Ohio CWA: Don’t Use BEAD Money to Fund Starlink

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2025 - Communications Workers of America in Ohio are speaking out against using federal dollars to subsidize satellite Internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink.

"Satellite Internet service is a terrible use of public funds,” said the CWA in their signed petitions to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) last Wednesday. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is planning to make changes to the $42.45 Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, with some betting he will require states to spend less on fiber and more on satellite broadband to close the digital divide.

The CWA thinks shifting away from fiber puts union jobs at risk. 

CWA union workers are making their case for fiber. “[Satellite] does not provide the reliable speeds that communities will need," the petition said. CWA said “there are currently no union-represented satellite internet providers.”

Ohio State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Ohio said at a recent press conference, “[Broadband is] not just a luxury, but a lifeline.” She called for “infrastructure that will connect the unconnected, lower costs for families, and create good-paying union jobs right here in Ohio.”