Free Starlink costs $400

[Ed P]

Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/09/business/elon-musks-starlink-charges-helene-survivors-for-free-internet/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=referral

or

https://tinyurl.com/5n7wyx5y

Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of
free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service — but the
billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm
that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork
over $400 for the system’s hardware.

Starlink, a division of Musk’s rocket-building and space exploration
firm SpaceX, announced on its official X page last week that its service
“is now free for 30 days” for survivors of Helene who live in areas
where phone and fiber cables were cut off — denying them internet access.

[rbowman]

Post by Ed P
Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of
free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service — but the
billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm
that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork
over $400 for the system’s hardware.

I read an article today where the Starlink system was patched into the
major cellular operators. That makes more sense.

[Scott Lurndal]

Post by rbowman

Post by Ed P
Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of
free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service — but the
billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm
that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork
over $400 for the system’s hardware.

I read an article today where the Starlink system was patched into the
major cellular operators. That makes more sense.

Starlink provides very limited and spotty SMS support. Not for cellular
calls.

[Ed P]

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by rbowman

Post by Ed P
Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of
free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service — but the
billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm
that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork
over $400 for the system’s hardware.

I read an article today where the Starlink system was patched into the
major cellular operators. That makes more sense.

Starlink provides very limited and spotty SMS support. Not for cellular
calls.

Seems like it would be good for people in desolate areas with no cable
or phone lines.

When Musk said he was giving them to people in disaster areas, it
sounded like a big charitable gift of help. In reality, it was a
marketing opportunity in disguise.

[rbowman]

Post by Ed P
Seems like it would be good for people in desolate areas with no cable
or phone lines.
When Musk said he was giving them to people in disaster areas, it
sounded like a big charitable gift of help. In reality, it was a
marketing opportunity in disguise.

https://www.wral.com/story/here-s-how-starlink-satellites-are-getting-
western-nc-back-online/21655740/

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4911419-musk-starlink-help-north-
carolina/

"There are 40 Starlink satellite systems available in North Carolina to
help with responder communications, and an additional 140 satellites are
being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration,
the White House said earlier this week. One Starlink will be deployed for
every county’s emergency operations center to help with communications. "

There is a difference between providing emergency providers with
communication terminals and distributing them to the general populace.

[Ed P]

Post by rbowman

Post by Ed P
Seems like it would be good for people in desolate areas with no cable
or phone lines.
When Musk said he was giving them to people in disaster areas, it
sounded like a big charitable gift of help. In reality, it was a
marketing opportunity in disguise.

https://www.wral.com/story/here-s-how-starlink-satellites-are-getting-
western-nc-back-online/21655740/
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4911419-musk-starlink-help-north-
carolina/
"There are 40 Starlink satellite systems available in North Carolina to
help with responder communications, and an additional 140 satellites are
being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration,
the White House said earlier this week. One Starlink will be deployed for
every county’s emergency operations center to help with communications. "
There is a difference between providing emergency providers with
communication terminals and distributing them to the general populace.

Sure, sounds nice, but no mention of gift or pay. Maybe FEMA is paying?
Just because they went to emergency responders does not mean free.

Note the word "temporarily"

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2024/10/10/how-to-use-elon-musk-owned-starlink-internet-in-tennessee-post-helene/75558242007/

Starlink, a satellite internet constellation owned by Elon Musk's
SpaceX, has stepped up to provide free service temporarily in areas hit
by Hurricane Helene.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/29/washington-emergency-responders-use-spacex-starlink-satellite-internet.html

Musk’s company is allowing Washington state to use the Starlink
terminals for free, with Hall saying there has been “no fee structure
quoted yet.”

“The idea is that if we want them long term then we will have come back
to table and talk about that,”

[rbowman]

Post by Ed P
Sure, sounds nice, but no mention of gift or pay. Maybe FEMA is paying?
Just because they went to emergency responders does not mean free.
Note the word "temporarily"

StarLink should offer the service in perpetuity? As far as I can tell the
dishes were distributed without cost to the responders. I don't know if
they are expected to return them. If the mess isn't cleaned up in 30 days
and they find the systems useful they can extend.

I looked at StarLink since my internet is now Verizon wireless. The phone
lines in this area are lucky to support voice let alone DSL and there is
no cable or fiber optic.

