Trump administration's BEAD overhaul aided SpaceX, telecom analyst Blair Levin says
Satellite broadband provider SpaceX benefited from changes to the $42.45 billion BEAD grant programme that made it easier to compete for funding — and the delay gave Starlink more time to sign up rural subscribers before subsidised rivals arrived, according to longtime telecom analyst Blair Levin.
WASHINGTON — Satellite broadband provider SpaceX benefited from changes to the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant programme that made it easier for the company to compete for funding, according to longtime telecom industry analyst Blair Levin.
Writing on Wednesday, Levin argued that the Trump administration’s overhaul of BEAD — a programme designed to subsidise high-speed broadband in unserved areas — tilted the playing field towards SpaceX’s Starlink service, Broadband Breakfast reports.
But more than additional funding, Levin said, the provider received a boon in the form of time. Delaying the grant awards gave Starlink more time to scoop up rural broadband subscribers before the arrival of subsidised competition, he said.
The assessment adds to the ongoing debate over the administration’s rewrite of the BEAD rules.
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