Abstract:
In order to provide network services to residents around its data center in Memphis, Tennessee, the United States, Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI jointly launched a "half-price Starlink" broadband promotion locally. However, at a time when the company faces severe criticism for using unlicensed generators to supply power for AI computing, the promotional measure is widely seen as insufficient to quell widespread public concerns about environmental pollution.
This half-price offer covers residents of Memphis and neighboring Southaven, Mississippi. In addition to halving the monthly fee, the company has also waived the upfront rental fee for the new-generation V5 hardware suite, which could have been up to $349. Under this discount, the price of Starlink's entry-level residential package has been reduced from US$55 to US$27.50 per month; the price of the 200 Mbps package has been reduced from US$85 to US$42.50; and the highest specification Max package has been directly reduced from US$130 to US$65. The official announced in a post on social platform X that thousands of users have signed up for the program since its launch in July.
For some families with weak infrastructure, this discount does bring certain benefits. Some remote areas in Memphis and Southaven still lack stable fiber optic network access. In the local Internet community, many residents say that low-cost satellite networks can effectively fill this gap; other users who work from home or want to avoid traditional cable TV network failures also regard it as a more reliable backup line. But for residents who have already laid out mature fiber optic networks, the appeal of this option is quite limited. The local AT&T and Xfinity's cable or fiber optic broadband packages generally cost around US$35 to US$40 per month, but they can provide Internet speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Starlink's entry-level 100 Mbps plan after price reduction has no obvious advantage in speed. At the same time, a similar Starlink half-price event is also being implemented in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, where SpaceX plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in building a spaceport.
However, the timing of this promotion has aroused public opinion's high vigilance. Previously, SpaceX and xAI installed dozens of gas turbines and generators in their data centers in Memphis without obtaining environmental permits in order to support the growing computing power shortage, which resulted in fierce criticism from all walks of life. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) has made it clear that lower-priced broadband will not address residents’ substantive concerns about air pollution. Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney at the agency, pointed out that community residents in Memphis and northern Mississippi do not want a discounted network, but require xAI to immediately shut down this illegally operated power generation facility because these power generation facilities continue to emit large amounts of harmful pollutants to the local area, including nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, and formaldehyde and other hazardous chemicals that easily form smog.
In response to the accusations of violations, relevant parties have previously promised to dismantle all 69 unlicensed generators, but the entire dismantling transition is expected to take about a year, when a new 1.2 gigawatt (GW) formal power plant will fully replace the temporary power supply equipment to maintain the huge operation of the data center. Although officials claim that about 2,000 households have subscribed to this preferential service, with a population of more than 600,000 and 250,000 households in Memphis, the current proportion of households that have signed up is less than one percent of the city's total households. Wants to use this to ease tense confrontations with local communities on environmental issues still face huge resistance.
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