Starlink’s U.S. Performance is on the Rise, Making it a Viable Broadband Option in Some States

SpaceX’s low-Earth orbit satellite provider Starlink is making inroads in the U.S. broadband market and trying to attract more subscribers by offering free equipment to new customers in states where it says it has excess capacity. Ookla Speedtest data on Starlink indicates that the satellite company’s network performance has been on the uptick over the past couple of years and as of Q1 2025, 17.42 percent of U.S. Starlink Speedtest users were able to get speeds consistent with the Federal Communications Commission’s minimum requirement for fixed broadband of 100 Mbps download speeds and 20 Mbps upload speeds. Starlink is positioned to benefit from recent changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced June 6 that it had reviewed the BEAD program and, as expected, it adopted a technology-neutral stance instead of prioritizing fiber deployments, making way for LEO satellite systems like Starlink to get BEAD funding. In addition, some states such as Maine have launched state-funded programs that subsidize Starlink for some rural addresses, and more are likely to follow.