SpaceX is launching global broadband LEO satellite internet over the next few years. They are developing their own silicon to reduce supply chain issues. Hopefully they bring real competition to the last mile globally, both on policy and price. Target latency is 35ms.
The "last mile" is not as much a problem over here in The Netherlands than it is in the US. It's more that Xs4all was one of our first ISPs, always on the forefront of freedom of speech (fighting tooth and nail against a court order to block TPB or dragnet-like intelligence monitoring by our gov), highly competent and overall a very well-known name.
Exactly. I don't mind paying a bit more to support an ISP that fights for our rights and those of others, and gives us access to the full power of the internet. Maybe KPN will continue the latter, but it's hard to imagine them doing the former. I mean, if KPN does fight on the forefront of internet freedom, that would be absolutely fantastic, of course. But it doesn't sound like them.
The last mile is a problem for many people who live in the rural areas but they're able to easier get FTTH because getting to the percentage for petition is much easier in small, local community. Many people get terrible DSL speeds and are doomed to use ADSL2 (if they can get that). Companies like KPN dropped the ball with FTTH, instead milking VDSL2 till it could no longer compete with Ziggo's cable.
Aside from the fact that any US company is an instant no-go if you care about your privacy (and that last mile isn't an issue in the Netherlands), 35ms is actually quite a lot of latency if you're used to a Dutch connection (which will hover around 9ms for a cable).
Given the history how US companies treat privacy I would not bet on them. I would never chose a US vendor that sells my data to the highest bidder. This is standard practice for ISPs over there, also injecting ads, having terrible service and being really expensive. Unless SpaceX addresses all of these than maybe they become an option.
They would struggle as "global ISP" if they go down that route. If they can control their hardware supply chain, they have a chance to displace much-disliked cable companies.
You'd have to take the fact that they fight this on faith, and given the track record of basically every US company so far... You'd have to be very naive.
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/space...