For all the fanfare around fiber connectivity in the $42.45-billion Biden-era Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program aimed at funding rural broadband builds in underserved areas of the U.S., recent rule changes cracked the door wider for satellite participation—and the LEO sector of the industry is wasting no time shoving a foot in.
Since the June 2025 updates made by the BEAD program’s administrator, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), LEO systems are now being eyed as competitive solutions for the hardest-to-reach communities targeted by the BEAD program. The policy shift raises new questions about how satellite communications operators will stack up against more entrenched terrestrial broadband providers, and whether the BEAD program’s definition of future-proof makes room for space-based infrastructure.
Broadening the Definition of Broadband
According to the NTIA’s new policy ruling, “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 early June policy changes by NTIA 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. That came after extensive lobbying by LEO operators and satellite industry supporters that pushed for the agency to adopt a technology-neutral approach to BEAD, the funding for which is administered on a state-by-state basis.
Tom Stroup, president of the Satellite Industry Association (SIA), said the changes mark a significant shift toward greater satellite participation, though in his estimation they still fall short of full technology neutrality. SIA pushed for both GEO and non-GEO satellite systems to be eligible for funding under BEAD, but the final rule changes still exclude certain systems based on latency requirements.
“The funding was to be applied in a technology-neutral manner, but that’s not really how it had been implemented by NTIA.” —Tom Stroup, SIA
“My hope is that there will be greater opportunities for the satellite industry as a result of the changes,” Stroup said. “The funding was to be applied in a technology-neutral manner, but that’s not really how it had been implemented by NTIA . My expectation is that satellite companies will have much greater opportunities than they did under the prior criteria.”
LEO, Neutrality and Politics
Caleb Henry, director of research for space industry consultancy Quilty Space, sees the NTIA’s recent changes to the BEAD program as a meaningful opening for LEO satellite operators—particularly SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper—to participate in broadband opportunities that were previously dominated by fiber. Historically, U.S. government broadband subsidies have excluded satellites, often citing latency, but LEO constellations capable of sub-100ms performance have changed that equation.
“I don’t know that the satellite industry has ever truly been on fair footing when it comes to U.S. broadband programs in the past ,” Henry said. “But it was becoming increasingly obvious as constellations emerged that there wasn’t a reason to exclude them.”
“I don’t know that the satellite industry has ever truly been on fair footing when it comes to U.S. broadband programs in the past.” —Caleb Henry, Quilty Space
Indeed, both Starlink and Kuiper reportedly have engaged actively in the BEAD program since the June rule changes. In Texas, Starlink submitted applications for more than 244,000 eligible locations, effectively covering most of the state’s BEAD footprint, while Kuiper filed bids for around 160,000 locations in the state. In Tennessee, both operators applied for nearly every BEAD location, and their satellite bids nearly doubled the number of fiber applications, with notably lower per-location funding requests
Henry, who sees Starlink and Kuiper as the clear front-runners in the BEAD race given their consumer focus and the expected size of their constellations, said the NTIA rule changes to BEAD likely are motivated both by politics and an America-first mentality.
“The current administration is just more aware of what LEO satellites can do, and you saw the close relationship that the President and the head of SpaceX once had,” Henry said. “There’s also a real tie in to the ‘America first’ philosophy that the government has put forward. If you want to really see American ingenuity succeed, you first want to see it succeed at home.”
Stephen Yusko, Deputy Director for the Office of Public Affairs for NTIA, declined to comment for this article but pointed to public releases announcing the policy changes, which do stress the Trump administration and the perception that the rules put forth by the previous administration were more limiting.
“Today’s announcement, made possible by President Trump, [U.S. Commerce] Secretary Lutnick and the talented NTIA team, puts the BEAD program on a path for success,” said Adam Cassady, acting assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and acting NTIA administrator, in a June statement. “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.”
The Evolving Satellite Opportunity
Even satellite operators that have not yet publicly acknowledged interest in the BEAD program or submitted applications see the value of the funding program and the satellite industry’s potential contribution.
