MicroWaveJun 4, 2025

Trump is forcing states to funnel grant money to Starlink, Senate Democrats say

https://lemmy.world/post/30783566

Trump is forcing states to funnel grant money to Starlink, Senate Democrats say - Lemmy.World

Overhaul of $42 billion program could delay deployment for years, Democrats warn. Senate Democrats are pleading with the Trump administration to stop delaying distribution of $42 billion in grants for construction of broadband networks in areas with poor Internet access. The Biden administration spent about three years developing rules and procedures for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) fund and then evaluating plans submitted by each US state and territory. Republicans repeatedly alleged that Democrats should have distributed the grants more quickly, but the Trump administration halted progress after taking over.

Show threadskozziiJun 4, 2025
Starlink is worse in every way compared to broadband, security purposes alone it should never be considered. Nothing beats a wire under the ground.
Show threadBrkdncrJun 4, 2025

You can deploy Starlink in minutes. Wired requires months.

RV lifestyle people depend on Starlink.

I wish there were better options but there aren’t.

Starlink is not worse in every way though.

Show threadPalmTreeIsBestTreeJun 4, 2025
It’s worse in that weather dictates how fast your internet is.
Show threadBrkdncrJun 4, 2025
That hasn’t been a problem for me nor most customers. I’m on video calls all day long.
Show threaddjangoJun 5, 2025
During what weather condition? I would expect hard rain or a storm to do something with the connection.
Show threadBrkdncrJun 5, 2025

Thunderstorms, dust storms.

Snow is a problem if it sticks to the antenna and the snow melt feature can’t keep up, but it’s never been a significant complaint.

The only people that complain are the ones that switched from a completely acceptable wired connection to starlink, it this service isn’t designed for them. It’s for me and all the other people that have no other usable options.

Show threadmiddlemouse

The point is that the grant money could have been used to create more acceptable wired connections, which you admit here are better.

Now the grant money is just going to starlink meaning that more people are in the same situation as you where they have no choice.

Jun 5, 2025 at 9:28amWeb