Residents hit by Hurricane Helene are getting internet through Starlink because no other service is working, and in many cases won't be for weeks or months.
In fact, there are regions with no access to communications at all, but for Starlink, which is why Elon Musk and Donald Trump are rushing in Starlink terminals.
BREAKING: Trump just revealed that he is personally coordinating with Elon Musk to get Starlink set up for Hurricane Helene victims who have lost communication
— George (@BehizyTweets) September 30, 2024
"We want to get Starlink hooked up because they have no communication whatsoever. And Elon will always come through. We… pic.twitter.com/y22xduJiH3
What most people don't know is that, originally, Starlink was approved as part of Kamala Harris' plan to connect hundreds of thousands of rural homes to the internet at broadband speeds.
FL GA SC NC TN – The 5 most impacted States by loss of communications after Hurricane Helene, would have 92,833 @Starlink kits at their disposable if the @FCC had not revoked in bad faith the awarded support to SpaceX of only $1,047 per Starlink kit. pic.twitter.com/iWZ2p9pbAL
— ALEX (@ajtourville) September 30, 2024
You know, that program that has yet to connect a single home...
We are on the way to Asheville with @Starlink ! pic.twitter.com/IYIqo2ElYQ
— Chandra (@YALLITSCHAN) September 30, 2024
I say originally because the FCC--for obviously political reasons--decided to cut Starlink out of the program due to bogus claims that it hadn't proven that it could provide the service reliably, and there is no way on Earth that the government would spend money on something that wasn't 100% bulletproof.
No way in hell. The government is dedicated to Five Nines of reliability!
Last year, the FCC upheld its 2022 decision to deny SpaceX's @Starlink an $885 million subsidy to bring broadband to 642,000 Americans living in rural areas. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel didn't think Starlink could deliver the promised service.
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) September 30, 2024
Today, Starlink is connecting… pic.twitter.com/sykGdOCPcG
As Joe Biden would say, no joke.
Now individuals, local government units, and soon Elon Musk himself will rush into the stricken areas RELIABLE Starlink terminals to provide communications services to people, first responders, and the National Guard. Without Starlink, tens or hundreds of thousands of people would be completely cut off.
It’s hard to explain how powerful Starlink is — it’s one of the best products of all time, and just getting started https://t.co/grhqczJWTb
— Shaun Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) September 30, 2024
Even the federal government is going to deploy Starlink systems in the stricken area, although at a far slower rate than private individuals who are pitching in to help out.
Not joking: Between @nicksortor and I, I think we’re legitimately installing more Starlink’s than the federal government is. This is ludicrous. https://t.co/FjndJrXJ4f
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 30, 2024
I'm not joking about that. Hundreds of Starlink terminals are flowing to the stricken area, and if you search Twitter/X you will find tons of people pitching in to restore communications to the region.
First round of @Starlink terminals are airborne. We're working with local officials to make sure they get to the remote areas that need them as quickly as possible. We're also paying for unlimited data plans for each one. This is one of many things @TheYallSquad is doing thanks… pic.twitter.com/LOfiSjYtS6
— Ryan Hall, Y’all (@ryanhallyall) September 30, 2024
Yet the FCC still maintains that it has to wait and spend 10-100 times more to string fiber to homes in the middle of nowhere to ensure reliability. Reliability goes away the moment that severe weather hits some areas. The Starlink Mini can even use a battery until a generator is available, and can provide wifi (and wifi calling) to lots of people.
Thanks to @elonmusk and @Starlink , our teams in the #NorthCarolinaFlood zone are reconnecting families who couldn't reach their loved ones for days! #CajunNavy pic.twitter.com/vY1QHEOgVt
— United Cajun Navy (@Unitedcajunnavy) September 29, 2024
This is all politics. Donald Trump is public enemy #1 for the Democrats, and Elon Musk comes in a quick second place. They hate him so much that hundreds of thousands of people are being denied broadband, and North Carolina is 19,500 Starlink terminals short of where it would be if the original FCC contract had been honored.
FYI – North Carolina would have 19,522 working @Starlink kits available today after Hurricane Helene had the FCC not revoked in bad faith the grant that was awarded to SpaceX as the winning bidder. pic.twitter.com/oXqTuyFBAc
— ALEX (@ajtourville) September 30, 2024
Everything Biden and Harris do is done in light of partisan politics. Not a single home has been connected to broadband for no reason other than Biden and Harris want to ship the $42 billion set aside to their political allies.
The Starlink subreddit is filled with people grateful to stay connected after the effects of Helene. pic.twitter.com/sArzdZK3j5
— Reddit Lies (@reddit_lies) September 30, 2024
Donald Trump and Elon Musk will have done more to restore communications to stricken regions than Biden and Harris. They have done more already, actually.
There are lots of reasons to vote like your life and freedom depend on it this November (or even sooner), and they aren't only the big issues of freedom and security. Sometimes it is about efficiently and nonpolitically providing basic government services.
You can't trust Kamala Harris, who is not coincidentally in charge of the broadband initiative, to get even the small things right. She is too concerned with spreading the money around to her buddies.
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