Federal Broadband Policy Is Increasingly Being Recast Around Satellite

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing changes to its High-Cost broadband subsidy program to prioritize satellite internet technologies like SpaceX’s Starlink, arguing they may replace terrestrial infrastructure in hard-to-reach areas. The FCC’s proposal follows SpaceX’s significant gains in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program under the Trump administration, which allocated over $636 million to SpaceX for serving 464,000 locations.