Satellite Has Role in Some, Not All, NTIA-Approved BEAD Plans

Satellite broadband has a niche role in some of the state broadband equity, access and deployment program plans that NTIA has approved thus far. Multiple states' finalized BEAD volume 2 plans indicate that satellite is a last-resort option absent fiber proposals. Other states exclude satellite in their cured volume 2 plans. Seven states and the District of Columbia have received NTIA sign-off on their volume 2 plans.

Many states "will fall back on satellite" when faced with tiny, remote pockets of homes that no ISP wants to serve, emailed CCG Consulting's Doug Dawson.

During a House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing last week (see 2405150020), NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said the agency anticipates some states will include satellite in their BEAD projects. States "absolutely" will have a wide variety of tech at their disposal, including fixed wireless access and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, he told lawmakers.

Louisiana's volume 2 said that if it doesn't get proposals for the estimated 378,344 unserved and underserved homes and community anchor institutions and it's unable to entice any, it will seek NTIA approval for a non-reliable service support program being offered directly to individual unserved locations. Those non-reliable options include unlicensed fixed wireless or LEO satellite service, as long as it's 100/20 Mbps service and meets latency requirements, it said.

End-to-end fiber "will always receive first consideration and priority in selection," followed by other technologies still considered reliable, Nevada's Office of Science, Innovation & Technology said. It said after that comes consideration of applications using technologies outside the definition of "reliable," such as unlicensed FWA and LEO.

LEO "is only allowed for projects proposed in extremely high-cost areas," Washington state said in its approved volume 2. But use of satellite broadband nets an applicant fewer points than licensed fixed wireless and hybrid fiber coaxial cable in the state's scoring rubric for non-fiber projects to broadband serviceable locations. For areas that get no proposals, the State Broadband Office said it will seek NTIA sign-off to allow use of less-reliable technologies such as LEO that still offer 100/20 Mbps speeds, it said. The SBO is conducting a LEO feasibility study and might consider funding satellite broadband infrastructure for network resiliency.

Delaware's approved volume 2 sees the state planning to use satellite and also fund replacement of existing satellite use in some areas. The state said that if it meets its top objectives of universal connectivity for unserved and underserved areas and gigabit connections to some community anchor institutions, any leftover funding will focus on the next tier of priorities, including line extensions to extremely high-cost unserved and underserved locations to replace fixed wireless connections. At the same time, it said it would consider satellite or unlicensed fixed wireless for locations that exceed the state's extremely high-cost per location threshold.

Satellite is off the table in Kansas, as are unlicensed wireless and DSL, the state Office of Broadband Development said. Satellite isn't specifically mentioned in West Virginia's cured volume 2 except that if there's no qualifying service option, including LEO, NTIA might discuss waivers to a state's final proposal.

Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia didn't show us their approved volume 2 plans but said they would be publicly available at some point.