Satellite

Is satellite broadband a reliable method of closing the digital divide? If you were to consult the BEAD program’s rules, the answer would be no. But Donald Trump’s second term could flip that equation if the new administration determines fiber is no longer the preferred technology. Elon Musk, who owns satellite broadband service Starlink, was just appointed by Trump to lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration.

I’ve been peppered with questions about the impact of the change of administration on the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. I don’t have any better crystal ball than anybody else. But it’s not hard to speculate on the kinds of changes that might come. Some possible paths for BEAD:

According to GSA, which tracks the satellite industry, 34 countries are either planning, evaluating, or testing broadband satellites. There have already been satellites launched by UK, Mexico, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the United Arab Emirates, and Timor-Leste. The skies are clearly going to be filled with satellites in a few years. It’s not hard to imagine 100,000 broadband satellites in orbit in a decade or so. One has to wonder what this will mean in terms of price competition. Starlink has one of the highest broadband prices in the U.S.

In an increasingly congested wireless spectrum, conflict is both inevitable but often resolvable. Between commercial applications (e.g., terrestrial and non-terrestrial wireless communications, navigation, and telemetry), scientific activities (e.g., radio astronomy, polar research, earth observation), and other vital spectrum-dependent uses (e.g., air traffic control), competition for spectrum access will only increase with new and emerging applications and technologies.

It's very likely that the incoming Trump administration will smile on satellite Internet companies such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Project Kuiper. And that could have serious implications for fiber vendors like Calix and Corning, as well as fiber network operators like AT&T, Brightspeed, Altice, Windstream and others. The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program is designed to funnel $42.45 billion through US states for broadband networks in rural areas.

Elon Musk—the most influential backer of President-elect Trump, thanks to his money, time and X factor—now sits at the pinnacle of power in business, government influence and global information (and misinformation) flow. As this election showed, politics and influence flow downstream from information control. Musk, once seen by many as a fool for buying Twitter, now controls the most powerful information platform for America's ruling party. X makes Fox News seem like a quaint little pamphlet in size, scope and right-wing tilt. Imagine you wanted to help mold America.

With Election Day in the rearview mirror, the U.S. is considering what a second Donald Trump administration means for the country. For the broadband industry, that means wondering what will happen with the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The long and the short of it? The biggest influence on BEAD could come from outside the government.

Satellite-based communications businesses have been making news recently, including a brand-new start-up.

SpaceX operates the world’s most powerful satellite-internet system near Earth. It still hasn’t reached Taiwan. The island democracy is racing to ensure that its government, military and people could stay online in the event of an invasion or blockade by China.

It’s clear we need more resiliency in our broadband policy. If nothing else, the hurricanes ravaging the U.S. Southeast have shown us that. In the last few weeks, pervasive wireless and wireline communication outages have left people that are already struggling in the wake of disaster completely cut off from resources, important news updates, and loved ones.