Starlink's Elon Musk

The Broadband Office made a point of telling the Legislative Finance Committee that the $70 million they are asking for to provide high speed internet service via satellite to remote rural areas is only a temporary measure--until they can be served by expensive fiber optic that will in many cases take years to reach homes--if ever. From the Office:

Over a five-year period while high-speed internet lines are built, the money would pay for a $600 satellite receiver to get connected, along with $30 toward the $120 total monthly bill. The program is called Accelerate Connect New Mexico.

A couple of things.

How many of those households who get good speed from state-subsidized satellite service from Starlink will want to sign up for fiber--if they ever get the chance--unless it is accompanied by a state subsidy?

The future of satellite internet is faster, much faster. While the Broadband Office correctly states that fiber is the "gold standard' today, will that be the case in the years ahead? Unlikely. 

Starlink has filed an application with the FCC to approve changes the company says will make satellite internet ten times faster than today's speeds. (The FCC will soon be in the hands of pro-satellite commissioners.)

The Broadband Office says federal money pledged for fiber can only be diverted by an act of Congress. That's not so outlandish as they might thing considering Trump's party now controls the Congress and Starlink owner Elon Musk is leading a commission on cutting waste and fraud in the federal government.

Of course the major telecom companies want to hang on to their lucrative contracts to build expensive fiber which is taking years and years. But money from the Feds could run out or be diverted if high speed and much less expensive satellite service is proving satisfactory.

So what does the state do when Starlink announces higher speeds that meet or even surpass fiber? Continue to spend millions on digging trenches or throw in the towel and make satellite a permanent fixture--not a temporary one? 

BROADBAND FIASCO

It's not as if the state can't make the broadband roll-out a fiasco if it doesn't get it's game-plan in order. Look at this multi-year mess that cost taxpayers millions and as detailed in an investigative report from KRQE:

What do taxpayers have to show for a ten-year, multi-million dollar investment in Rail Runner Wi-Fi? Piles of discarded cables, routers, antennas, transmitters, and miscellaneous electronic do-dads. “It upsets me. I do not want to misuse taxpayer money,” said Dewey Cave who heads up the Rio Metro Regional Transit District. “I was surprised that it didn’t work. But, you know, we are going to find somebody accountable.” . .Taxpayers have shelled out some $8,000,000 for nonfunctioning Wi-Fi equipment on the Rail Runner. “It was a waste. It’s a pile of rubbish,” Rio Metro’s Robert Gonzales said. There is a positive end to this story. Thanks to new technology, the Rail Runner is now equipped with a relatively inexpensive satellite Wi-Fi system. Rio Metro officials say it’s working “perfectly” with no complaints. 

That's another good example of why satellite internet for rural NM should be the first priority for expanding broadband, not an afterthought or "temporary" solution.

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