At the time there are at least two different monthly rates, $90 and $120
iirc, depending on the service area. I'm not in the cheap area. It looks
like they are all $120 now for a fixed location, $165 for roaming. When
I'm traveling I take the Verizon MiFi with me. It works anywhere there is
Verizon for no additional cost.

If I didn't have a dependable 4G signal it would be attractive. From the
reviews it works better than other satellite offerings.

[Ed P]

Post by rbowman

Post by Ed P
Sure, sounds nice, but no mention of gift or pay. Maybe FEMA is paying?
Just because they went to emergency responders does not mean free.
Note the word "temporarily"

StarLink should offer the service in perpetuity? As far as I can tell the
dishes were distributed without cost to the responders. I don't know if
they are expected to return them. If the mess isn't cleaned up in 30 days
and they find the systems useful they can extend.

I don't know about any upfront charges for equipment, but it is typical
for a many companies to use a disaster as a marketing tool.

Same as the crappy deal about Ukraine. Musk wins.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/elon-musks-refusal-to-provide-starlink-support-for-ukraine-attack-in-crimea-raises-questions-for-pentagon

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 21:18:44 -0400, Ed P

Post by Ed P

Post by Scott Lurndal

Post by rbowman

Post by Ed P
Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of
free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service — but the
billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm
that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork
over $400 for the system’s hardware.

I read an article today where the Starlink system was patched into the
major cellular operators. That makes more sense.

Starlink provides very limited and spotty SMS support. Not for cellular
calls.

Seems like it would be good for people in desolate areas with no cable
or phone lines.
When Musk said he was giving them to people in disaster areas, it
sounded like a big charitable gift of help. In reality, it was a
marketing opportunity in disguise.

Someone from the electric company came around last summer offering free
LED bulbs, which is a good thing, and free power strips, but these were
special ones that when the amp or something is turned off, you can plug
other things in one end of the strip that will turn off the preamp, the
monitor, the whole system. When I didn't want the bulbs, he offered me
a second strip and I took it thinking that it was just a power strip and
I always need another one. Now I plan to give both of them away.

They are a very good thing that does save electricity, but do enough
people have component systems now that they will find such people by
going door to door and offering to anyhow. And could they be sold at
stores ? I have the feelign that they are a good idea but no one was
buying them so they gave them to the electric company to give away, and
got a tax deduction for things they couldn't sell anyhow. What do you
think?

[Cindy Hamilton]

Post by micky
They are a very good thing that does save electricity, but do enough
people have component systems now

Probably not. We have a tv and a sound bar. A lot of people get
by without the sound bar.

My husband listens to music on his computer, which has decent speakers.
I listen to audiobooks through my phone, either with the earbuds that
came with the phone, or plugged into my car stereo via a USB cable.

[Snag]

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by micky
They are a very good thing that does save electricity, but do enough
people have component systems now

Probably not. We have a tv and a sound bar. A lot of people get
by without the sound bar.
My husband listens to music on his computer, which has decent speakers.
I listen to audiobooks through my phone, either with the earbuds that
came with the phone, or plugged into my car stereo via a USB cable.

I have a 200 watt receiver and equalizer out in my 10 x 12 shop -
with speakers to match hooked to a computer with over 6,000 tunes on it
. The home stereo is a full component system with a receiver , reel to
reel tape , cassette , direct drive turntable , and CD thru the computer
(that has over 1.5 Tbytes of music) that's hooked to it . Even the TV
has a 6.1 multi-speaker system . It's computer has 6T bytes of media
storage ...

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Fri, 11 Oct 2024 14:17:35 -0000 (UTC), Cindy

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by micky
They are a very good thing that does save electricity, but do enough
people have component systems now

Probably not. We have a tv and a sound bar. A lot of people get
by without the sound bar.
My husband listens to music on his computer, which has decent speakers.
I listen to audiobooks through my phone, either with the earbuds that
came with the phone, or plugged into my car stereo via a USB cable.

That's what I figured. They can't sell them and I won't be able to
find anyone with a use for them either, even for free. I'll try.

I did return a lost cell phone on Friday. She had two and didn't even
know she'd lost this one, didn't know she had it with her. Found it on
a parking lot next to my car. I saw it and thought I'd dropped mine.

