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An FCC commissioner is subtly pushing back on SpaceX’s suggestion that Starlink has "solved" rural broadband gaps in the US.
Today, the Republican-led Federal Communications Commission voted 3-0 to consider revamping rules regarding $1.6 billion in subsidies to rural internet providers—shortly after SpaceX called for the funding to be scrapped.
Despite voting in support, Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez is challenging the idea that satellite internet services, such as Starlink, can adequately address the US’s broadband needs in rural and remote areas. She noted that gigabit-fiber, although expensive to deploy, offers the best “capacity and latency, and I want to make sure we don’t declare victory early.”
“We don’t want to set up a policy that leaves communities behind. And I’m concerned that if we rely too much on technologies that aren't going to give them that capacity and that latency, then that’s what we’re going to be doing,” she said in a Q&A with journalists.
She made the comments a week after SpaceX sent a letter to the FCC that argued the subsidy programs had become “unnecessary” due to the rise of Starlink, which uses orbiting satellites to beam internet to rural and remote areas across the country. “The Commission’s universal service programs must adapt to a reality where the long-standing problem of high-speed broadband network access has effectively been solved,” SpaceX said.
The FCC’s vote kicks off a process to examine rule changes to the FCC’s High-Cost program under the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes access to voice and broadband services. The $4.5 billion High-Cost Program funds traditional ISPs to deploy and maintain services in rural and remote areas while keeping prices down.
Critics, such as Joe Kane at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank, say the current rules have been funding failing ISPs that offer substandard speeds, even though it’s clear Starlink can deliver better performance without a subsidy from the High-Cost program.
Republican FCC Chair Brendan Carr moved to revamp the rules to “ensure that these programs keep pace with the times and continue to deliver for the American people.” In today’s vote, Gomez said she supports examining rule changes to foster high-speed networks for the coming AI era. But she also questions whether satellite internet services are best suited for the task, given that the US median download speed for Starlink is about 129 Mbps.
“Satellite is a wonderful service," Gomez added. "It is great for when we cannot have other technological solutions, but we want to make sure consumers everywhere get the type of capacity, the type of latency, the type of service, at affordable costs, as we are supposed to do under the statute."
She brought up the affordability issue after SpaceX sparked anger this past weekend by raising prices for its Residential and Roam plans. In areas with high demand, Starlink can experience slower speeds and network congestion. To prevent network overload, the company can require new sign-ups to pay a one-time "demand surcharge" of $500 to $1,500.
During her vote, Gomez added: “Satellite broadband has expanded rapidly, and represents an important piece of the connectivity puzzle, particularly for some of the most geographically challenging areas. But we must evaluate with rigor whether these services can reliably support the performance needed for advanced applications, including AI workloads, telehealth, precision agriculture and other latency and capacity sensitive uses.”
The rulemaking will include a public comment process, which will no doubt trigger SpaceX and ISPs in rural areas to weigh in. The Rural Wireless Association told PCMag last week: “SpaceX’s filing fundamentally misstates the purpose of the FCC’s high-cost universal service programs. These programs exist because market forces alone have not delivered reliable, scalable broadband in rural America—and that reality has not changed.” The group also noted that SpaceX has been asking to loosen the rules to receive subsidies from the US BEAD program, which will fund high-speed broadband in underserved areas.