For years, politicians like Sen. Ben Ray Luján, scandal-ridden alleged serial groper Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and others have complained about a lack of access to broadband in New Mexico, citing Tribal communities specifically in the Navajo Nation who lack this access.
Despite claiming to have passed millions of dollars in federal cash to provide such a service to these hard-to-reach rural areas, not many improvements have been made years and months after supposed funding went to broadband access.
But one man, who many on the far-left hate, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, may just have solved the broadband issue that politicians have been bickering over for years as a talking point to court voters in these areas where broadband access is scarce.
According to a new report from iTech Post, “SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket delivering a new batch of Starlink satellites into space. The launch was held at the Vandenberg Space Force Station in California, bringing a stack of 52 Starlink satellites.”
SpaceX’s mission is to offer internet access to practically everyone in the world, CNET reports.
The company has few rivals, including OneWeb, which has far fewer satellites than SpaceX. SpaceX had 1,791 satellites in September 2021 versus OneWeb’s 648 satellites. Musk’s company is expected to only grow and with that growth create more global access to the internet.
When asked if SpaceX Starlink will work on the Navajo Nation, Musk replied, “Absolutely.”
Following this news that gives new hope for internet access in places like the Navajo Nation, state Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) wrote on Twitter, “This is excellent news for the Navajo Nation and New Mexico. SpaceX Starlink Satellite Launch: Elon Musk Promises Internet Coverage Even in Navajo Nation.”
She added, “Elon Musk will also launch satellite phone services to improve coverage.”
Others applauded the news as well, with conservative activist Elisa Martines writing, “@elonmusk doing more for Native Americans than freeloading Senator Karen,” referring to a spat between Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Musk, where the billionaire called the far-left politician “Senator Karen” after she wanted Musk to pay billions more in taxes.
The move by Musk comes after the New Mexico Legislature created a gaping loophole in state law that allowed Musk to open a Tesla showroom inside of New Mexico — just not in the state. He opened the Tesla location near the Nambe Falls travel center on Tribal land. According to one report:
In 2019, Tesla tried to push a new law in the state with the help of some favorable legislators, but the local car dealer associations flexed their political muscle and it was dropped.
But Tesla has now found a loophole.
The automaker managed to open its first store and service center inside an old casino north of Santa Fe, and they did it by partnering with the first nation of Nambé Pueblo and opening the location on their tribal land.
The initial reviews from beta testers is encouraging. In Dona County where I live, CenturyLink provides a whopping 10 mbs speed internet. Can’t do much other than email or reading the news with this speed.. When I first heard about Starlink, I signed up. There is a downside, the upfront cost is $499.00 then supposed to be $99/month after that. Not everyone will be able to afford that upfront fee. Starlink was set to be available in my area summer of 2021. Now that date has been pushed out to summer 2022. According to Starlink this is due to the chip shortages that plague a lot of industries. Looking forward to having the ability to stream a show and not have it buffer constantly if I can view it at all. Starlink is reported to have speeds up to 140 mbs. Supposed to get faster as time goes on.
Where did the rest of the funds go for broadband over the last 5 years? Who pocketed the money and did nothing to develop the systems? Where is the accounting audit of the money for broadband? People need to be asking these questions rather than throwing more money into a system that is not going to work or even get off its feet. Everybody that lives in Rural America had to pay up front fees to get connected to their internet. Roughly $250.
I know Cox got a ton of money they changed their name.
This could be fun!
Starlink could indeed provide more adequate rural higher-speed internet access that all previous satellite systems have largely failed to deliver to rural New Mexicans the past several years. (I know, I had been one of those frustrated rural NM subscribers. Navajo Nation tribal members included?)
So, the Libs must now belly-up and subsidize arch-enemy Elon to meet their latest high-speed broadband promises?
I’m glad I found those site. I think I found it in the Rio grande foundation page somewhere. Keep up the good work. Great commentary