[rbowman]

Post by micky
Someone from the electric company came around last summer offering free
LED bulbs, which is a good thing, and free power strips, but these were
special ones that when the amp or something is turned off, you can plug
other things in one end of the strip that will turn off the preamp, the
monitor, the whole system. When I didn't want the bulbs, he offered me
a second strip and I took it thinking that it was just a power strip and
I always need another one. Now I plan to give both of them away.

The electric coop I'm in first mailed out boxes of CFLs. I'd already
replaced my incandescents so I took the box to the post office to mail to
a friend. The woman behind the counter said 'Let me guess what's in the
box.' I don't think the PO was happy with getting inundated with boxes of
bulbs all at once.

A few years later they repeated it with LEDs, CFLs having gone out of
favor. This time they included two shower hears, low flow I guess. The
LEDs were okay although they were 60W. I prefer the 100W ones from CostCo
with a slider on the sode to set the color temperature.

[rbowman]

Post by Scott Lurndal
Starlink provides very limited and spotty SMS support. Not for cellular
calls.

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/t-mobile-will-use-spacexs-starlink-for-
emergency-alerts-sms-texting-during-hurricane-milton/

Better than nothing.

[micky]

In alt.home.repair, on Thu, 10 Oct 2024 16:14:30 -0400, Ed P

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.
https://nypost.com/2024/10/09/business/elon-musks-starlink-charges-helene-survivors-for-free-internet/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=referral
or
https://tinyurl.com/5n7wyx5y
Elon Musk pledged to give victims of Hurricane Helene 30 days worth of
free access to his satellite-based Starlink internet service — but the
billionaire failed to mention that survivors of the disastrous storm
that has claimed the lives of more than 200 people will need to fork
over $400 for the system’s hardware.
Starlink, a division of Musk’s rocket-building and space exploration
firm SpaceX, announced on its official X page last week that its service
“is now free for 30 days” for survivors of Helene who live in areas
where phone and fiber cables were cut off — denying them internet access.

Wow. What a sweet guy. Word is he's working for a cabinet post, but he
may find that trump doesn't reciprocate favors. He doesn't even
remember them. OTOH, Musk might be just the kind of guy he wants,
except he's too aggressive, won't make a good stooge.

[Al Burt Boarla]

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.

Providing disaster relief is FEMA's job. Turns out FEMA spent all their
budget on illegal invaders.
Why do you expect the private sector to do the job taxpayers have
already paid for?

[Ed P]

Post by Al Burt Boarla

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.

Providing disaster relief is FEMA's job. Turns out FEMA spent all their
budget on illegal invaders.
Why do you expect the private sector to do the job taxpayers have
already paid for?

Sorry that fact bother you. Check it out and see how the Republicans
voted against FEMA funding and no, none went to immigrants.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Post by Al Burt Boarla

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.

Providing disaster relief is FEMA's job. Turns out FEMA spent all their
budget on illegal invaders.

No, they did not.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/10/08/fema-funding-immigrants-fact-check/75560551007/

Except under Trump.

https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/donald-trump/trump-administration-diverted-fema-disaster-funds-immigration-ice-fact-check/536-814bb634-4d14-4463-a77f-b2f304320d33

[Bob F]

Post by Cindy Hamilton

Post by Al Burt Boarla

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.

Providing disaster relief is FEMA's job. Turns out FEMA spent all their
budget on illegal invaders.

No, they did not.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/10/08/fema-funding-immigrants-fact-check/75560551007/
Except under Trump.
https://www.verifythis.com/article/news/verify/donald-trump/trump-administration-diverted-fema-disaster-funds-immigration-ice-fact-check/536-814bb634-4d14-4463-a77f-b2f304320d33

As usual, trump accusing real patriots of doing what he himself did. He
never tells the truth.

[danny burstein]

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks more
like a good sales tool for him.
https://nypost.com/2024/10/09/business/elon-musks-starlink-charges-helene-survivors-for-free-internet/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_medium=referral
or
https://tinyurl.com/5n7wyx5y
Starlink, a division of Musk’s rocket-building and space exploration
firm SpaceX, announced on its official X page last week that its service
“is now free for 30 days” for survivors of Helene who live in areas
where phone and fiber cables were cut off — denying them internet access.

Updated to now say:
"[free period] extended to the end of the year for those affected by the hurricane".

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1844837440282083601

[kazu]

Post by Ed P
Musk brags about helping people in the disaster areas but looks
more like a good sales tool for him.

starlink is expensive at the moment, but the cost will come down
at least 80-90% over the next 12-18 months.