More from the article ...

... And the space-based network is already starting to experience some major strains -- as some experts have long predicted.

It's a lesson some Starlink customers are finding out the hard way. As TechDirt's Karl Bode highlighted, SpaceX is now charging some users so-called "demand surcharges" of up to $1,500, simply because their address is within a high demand area.

"Starlink is too congested to handle meaningful load at scale so they're quietly hitting people with $750-$1500 'demand surcharges,'" Bode wrote in a recent post on Bluesky.

Even worse, those who are trying to contest these charges are facing a "black hole," since SpaceX doesn't "invest in customer service."

The development highlights some considerable shortcomings that satellite-based internet has over physical broadband infrastructure back on the ground, including fiber. ...

@#1 ... As TechDirt's Karl Bode highlighted, SpaceX is now charging some users so-called "demand surcharges" of up to $1,500, simply because their address is within a high demand area. ...

So, Mr Musk's Starlink allows its customers to connect, but without tracking the data usage of individual customers?

@#3 ... Of course he is. Did anyone think he wouldn't? ...

That's what I thought, that he knew individual customer usage amounts.

But the behavior described, i.e., punishing a whole area because one customer in that area may be downloading lots of data, did not look like he was monitoring individual account data usage.

So then the question seems to become...

Why does Mr Musk punish a whole area because of what might be just one customer in that area? Aside, that is, from generating a lot more revenue by doing it that way?