Rural internet program on hold as Musk’s satellites get new consideration

Recipients of Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grants have expressed worries that years of planning to bring internet to underserved rural households could be stymied by the Trump administration’s shift in the program’s direction. Under the original plan, which Congress approved with bipartisan support in 2021, Louisiana was set to receive $1.4 billion as part of the $42 billion program. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced in March that the program would drop Biden’s “woke mandates” and “burdensome” regulations, and take a “tech-neutral” approach to getting internet to rural residents. “Under the revamped BEAD program, all Americans will receive the benefit of the bargain that Congress intended,” Sec Lutnick said on March 5. “We’re going to deliver high-speed internet access, and we will do it efficiently and effectively at the lowest cost to taxpayers.” The program has been designed overwhelmingly around installing underground fiber-optic cables, a medium widely seen as a gold standard for fast and reliable internet. Some critics of the BEAD program say that approach is too expensive and time-consuming, and that using the “low-orbit satellite” technology offered by Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper costs less and can get people connected faster. Comparing costs is not a simple matter, though. While satellite internet is cheaper to set up initially and works well for remote areas, the technology would cost households far more in the long run, said Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society, an Illinois-based nonprofit. Starlink rates run about $120 a month, according to its website. The average fiber plan costs around $80, though prices vary broadly with speed. Many BEAD participants welcome some of the changes — such as tossing environmental and labor requirements — but say further delays would cause costly setbacks. And any shift to having states cover more rural areas with satellite internet, such as Starlink, could saddle households with inferior service and higher costs in the long run, some providers said.