon musk, low earth satellite, ontario, starlink
Companies: spacex, starlink
