The Federal Communications Commission initiated a review of the decades-old spectrum sharing regime between different types of satellite systems. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted April 28 begins a formal proceeding to enable greater and more intensive use of spectrum for space activities in the United States. In this proceeding, the FCC will look to update those power restrictions for use of the workhorse satellite frequencies (Ku- and Ka- bands) that support the next generation of satellite broadband constellations in Low-Earth Orbit. FCC spectrum rules for these bands are underpinned by dated technical rules that were written for the satellite marketplace of the 1990s.

Passed in 2021 as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Digital Equity Act established three grant programs to help close the digital divide by facilitating broadband adoption, implementing digital skills training programs, making internet-connected devices more available, and creating and improving public access computing centers. State broadband offices have spent over three years working on plans to close the digital divide among eight “covered populations,” including veterans. Now, the Trump Administration is slowing the process of getting resources promised to the states. For many Veterans, this will mean longer time spent without adequate or affordable broadband, a lack of access to digital skills training, and fewer opportunities to reap the benefits of telehealth services.

The Government Accountability Office was asked to review federal broadband efforts. This report examines (1) agencies’ use of broadband availability information and the extent to which FCC ensures the quality of data in its National Broadband Map; and (2) the extent to which agencies’ coordination of broadband funding programs aligns with GAO’s leading practices for interagency collaboration, among other issues. Federal agencies rely on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Map as a key information source to target tens of billions of dollars in federal broadband funding by knowing where high-speed internet is already available. However, the accuracy of the broadband availability data on the map is uncertain. FCC has not documented or assessed the sufficiency of its processes for ensuring the information’s accuracy. Without taking these steps, FCC cannot be assured its processes are sufficient to ensure the data’s quality or that its staff are carrying out these processes consistently, increasing the risk that inaccurate data appear on the map. Inaccurate data could jeopardize agencies’ ability to make the most efficient and effective funding decisions. FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and the Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and the Treasury coordinate with each other to administer the bulk of federal funding for broadband deployment. GAO found that coordination efforts between these agencies generally followed two and partially followed six of eight leading collaboration practices. GAO is making 14 recommendations, including that FCC document and evaluate the effectiveness of its processes for ensuring the quality of the National Broadband Map’s data, and that FCC, NTIA, USDA, and Treasury clearly define and document certain aspects of their coordination.  FCC, NTIA, and Treasury agreed with GAO’s recommendations; USDA neither agreed nor disagreed.

Elon Musk’s satellite broadband company – Starlink – is poised to receive billions of dollars in federal subsidies should the recently announced changes to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program be approved by Congress. While presented to the public as a way to end the digital divide – the divide between those who have access to high speed internet “broadband” and those who don’t – these changes will end up subsidizing a technology that offers only “good enough” connectivity and risks creating a new digital divide as parts of the country go to satellite while others move to fiber optics. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Musk, and President Trump want to change the rules of BEAD under the premise of “technological neutrality.” For months, Starlink has lobbied the federal government and individual states to get access to the BEAD program. Should these changes go through, the Wall Street Journal predicts that Starlink could receive almost half of the BEAD funding package – a whopping $20 billion. In this scenario, Elon Musk wins, and American communities find themselves stuck with a mercurial provider as the rest of the world embraces fiber.