Satellites Have Made This Costly Broadband Subsidy Obsolete

For decades, taxpayers have been forced to prop up an increasingly outdated broadband subsidy program with billions of dollars a year. Now, advocates for new broadband-deployment technologies are calling on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to finally pull the plug.

In a recent FCC filing, SpaceX calls for the Commission to “wind down outdated and redundant High Cost programs that now clearly provide diminished – or even negative – returns and redirect these resources to an enhanced affordability program that will deliver clear and impactful benefits to consumers.”  

The comments to the FCC pointed out the Commission’s own data show that 97 percent of Americans have access to two or more broadband providers. The small number of U.S. residents on the wrong side of the divide can be serviced better by low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite providers, the letter argues.

“The architecture of next-generation satellite systems is optimally suited to provide high-capacity, low-latency broadband services that are durable, cost-efficient, and economically self-sustaining – even in areas that are the most challenging and expensive to serve for terrestrial networks.”