from the more-for-me,-less-for-you dept

For years I’ve noted that while Elon Musk’s low-Earth-orbit (LEO) Starlink satellite broadband system can be very useful for people with no other options (war zones, RVs, boats, rural Americans), the network has struggled to maintain performance as it grows into more mainstream markets, resulting in not only widespread slowdowns , but also the company socking users with massive “congestion surcharges.”

These surcharges are actively designed to deter use because the network is struggling to handle the load. They started at around $100 a few years ago, then jumped to $750 . Then suddenly $1500 . And because Musk’s companies historically don’t invest in customer service, calling up to complain doesn’t really help .

Now Musk’s Starlink has jumped on the “dynamic pricing” trend, charging users more money in more congested markets, and ideally less money in less congested areas.…