The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is considering changes to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program that will make it easier for Trump administration official Elon Musk's Starlink to receive awards from the program. The following statement may be attributed to Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Director of Policy Engagement Drew Garner:

"The BEAD Program is on course to ensuring that every location in the U.S. has fast, reliable, and affordable internet access over networks that can be easily upgraded to keep up with the connectivity demands of Americans for decades to come. Secretary Lutnick's reported meddling is likely to leave millions of Americans with broadband that is slower, less reliable, and more expensive—while at the same time surrendering US leadership in the global race for high-speed broadband. Americans deserve better.

"Like a healthy diet, we need more fiber, not less. Studies show that consumers overwhelmingly prefer fiber broadband due to its superior performance and reliability. Fiber broadband is widely understood to be better than other internet options—like Starlink's satellites—because it delivers significantly faster speeds, is more reliable due to its resistance to interference (from weather, foliage, terrain, etc), has higher bandwidth capacity, and offers symmetrical upload and download speeds, making it ideal for activities like telehealth, online learning, streaming, and gaming that require consistent high performance.

"Moreover, investment in terrestrial infrastructure, such as fiber, pays economic dividends in any state by creating a local infrastructure platform for economic activity and by stimulating direct, indirect, and induced job creation. In contrast, paying Starlink for a network that already exists, and that has almost no terrestrial infrastructure, has no discernible economic benefit for any state or community.

"Secretary Lutnick may wish BEAD to be 'technology-neutral,' but we shouldn't be technology-blind. American broadband should be the best broadband in the world."

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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Kevin Taglang
Executive Editor, Communications-related Headlines
Benton Institute
for Broadband & Society
1041 Ridge Rd, Unit 214
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-220-4531
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Broadband Delivers Opportunities and Strengthens Communities