SpaceX Asks to Shield Starlink from New York’s $15 Broadband Law

WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2025 – The shockwaves from the first state law regulating retail broadband rates are still being felt.

Starlink parent SpaceX has filed for an exemption from New York’s law requiring Internet Service Providers to provide $15 per month internet plans for low-income households.

The law, known as the Affordable Broadband Act, went into effect on Wednesday with a mandate on ISPs to provide low-income residents plans at $15 and $20 per month for download speeds no lower than 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) and 200 Mbps, respectively.

New York Attorney General Letitia James began enforcing the ABA on Jan. 15 following a major victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear ISPs' challenge to the law.

The law would significantly lower Starlink's monthly cost of $120 for residential users. That is, if the state’s Public Service Commission can confirm Starlink’s obligation to comply with the ABA.

In its filing submitted Tuesday to New York’s Public Service Commission, SpaceX claimed it was exempt on the basis that “Starlink serves fewer than 20,000 households within New York State.”

“As of the date of this filing, SpaceX provides broadband to [***Begin Confidential***] [***End Confidential***] residential customers in New York. This figure is consistent with the data most recently filed with the Federal Communications Commission, accounting for user growth since such filing,” the letter adds. 

This disclosure may come as a surprise, given that SpaceX reported to the FCC last August that it had over 1.4 million Starlink customers across the U.S.

New York’s Public Service Commission has reported that SpaceX’s request was under review. The Commission can issue an exemption under the law if it “determines that compliance… would result in unreasonable or unsustainable financial impact on the broadband service provider.”

SpaceX is not alone in seeking an exemption. Smaller ISPs, such as Windstream New York, have also filed similar requests, citing limited household coverage in the state.

Meanwhile, larger providers like AT&T have responded differently. AT&T announced it would shut down its 5G home internet service in New York, arguing the ABA’s pricing mandates create “harmful rate regulations that make it uneconomical for AT&T to invest in or expand broadband infrastructure in the state.”