This is not something that could, for instance, replace your cell phone carrier.
In the video at 21:00 Elon clarifies: 2-4 megabits per cell zone.
So it will be faster than my carrier..
They are targeting voice which can go really low, but a moderately optimistic ~100kps is vastly better than 0. Much below that and the number of people using it is going to drop near 0.
The difference between no communication and "take 5 minutes to get 1kb of text" represents a huge, huge jump.
I mean, I fire up and use lynx from time to time for a couple newspapers and magazine. Beyond evading some paywalls, it also presents it the way I want it: a wall of text. “Slow dialup” to me is 2.4kbps.
The HN crowd could get a lot done over a console.