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Amazon’s Starlink rival, Project Kuiper, still hasn’t launched. But that isn’t stopping Wyoming from selecting it to supply high-speed broadband to over 15,000 underserved locations.
The proposal is part of Wyoming’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, which will use federal funds to expand high-speed internet access and close coverage gaps in the state. Wyoming has selected Project Kuiper to deliver broadband to about 40% of 38,000-plus locations. It’s also awarding Amazon close to $10 million in subsidies.
In contrast, SpaceX’s Starlink has only been selected to serve 629 locations in exchange for $1 million in federal funding. The rest of the funding, at over $198 million, will go toward fiber and fixed wireless providers, according to broadband marketing executive Doug Adams.
Wyoming announced the proposal after the Trump administration revised the BEAD program to emphasize “technology neutrality” and cost efficiency, opening the door for satellite internet providers to secure more funding.
A few states, including Montana, Ohio, Colorado and now Wyoming, are doing just that by awarding a large portion of their BEAD locations to satellite internet, over faster, but more expensive gigabit fiber internet. Still, many other states are sticking with fiber, which has prompted SpaceX to call for the Commerce Department to intervene.
Wyoming is following Colorado in mostly selecting Project Kuiper over Starlink when it comes to satellite internet. Despite years in development, Kuiper has yet to serve a single customer.
As for why it picked Kuiper, Wyoming’s state broadband office told PCMag it followed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's revised guidance on "using lowest cost per location based on minimal BEAD Program outlay as the primary criteria for scoring competing applications."
"WBO prioritized the minimal BEAD outlay per NTIA policy and aimed to award projects that provide the most efficient use of BEAD Program funding for the state," the office added. The proposal also shows Amazon plans on powering download speeds of at least 150Mbps in the BEAD locations, whereas Starlink has only been contracted to deliver 100Mbps downloads.
Wyoming may have also been concerned about Starlink’s capacity; the satellite internet service is widely available across the US, where it already serves 2 million active customers. Under the BEAD program, both Kuiper and Starlink are required to provide the satellite dish hardware for free and must reserve network capacity for the eligible locations.
It’s unclear when Project Kuiper will launch or how much Amazon will charge for the internet service. The company currently only has over 100 Kuiper satellites in orbit, but it plans on launching dozens more in the coming months.