Say what you will, but it's staying above cloud providers.

Not for long because it needs replacement constantly.

Must be the most unsustainable way to provide internet

They launch them all the time, similar to telcos digging up copper to replace fibre or upgrading infra as new tech improves.

They have to, otherwise the internet is gone.

My provider took 3 years from the signing for fibre to the actual delivery. But I still had internet before. Worse but internet.

If SpaceX stops, internet is pretty quickly gone.

And it seems SpaceX is its own best customer when they need to put up and replace so many satellites.

They last 7-10 years so they would need to stop launching for a decade, not going to happen.

They have a average lifespan of 5 years and need constant maintenance

Constant maintenance? What are you talking about? Once they're launched they are never touched till they burn up 7-10 years later.