Brutkey

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

I finally had time to wade through sitting on hold long enough to talk to my rural Sask internet provider (Xplore, yeah, I know I should switch to a different company...) because they sent me a vague email a few days ago saying I needed a new receiver and that I may have to switch to satellite-based internet, which, as you might imagine if you've read like...any of my posts... I'm just not doing. Nope.

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

I assumed that Starlink has sucked up so much of their rural Sask business that they are having to shut off towers as more and more Canadians switch to using American billionaire-owned satellites. But no, they sent out a confusing form letter to everyone: they're actually just upgrading my tower and my receiver is too old. (Annoying because my farm-sitter will have to deal with this, but oh well)

So, I still have access to cell-tower ground-based internet, in rural Canada. For now!

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

My house is 10km from the nearest town, and 1/2km from my nearest neighbour. But I am hooked to an electric line, I could be hooked to a wired phone line, I could hook up to a water line, and I could even hook up to a natural gas line (which is completely wild).

But no wired broadband internet! This is just not where governments are putting money, and many are happy to use Starlink to leapfrog that rural infrastructure development cost, at the cost of supporting an American billionaire company.

Prof. Sam Lawler
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social

Anyway, fairly petty things to complain about, given everything else that's happening.

But pollution from satellite internet is my thing that I'm an expert on! So I will keep complaining about it and educating people about it. This is the fight that all my training has prepared me for, so I'm fighting it!