The latest generation of Starlink satellites is invisible to the naked eye once fully raised to full height in a couple of months. The impact on astronomers is real, but very small.
OTOH, the benefit is the ability to participate in the modern economy.
Cost/benefit to the world seems pretty clear to me.
Your comment kind of make me sad... this is such a big issue of perspective. It's something that I often see coming from the US, but any first world country often has that issue, we forget that there's more than us in the world.
> In 2019, Internet access became available to 51 percent of the world's population. When households are taken into account, the index increases, reaching 57.8 percent.
42% of the world don't have internet. We aren't talking about not having competitive internet, literally, no internet at all.
At the bare minimum, you forgot about 42% of the world... that kind of sad.
The 42% of the world that doesn't currently have internet won't be able to afford Starlink anyway, and unless Elon has discovered a way to make satellites 99% cheaper, Starlink will never be the solution for them.
Why? That's not obvious at all. The internet is useful, even essential for many modern economic activities. Modern astronomy is useful for what, exactly? Learning things about objects that are physically impossible to reach?
Ask almost anyone what they care about most, the internet or a book on astronomy, and they'll think you're joking.
OTOH, the benefit is the ability to participate in the modern economy.
Cost/benefit to the world seems pretty clear to me.