- Maine will buy bulk Starlink equipment to connect 9,000 unserved locations as part of a new subsidy program
- FBA chief Gary Bolton argued it's a waste of money because those locations already have access to satellite service, which NTIA still considers as "unreliable" broadband
- But Starlink has some advantages over cable, DSL and fixed wireless access, according to Ookla and Recon Analytics data
As the wait continues for BEAD money, Maine has turned to low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband in the hope of faster connecting its last stretch of unserved folks.
Maine plans to purchase bulk LEO satellite hardware and service reservations from SpaceX’s Starlink as part of its new Working Internet ASAP (WIA) program.
The program aims to connect approximately 9,000 Maine homes and businesses (about 1.5% of the state’s population) that don’t have access to any type of internet service. Those eligible for WIA can apply for subsidized Starlink hardware beginning in November.
Andrew Butcher, president at Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), explained to Fierce that consumers who apply for the program won’t have to pay for a Starlink terminal, which typically costs $599.
At this time, the subsidy doesn’t include the Starlink service cost, which is $120 per month for residential customers. “We are working on some partnerships to be able to reduce the monthly cost for income-eligible homes,” said Butcher.
He said he wasn’t sure exactly how many satellites will be required to cover these 9,000 locations, but the more units that are made available in an area, the more secure the reservation is for as high a performing service as possible.
All told, the state recognizes LEO satellite broadband is an option on the table and it “certainly has a role” in how high-cost per location thresholds are set within BEAD. Programs like WIA are “intended to couple” with Maine’s long-term BEAD deployment, Butcher noted.
“We have a lot of space and not a lot of people. We also have a lot of people who did not grow up in the age of the internet,” he said. “The locations we’re making this LEO equipment available are by definition unconnected.”
Maine isn’t the only state that’s eyeing Starlink to fill some of its connectivity gaps. South Carolina last December revealed it’s pursuing a $3 million contract with Starlink to reserve up to 1,000 satellite dishes for the state. South Carolina has also partnered with Starlink on a pilot program to install 20 transceivers across several rural school districts.
FBA - It's still 'unreliable' broadband
Fiber Broadband Association President Gary Bolton argued the 9,000 unserved locations Maine wants to cover already have access to satellite service. “There’s not going to be anything different that Starlink’s going to do,” he said.
The difference is people enrolled in WIA don’t have to fork over $500 for a Starlink device. But at the end of the day, NTIA defines Starlink as “unreliable” broadband.
“On one hand, it’s a waste of $5.4 million because once you get fiber you’ll throw [that dish] away,” Bolton said. “But it’s an investment to keep a hold of until they get fiber or a reliable broadband service to their house.”
While Maine has asked Starlink to reserve network capacity, “I’m not sure how they’re going to do that” for 100/20 Mbps, he said.
To do so, Starlink would have to add more satellites to its constellation, so there are “a lot of moving parts.” The number of subscribers also impacts the provider’s capacity. As of September, Starlink reached 4 million global subscribers.
“Every time you add a subscriber there’s less capacity available,” said Bolton, noting Starlink has also allocated capacity for commercial services, military and disaster relief. “They’re giving bandwidth to a lot of different places.”
Ookla, Recon see some benefits to Starlink service
Interestingly, Recon Analytics found while Starlink customers experience more service outages than fiber broadband subscribers, they reported fewer outages than cable and DSL customers.
The firm’s customer satisfaction study indicates that Starlink’s router “is among the most stable in the market,” according to Recon Analytics principal Roger Entner.
Ookla meanwhile noted Starlink has “a more uniform distribution” of download performance across Speedtest samples compared to fixed wireless access (FWA) and DSL-based services. With FWA and DSL, the distance from the cell site or exchange can impact download speeds.