Starlink wants billions in grants, but state governments aren’t cooperating

Starlink operator SpaceX isn't getting the broadband money it sought from state governments despite the Trump administration rewriting the rules of a $42 billion grant program. Instead of directing the lion's share of money to Elon Musk's space and satellite company, early results indicate that states still plan to deploy fiber broadband networks to most of their unserved households. SpaceX alleges that Virginia and Louisiana violated the Trump administration's rules by allocating most of the money to fiber providers instead of Starlink's satellite service. Assuming Virginia and Louisiana don't back down, SpaceX has indicated it will ask the Trump administration to reject their grant proposals. SpaceX might end up filing similar objections in many other states after more of them reveal their plans. A third state, West Virginia, revealed its plan, and SpaceX isn't likely to be happy with it. Gigi Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate and a former Federal Communications Commission official, cheered West Virginia's fiber-heavy plan. The plan "makes complete sense for a state that has more mountainous land per square mile than any other and is the 3rd most heavily forested state," she wrote. "If you have ever tried to make a cellphone call anywhere in West Virginia, you can understand why the state awarded fiber [at] 94% of eligible locations. The terrain demands it." Asked if states are testing the boundaries of the Trump administration rules, Sohn said, "I don't think they are trying to test the boundaries at all; in fact, I think the states are trying their very best to stay within the letter and spirit of the NTIA's June 6 Policy Notice and its latest FAQ, but more importantly, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which requires that Priority Broadband Projects be given, well, priority." Sohn was referring to the US law that created the BEAD program and tasked the NTIA with deciding how to distribute the $42 billion in grant money. Sohn pointed out that the NTIA FAQ says that states may consider an area's topography when deciding whether a grant proposal qualifies as a Priority Broadband Project. New Street Research analyst Blair Levin said, "Many states are skeptical that giving money to satellite actually provides their residents anything they don't already have." He expects to see satellite to win "a much higher percentage" of the funding in western states where population density is lower and the cost of serving each location higher.