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Comment by ncmncm | Hacker News Reader

We just didn't get Starlink in Placerville, because we are surrounded by 100-ft tall trees. So we are still stuck on microwave links. (ATT ran fiber to within yards of the house more than a decade ago, and never lit it because the FCC allowed them not to. They pocketed the $half-trillion the FCC let them tax landlines for to build it, though.)

But it is good news that Pville is in a served area now. Where did you find a prairie in Pville?

View on HN

https://towerdirect.net/product/used-120ft-sabre-self-suppor...

We're lucky - it's at the top of a hill overlooking a giant valley up mosquito road I think on the west side of town? It took a few tries and there is still a minor obstruction which causes occasional 10s drops. It's my in-laws house (I just bought the starlink set up for them so there would be better connectivity when I'm there).

If I had control over placement and such I think I could get a view without obstruction.

They still have calnet as a fallback network, but it's slow and has similar latency.

Have you looked at T-Mobile's home ISP product? I'm in an urban area, but it's been working great here @ $50/mo. Last speed test was 220Mbps down / 60Mbps up.

The fcc never gave them half a trillion. The fcc never had half a trillion to give. Can you show me where in ATTs financial statements they gained $500 billion or anywhere near that?

Are you familiar with the concept of hyperbole?

A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement or claim not meant to be taken literally.

It was a $half billion. And obviously the FCC never gave it to anybody; as I wrote right there in the very posting you replied to, landline subscribers were taxed for it.

A $half billion seemed like a lot of money back then.

Per rasz's link, it is $400B and rising.

Only the reduced number of landlines in use makes it rise more slowly.

https://newnetworks.com/broadbandscandals.htm

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