“Given our global LEO coverage and enterprise-grade service architecture, we are well-positioned to support hybrid connectivity models that combine the strengths of fiber, wireless and satellite to deliver cost-effective and resilient broadband where it’s needed most,” said Katie Dowd, senior director of corporate and government affairs for Eutelsat OneWeb. “We encourage state policies to adopt a tech-neutral approach—evaluating solutions by performance. LEO is a viable option for backhaul and access in hard-to-reach areas... and simplifying local permitting and educating stakeholders on LEO’s real capabilities, like low latency and resilience, are also key to broader BEAD adoption .”
“Simplifying local permitting and educating stakeholders on LEO’s real capabilities, like low latency and resilience, are also key to broader BEAD adoption.” —Katie Dowd, Eutelsat OneWeb
Starlink could not be reached for comment for this article, and a representative of Project Kuiper directed Constellations to its 2024 filing with NTIA that lobbied for tech neutrality and rallied against the perceived “fiber-first” mentality of the original BEAD program.
“LEO broadband offers a solution tailor‐made to the problem identified by Congress,” the filing stated. “In establishing BEAD, Congress did not limit the technologies that eligible entities could use to deliver broadband internet. Instead, it established benchmarks of performance and reliability that any solution must meet to be eligible for funding. Yet, the initial BEAD rules prioritized fiber deployment.”
For its part, the Amazon-backed outfit seems intent on demonstrating its relevance as a rural broadband provider globally, perhaps as a precursor to U.S. broadband deliver as the BEAD funding process progresses. Just last week, Project Kuiper inked a deal with Australian broadband provider NBN to delivery broadband connectivity to 300,000 remote customer targets by mid-2026 using its satellite constellation. The initiative aims to address Australia’s lack of reliable connectivity in remote areas, as approximately 27% of the Australian population resides outside major cities, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Avoiding Technology Hurdles
Since the BEAD program is still simply filings and applications, it remains to be seen whether the bidding entities (and those yet to bid) will be able to meet the requirements the program’s policies set forth. Some industry observers, even those bullish on LEO’s capabilities, are still watching and waiting for the program to pan out.
“The fact is that LEO has a place, no question about it,” said Glenn Fishbine, partner at Breaking Point Solutions, which creates broadband feasibility studies and is engaged with some states on the BEAD program to help states evaluate technology options. “It’s a remarkable technology. The only concerns that we had were whether or not Starlink or Kuiper will have the capability to perform under all circumstances. So that led to the analysis of trying to find out some of the edge cases where it might not be the best choice.”
“The only concerns that we had were whether or not Starlink or Kuiper will have the capability to perform under all circumstances.” —Glenn Fishbine, Breaking Point Solutions
Fishbine said the lack of detailed technical specifications from both Starlink and Kuiper creates uncertainty in planning. His team has had to make numerous assumptions about factors like beam width, user density, speed and interference that may or may not be accurate.
“The technical specifications that are published are pretty slim. In the absence of information, you have to make assumptions—and if those assumptions are wrong, tell us,” he said. “Those assumptions may be right or they may be wrong. But if they are right, then they’re pointing to a couple of cases where you would be concerned if you were to choose, exclusively, a Starlink or Kuiper solution for any arbitrary project area.”
Stroup of SIA sees both GEO and LEO playing a critical role in expanding broadband access quickly and cost-effectively, especially in areas where fiber buildouts are too slow or expensive and ultimately bucking the public perception of satellite speeds.
“In many ways, we suffer from the speeds the satellite systems were providing service 10 or 15 years ago,” Stroup said. “The current generation of GEO satellites and the new LEO systems are much, much faster. People may still have this image of it as being old or expensive.” —Thy Mai also contributed to this article.
Explore More:
US to Spend $42B on Broadband Equity: Will Satellite Internet Be Included?
Starlink Outage Is a Reminder of the Importance of Network Diversity
FCC Broadband Speed Plans Could Leave Satellite Behind
