Maine's Free Starlink Initiative Sparks Debate Over Rural Broadband Solutions
These locations will remain eligible for fiber deployment under BEAD.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2024 - Maine's recent initiative to provide free Starlink satellite terminals to approximately 9,000 unserved households has ignited a debate over the role of satellite technology in closing the rural digital divide, even as the state maintains these locations will remain eligible for fiber deployment under the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
During a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event on Wednesday, Brian Allenby, senior director of program operations at Maine Connectivity Authority, emphasized that the state’s "Working Internet ASAP" program aims to provide immediate connectivity while waiting for permanent solutions.
"These 9,000 are a subset of our BEAD locations. We are not taking them off the BEAD map," Allenby said. "We would love to get fiber to as many of those locations as we can, understanding even if they were to receive a fiber award through BEAD, it's going to be a couple years."
Gary Bolton
