About one quarter of unserved and underserved locations nationwide eligible for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program can be served by low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband technology, according to a study by the Vernonburg Group.
LEO will be a viable platform for as many as 26% of BEAD-eligible locations, the study says. The Vernonburg Group found that two important considerations are cost and the ability to scale to provide appropriate throughput, latency, and service quality to all locations in the project area.
The study says that the reorientation of the program by the Trump administration has, according to early reports, “significantly increased the number of unserved and underserved locations for which [LEO providers] are seeking BEAD subgrants.”
The report says fiber, hybrid fiber coaxial, licensed and unlicensed fixed wireless, and LEO satellite will all play a role. It also found that prudent deployment funds could leave money over for investments in broadband adoption and other non-deployment programs.
The study says that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is still giving deference to state and territorial broadband offices to choose the technology for their BEAD projects. The report finds that LEO’s strength is in less densely populated areas.
A lot is happening on the BEAD front after a lull caused by the shift in gears between presidential administrations. Earlier this month, Virginia released its award recommendations for the “Benefit of the Bargain” round. The recommendation list, which must be approved by the NTIA, was released by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
The state will make high-speed broadband available to 133,742 locations. A total of $613.3 million will be awarded. Also in August, Louisiana released its final proposal for public comment. It is based on the state’s Benefit of the Bargain round conducted under the new program rules and includes a revised list of proposed funding awardees.
The proposal calls for 80% of locations to get fiber broadband and 9% to be served by LEO service. The remainder will be almost equally split between cable and fixed wireless technology.
