Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB • Hacker News Board

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#71

Post by kotaKat » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:11 PM UTC

frognumber wrote: post #18

Someone1234 wrote: post #16

I'm actually a huge fan of "unlimited slow speeds" as a falloff, instead of a cliff. Aside from the fact it allows you to work with Starlink to buy more fast speed, it also allows core stuff to continue to function (e.g. basic notifications, non-streaming web traffic, etc).

Years ago, I picked cell carrier because of this. When I ran out, it switched to O(200kbps), which is fine for email, basic web search, etc. It was actually a bit ironic that, at the time, you could burn through the whole high-speed quota in seconds or minutes, if you went to the wrong web page. Most carriers would stop or bill you an arm-and-a-leg after.

5G data roaming is hilarious for this. Verizon offered 500MB of high speed data roaming per day in Canada before throttling down to ~128kbps. I ran one single speedtest in the middle of Ottawa on Rogers 5G, didn't even finish the speedtest (hitting an error at the end that it failed), and got the text message going "You've run out of high speed data today. Do you want to buy another 500MB for $5?"

At least it's 2GB/day now. And my 5G roaming is off...

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#72

Post by doublerabbit » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC

bahmboo wrote: post #2

Nice that instead of completely cutting you off at the cap they put it in super slow 500 kbits. That is actually usable and used to be the fastest speed you could get at home.

Good enough to play Quake 3 Arena.

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#73

Post by buellerbueller » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:12 PM UTC

afavour wrote: post #55

behnamoh wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"That man" is the only person so far who's actually helped the Iranian people get their voices heard amidst government shutdown of the entire internet. Like it or not, Persians love him.

This is a very low effort reply. Does doing one good thing erase all the bad things a person has done? If that's the argument you're making, make it.

As I recently said about Scott Adams: "Good things can be done by Bad people." I think to assume that humans are these monolithic, logically consistent entities is to badly misunderstand humanity.

For example, Planned Parenthood--an organization I definitely believe in--was essentially created by a woman who was a eugenicist--something I definitely do not believe in.

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#74

Post by buellerbueller » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:13 PM UTC

wtfHN26 wrote: post #20

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #17

They could make it 1000GB for US$10/month and I still wouldn't give any money to a company associated with that man.

That's such an unique viewpoint that no one has expressed on the internet. Thank you for bringing value to this comments section.

Et tu, wtfHN26.

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#75

Post by lateforwork » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:13 PM UTC

iloveitaly wrote: post #70

Really interesting that Starlink continues to improve the service when they have an absolute monopoly on fast, portable satellite internet.

Absolutely monopoly? You mean other than Kuiper, right?

https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/what-i...

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#76

Post by buellerbueller » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #52

_blk wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

While I semi-agree, they both do plenty to encourage it. I mostly just wish Elon would stop using the R word. Not enough that I’m going to cancel my plan, but come on.

I find the Nazi salutes more distasteful than the word.

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#77

Post by afavour » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:15 PM UTC

buellerbueller wrote: post #73

afavour wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very low effort reply. Does doing one good thing erase all the bad things a person has done? If that's the argument you're making, make it.

As I recently said about Scott Adams: "Good things can be done by Bad people." I think to assume that humans are these monolithic, logically consistent entities is to badly misunderstand humanity. For example, Planned Parenthood--an organization I definitely believe in--was essentially created by a woman who was a eugenicist--something I definitely do not believe in.

> I think to assume that humans are these monolithic, logically consistent entities is to badly misunderstand humanity.

I don't think anyone is doing that though. But to decide whether to give someone's business money you do have to come to some sort of decision about their net good vs bad. It's logically consistent for the OP to be aware that Musk is aiding internet connectivity in Iran but still oppose giving him money.

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#78

Post by buellerbueller » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:16 PM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #56

talkingtab wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This resonates for me. I do not want my technology tied to some person I consider of despicable character. Would I buy a cell phone, even at a good deal from Putin? No. Corporations have increasingly become political. Thanks, United vs FEC! So we see them taking a knee to gain commercial advantage. And as in this case harm to our democracy. In my opinion, no discussion about Starlink is complete without considering w…

I’m always amazed how much people attribute to citizens united, a ruling that overturned portions of a law that was only on the books for 7 years at the time.

A law that existed to forestall or stop a trend of increasing regulatory capture via bribery, er, "campaign contributions"

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#79

Post by afavour » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:16 PM UTC

wtfHN26 wrote: post #20

PaulDavisThe1st wrote: post #17

They could make it 1000GB for US$10/month and I still wouldn't give any money to a company associated with that man.

That's such an unique viewpoint that no one has expressed on the internet. Thank you for bringing value to this comments section.

I'm surprised that you signed up for an account just to say something this empty

Re: Roam 50GB is now Roam 100GB

#80

Post by shimman » Wed, Jan 14, 2026, 6:16 PM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #59

shimman wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and the seeds have already been planted by the current US administration taking various financial stakes in public companies as a condition of corporate welfare.

The current administration didn’t start that, see the bailouts of the 07-08 financial crisis.

Those were just repaying the loans, having a stake in a company is completely different. It's not hard to push that further and in more creative ways too.