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hawklost t1_iv2fj5i wrote

Reply to comment by ItsKeegs95 in Ukraine suffered a comms outage when 1,300 SpaceX satellite units went offline over funding issues by thatoneguy889

The DoD also knows that if they sign a contract and don't pay, that they will lose the services rendered.

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ItsKeegs95 t1_iv2ikwr wrote

Correct me if im wrong but I don't think a contract was signed for Elon to provide satellite internet to support the Ukrainian war effort. He did this for free, largely as a PR stunt im guessing.

While generous, he choose to play a roll in national security. So when he said he's gonna pull services unless DOD pays, especially he's pulling a shake down for money from DOD... and unless they pay Ukrainians lose internet access for their drones. Probably because of that, DOD has announced they're planning to fund a build for their own internet satellites, making the need for Elon's business in the future to be obsolete.

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hawklost t1_iv2kazj wrote

From what I read of the article it said they were paying him and that it had gotten too expensive to pay.

That implies either a contract involved or them just assuming that if they don't pay they would still get something for nothing.

In either case, if Ukraine was paying and stopped, unless they had a contract saying that services would continue, it is only reasonable for services to end when the client doesn't pay.

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ItsKeegs95 t1_iv2n3n6 wrote

Can you link the article? Everything I've seen so far says the opposite. I've seen reports that USAID paid for some of the starlink devices but DOD didn't pay for the actual monthly service and was provided by Musk for free.

I've seen reporting like this : "Documents obtained by CNN show that last month Musk’s SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon saying it can no longer continue to fund the Starlink service as it has. The letter also requested that the Pentagon take over funding for Ukraine’s government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400 million for the next 12 months.

“We are not in a position to further donate terminals to Ukraine, or fund the existing terminals for an indefinite period of time,” SpaceX’s director of government sales wrote to the Pentagon in the September letter."

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hawklost t1_iv2sn1q wrote

Part of the article above

"SpaceX was charging Ukraine’s military $2,500 a month to keep each of the 1,300 units connected, pushing the total cost to almost $20 million by September, the person briefed on the matter said. Eventually, they could no longer afford to pay, the person said."

This indicates that Ukraine was paying and stopped because they couldn't afford it.

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ItsKeegs95 t1_iv2uglt wrote

Okay my article skimming failed me and its seems like we're both right... but credit to you because my impression was that Musk was paying for all of it and I was wrong.

Later in that article: "The far more expensive part, however, is the ongoing connectivity. SpaceX says it has paid for about 70% of the service provided to Ukraine and claims to have offered that highest level – $4,500 a month – to all terminals in Ukraine despite the majority only having signed on for the cheaper $500 per month service."

So it seems like the US, Poland, Ukraine and NGOS were paying for some of the service but SpaceX was donating a portion of it service also.

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