Plus TV’s owner, Louis Wade, and Vaughan Gill, the host of the morning show on the government’s television station, Vibes, are among a number of private citizens/small business owners who have expressed their support for Starlink, a foreign-owned internet service provider whose application for a license to operate in Belize is presently before the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). Starlink’s website claims that its advanced, reliable high-speed internet system makes streaming, video calls, online gaming, and remote working possible even in the most remote locations. In this digital age that we are living in, Starlink’s coverage has quite a number of Belizeans starry-eyed – apparently seeing only its advantages over existing companies.
CircleID, which describes itself as “the world’s leading platform for Internet developments with more than 5,200 professional participants worldwide”, lists the delivery of high-speed internet in rural areas, unlimited data with no throttling, and ease of use among the benefits of hooking up to Starlink. CircleID notes that the system has some drawbacks, among them the upfront cost of equipment, which it says is high; interrupted service during bad weather; high monthly subscription cost; occasional network congestion; and environmental concerns—space debris and impacts on astronomy from the company’s large satellite constellation. Also, CircleID says that in respect to speed and monthly cost, Starlink is less competitive in urban areas where fiber or cable internet is available.
In our media world, XTV’s Mose Hyde has declared his opposition to Starlink getting a license to operate in Belize. In its October 31 report, News5 said the nation’s leading telecommunications company, Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL), registered its objection with the PUC, and so have the Belize Communications Workers Union, the Belize Business Bureau, the Association of Beneficiaries and Retired Public Officers, and the Social Security Board (SSB). News5 said the Minister of Public Utilities, Energy, Logistics & E-Governance, Michel Chebat stated in an email that “should approval be considered, [that] Starlink’s operations in Belize be facilitated through a local agent, ensuring alignment with local industry dynamics and subject to our national tax regime” to prevent an “unfair market advantage.”
SSB CEO, Dr. Leroy Almendarez sees the potential for Starlink to threaten SSB’s investment in BTL. In an interview reported on Love FM, Almendarez said that SSB owns 34% of BTL, and any cut in the company’s market share would hurt the workers’ fund. Almendarez noted that Belize’s market isn’t that large, that “we want greater efficiency within the market, but we want to ensure that there continues to be returns on our investment,” because any failure on the part of BTL would force the SSB “to increase the rate of contribution” to supplement the fund.
The comments of the Public Utilities and E-Governance minister, Michel Chebat, coupled with the comments of the host of the government’s early morning talk show, Vaughan Gill, suggest that the government is looking at Starlink favorably. One argument for government support of Starlink is that it would take the pressure off the government-owned BTL to invest funds to deliver internet to sparsely populated remote areas, an endeavor that would be very unprofitable for the company in the short term. There are negatives that should concern government. Our leaders can’t lean on the excuse of our being a young country if they are naïve about engaging with these giant companies. Our first prime minister warned about them. And not too long ago, a foreign “big cat” ran all over us after we sold the keys to BTL. We can read all about that in with malice toward none, the memoir of our third prime minister, Said Musa.
BTL isn’t the only internet provider that is at risk of seeing its market share diminish. A release from BTL states that in the highly competitive market of providing internet service, there are “16 operators who have to share a mere population of 400 thousand.” All of these companies have workers, and indubitably they’ll have to trim staff or get out of the business if the internet giant, Starlink, gets a license.
It’s a dicey call. If we were more nationalistic, and clearly, we have to be if we will survive as a nation, we could have the benefits of Starlink without harming existing companies, which would erode the lot of workers in our country. But that debate might be superfluous after Tuesday’s presidential election, which was won by Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
As noted by the Amandala publisher in his column on Tuesday, Starlink is owned by Elon Musk, an ally of Mr. Trump, and were he to put “his case for investment in Belize to Mr. Trump, Belize would not be in a position to resist pressure from Trump’s Washington.” If it was only about dollars and cents, Belize with its 400,000 people might be too small a market for the multi-billionaire Musk to be calling in favors from the American president. But there are other considerations which alert people will be aware of, such as control/influence of media, were Starlink, a foreign company, to become our dominant internet provider.
There are a number of Belizeans who are starry-eyed about the prospects of Starlink in Belize, and particularly for Belizeans and businesses in remote areas, it would be of great benefit. But many objectors see carnage in the marketplace, severe hurt to workers, and a threat to our independence. Starlink might be too “’costly’ for our blood.”
Anti-corporate activists and environmentalists quake after US elections
The Republicans were the big winners when the dust settled on elections in the US on Tuesday – claiming the presidency, control of the Senate, and quite likely the House of Representatives too. In the most famous democracy on the planet, at least for the next two years, one party will have free rein fu du weh dehn want, especially since Republicans also have control of the Supreme Court. The Republican platform included promises to contain the LGBT agenda; clamp down on immigration and deport individuals illegally in the US; severely curtail abortion rights; reduce subsidies for healthcare; slow down advances of the Black community toward reparations; and maintain the right of Americans to own guns of every make, from pistols to high-powered rifles.
The Republicans might have difficulty doing worse than what the Democrats did to contain Israel’s brutal mission of vengeance in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on Israel last year. The difference between the two parties in regard to Israel is that the majority of the rank–and-file Republicans believe that Israel can do no wrong, since Israel is, in their view, the chosen people of God; while the majority of rank-and-file Democrats believe Israel, especially the crowd presently living there, has no claims on God above anyone else, and should not be allowed to wage war with impunity.
With Trump and the Republicans in control, the US is open for business, with little restraints. The rival Democrats had vowed to increase taxes on the massively wealthy multi-millionaires and billionaires. That won’t happen under the Republicans and Donald Trump. It’s a rough day for the masses when aggressive people have an open field to take advantage of faults in human systems to amass, hoard, vast wealth, while the masses scramble like Lazarus for crumbs that fall off their tables.
Measures to fight climate change will be placed on the backburner, since the Republicans have rejected the science behind the dramatic increase of severe weather phenomena. It’s a tragedy when leaders fail to connect coral bleaching with deforestation, decimation of the ozone, and environmental contamination with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and chemicals used in industry and households.
Tuesday, November 5, was a good day for some, a bad day for others, and a particularly bad day for environmentalists and people who are not friends of the corporates.