1) I was mostly referring to the monthly cost, although the upfront is steep as well.
2) As a customer I don't care if the product has a $5000 COGS to the provider or has unicorn blood in it, I care what it does. Compared to most WISPs, LTE/5G, or using the Internet access provided by a commercial campground or RV park, it's extremely expensive and really inconvenient. For example, my parents chose not to redeem their Starlink invitation as at home, they'd get similar performance to their existing WISP for over 2x the price and a really inconvenient installation process, and for the road, the cost just didn't justify the rare occasion they were at a campsite without LTE or commercially available Internet nearby.
Compared to geostationary and existing constellation satellite solutions, Starlink is a massive winner, and competes well. But, those markets were already shrinking and IMO Starlink will eventually have to compete with terrestrial wireless solutions as well. To do that, they'll need a better cost and CPE model.
2) As a customer I don't care if the product has a $5000 COGS to the provider or has unicorn blood in it, I care what it does. Compared to most WISPs, LTE/5G, or using the Internet access provided by a commercial campground or RV park, it's extremely expensive and really inconvenient. For example, my parents chose not to redeem their Starlink invitation as at home, they'd get similar performance to their existing WISP for over 2x the price and a really inconvenient installation process, and for the road, the cost just didn't justify the rare occasion they were at a campsite without LTE or commercially available Internet nearby.
Compared to geostationary and existing constellation satellite solutions, Starlink is a massive winner, and competes well. But, those markets were already shrinking and IMO Starlink will eventually have to compete with terrestrial wireless solutions as well. To do that, they'll need a better cost and CPE model.