SpaceX urges Louisiana to abandon fiber networks in favor of Starlink

SpaceX has asked Louisiana authorities to review its broadband Internet development plan and transfer most of the BEAD program funds to Starlink, Arc Technica reports.

In the filing, the company criticized the state's decision to allocate 91.5 percent of nearly $500 million to develop fiber networks. SpaceX said it could provide connectivity to nearly all households for less than $100 million, while the current plan is a "wasteful use of taxpayer dollars."

Under Louisiana's proposal, Starlink would receive $7.75 million to connect more than 10,000 locations. The bulk of the funding — $378 million — would go to a consortium of local providers that would develop fiber networks.

SpaceX said the state's plan violates new federal rules that require a "technology-neutral approach" and select applications with the lowest connection costs. If Louisiana does not make changes, the company plans to ask the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to reject the plan.

The previous plan, prepared during the Biden administration, called for $748 million and 95% of households to be connected via fiber. The new plan, shaped under the Trump administration’s rules, cut the cost to $499 million but kept cable networks as the priority.

The states explain their decision by saying that fiber provides much higher bandwidth and is better scalable in the future. The Louisiana government warns that satellite Internet has limitations due to spectrum, population density and other technical factors that make it difficult to use it as a basic solution for the entire infrastructure.