You are currently using Starlink in an unauthorized territory.
There are a lot of reasons to hate SpaceX founder and Starlink impresario Elon Musk.
The Falkland Islands is a British territory off the coast of Argentina in South America.
Stanley in the Falkland Islands.© Image via Flickr.
Its a remote place with a small population of just under 4,000 people.
The internet service there sucks.
A British broadband company called Sure operates a monopoly on the island and the broadband prices and servicesare archaic.
The cheapest unlimited plan costs $285 dollars a month and advertises speeds of 10Mbps.
Customers on cheaper plans can buy boosters to get more data at $19 a GB.
The unlimited plans are new and Sure only started offering them four months ago as Starlink gained popularity.
For many people, Starlinks satellite-based internet was a better option.
Starlinks speeds are, at a minimum, ten times as fast as what Sure offers.
Sure and the Falklands Island Government did offer a way for people on the island to legally use Starlink.
They just had to apply for and pay a license fee of $6,714 every year for the privilege.
In the system, people have to explain why they deserve to break Sures monopoly.
At a minimum, they want the cost of the license fee lowered to $223 a year.
As the fight has gone on, Sure and the government have pulled some shady shit.
As reported byFalkland Islands Television(FITV), regulators stopped issuing new licenses altogether in December.
To solve the issue, the government put together a Starlink Select Committee.
Things heated up around the issue in February and OpenFalklands has anexcellent rundownof the timeline.
On February 3rd, the committee issued a statement thatoutlined stepsthe government should take.
It called for lowering the satellite license fee and a reconsideration of how the government processes the applications.
Notice the wording in the email.
Local telecommunication authorities have instructed Starlink to disable your services.
The day after that, on Wednesday the 5th, the Falkland Islands Communications Regulatorput out its own statement.
The same day, Sure issued its own statement.
Comments under Sures statement on Facebookarent positive.
Wow … Where do I sign??
Been there done that, been fobbed off.
Would be embarrassed putting my name on this statement, said another.
Unlimited packages are for the rich.
There was good news on the horizon, however.
Starlinks website also changed.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
