SpaceX has made a new set of demands on state governments that would ensure Starlink receives federal grant money even when residents don’t purchase Starlink broadband service. SpaceX said it will provide “all necessary equipment” to receive broadband “at no cost to subscribers requesting service,” which will apparently eliminate the up-front hardware fee for Starlink equipment. But SpaceX isn’t promising lower-than-usual monthly prices to consumers in those subsidized areas. SpaceX pledged to make broadband available for $80 or less a month, plus taxes and fees, to people with low incomes in the subsidized areas. For comparison, the normal Starlink residential prices advertised on its website range from $50 to $120 a month. SpaceX’s demands would also guarantee that it gets paid by the government even if it doesn’t reserve “large portions” of Starlink network capacity for homes in the areas that are supposed to receive government-subsidized Internet service. Moreover, SpaceX would not be responsible for ensuring that Starlink equipment is installed correctly at each customer location. SpaceX sent a letter to state broadband offices proposing a rider with terms that it hopes will be applied to all grants it receives throughout the country. The letter was obtained and published by Broadband.io and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. Arguing that SpaceX should receive grant money regardless of whether residents purchase Starlink service, the letter to states said that grant payments should not depend on “the independent purchasing decisions of users.” SpaceX also said it will not hold “large portions of capacity fallow” to ensure that people in subsidized areas receive good service, but will instead continue its preexisting practice of “dynamically allocat[ing] capacity where needed.” SpaceX capitalizes on Trump overhaul SpaceX’s proposed contract rider would apply to grants distributed under the US government’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. BEAD was created by Congress in a 2021 law that authorized spending over $42 billion to make broadband networks available in areas without modern service.
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