> well then starlink is free for Brazilian citizens because I don’t want to cut people off from their internet connection
It's only for existing customers and because they can't charge them anymore, but don't want to drop the customers just yet. It's a business continuity plan, not some altruistic gesture.
There's a cost to acquiring new customers and friction when switching providers. Overall it's going to be cheaper for starlink to eat the cost for now if they expect to resume operations than to convince the same number of customers to switch again.
It's the same reason you get offers of discounts or free periods when you try to cancel services from large companies. They care about your worth over years, not just right now.
> It's a business continuity plan, not some altruistic gesture.
Why is there someone always making this comment every time a company or someone rich does something good for a bunch of people?
There's no such thing as altruism, with humans it's all self-interest, and that's good actually. Might as well point out that the water is wet. So why make this comment?
Altruism exists. Maybe you haven't seen it yet, but it really does.
I made the comment, because parent suggested that starlink did something for the citizens in general. That's not correct. The good they did was incidental to preserving customers until they can start charging again.
And specifically I mentioned that, because the good part gets played up as some kind of freedom stance by many people online... but it's not. Even the announcement didn't describe it as such.
Sure, but it's still a business decision. On the other side of things, Musk could have complied with the court order, appointed a representative, and accepted that the rep would have their bank accounts frozen and have a pretty bad time of it all. Because Musk might believe being in Brazil is better for his business than not being in Brazil, regardless of any moral/ethical stances he might prefer to take.
Musk could cut off Brazilian Starlink subscribers in the hopes that the backlash would change things in Brazil. But instead he probably thinks keeping those customers on (and happy) for free is the better choice for his business.
I agree with you that altruism exists, but I'm not sure I'm willing to give Musk the benefit of the doubt for many of the decisions he makes.
It's only for existing customers and because they can't charge them anymore, but don't want to drop the customers just yet. It's a business continuity plan, not some altruistic gesture.