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New policy changes to the U.S. federal BEAD broadband program open the door to satellite connectivity with the adoption of a “technology-neutral” approach. 

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued a policy notice on Friday for the Broadband Equity, Access, and

Deployment (BEAD) program, directing changes to how states and territories administer the program. 

The policy notice adopts a technology-neutral approach to priority broadband projects. Previous BEAD policy was that priority broadband projects were “fiber first.” According to the notice, the previous fiber policy “relegated other capable technologies, including terrestrial wireless and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services to a third-tier status.” 

According to the new policy, “fiber-optic technology, cable modem/hybrid fiber-coaxial technology, LEO satellite services, and terrestrial fixed wireless technology utilizing entirely licensed spectrum, entirely unlicensed spectrum, or a hybrid of licensed and unlicensed spectrum, can be used in applications for priority broadband projects.”  

The changes state that projects must provide broadband service at no less than 100 Mbps for downloads and 20 Mbps for uploads, with latency less than or equal to 100 milliseconds. 

“Thanks to today’s reforms, the BEAD program can focus on what Congress intended: broadband deployment. Shelving the previous Administration’s unnecessary burdens, and opening access to all technology types, connects more Americans to broadband more quickly, and at a lower cost to the American taxpayer,” Adam Cassady, acting assistant secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and acting NTIA administrator said in a release. 

This comes after Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick launched a review of the BEAD program in March. BEAD was established by former President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Satellite Industry Association put out a statement that the technology-neutral approach is encouraging, highlighting the potential for satellite services to provide connectivity under the program. 

“The most responsible approach to bridging our digital divide combines multiple technologies, deploying each where it makes the most sense. For significant portions of our country, multiple satellite providers offer broadband services which represent the most viable and, sometimes, the only option for delivering high speed connectivity within a reasonable timeframe and budget,” SIA President Tom Stroup said in a statement. 

The tech-neutral approach could benefit SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service, Armand Musey, president and founder of advisory firm Summit Ridge Group, told Via Satellite. 

Starlink was previously a major winner in the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program, but the FCC canceled its RDOF funding in 2022, and denied a SpaceX appeal in 2023. 

Earlier this year, Starlink rolled out a “Residential Lite” service plan in parts of the U.S. with a cheaper, $80 per month cost with deprioritized data. 

However, Musey noted that local authorities across the country implementing the program have their own priorities. 

“The institution of a tech-neutral approach will probably help Starlink. However, it remains to be seen how tech-neutrality will be implemented at the state and local level where there is often a greater concern about jobs creation, which favors fiber,” Musey told Via Satellite.