D.C. Memo: Maine to Provide Free Starlink Terminals to Thousands of Unserved
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Maine: The state of Maine, breaking with the pack, has embraced a new approach to delivering Internet for all. In an apparent national first, Maine has decided to give its hardest-to-reach residents and businesses free Starlink terminals under a new program set to launch next month. If all 9,000 eligible locations took the offer, it would cost the state about $5.4 million, but that would not include the cost of free shipping and free professional installation that the state plans to include with the equipment offer. The state is not planning to help reduce Starlink's monthly service charge. "Consistent with other Maine Connectivity Authority grant programs, each customer will manage their own subscription with Starlink," said Brian Allenby, MCA’s Senior Director of Program Operations, in an interview with Policyband. Starlink terminals retail at $599.00 each and a monthly service plan with unlimited data costs $120.00. "We are finalizing our contract with Starlink," Allenby said. The contract, he said, is expected to include capacity guarantees to ensure the terminals can connect to the satellite Internet service at minimum 100/20 Mbps speeds. Allenby said the state would notifiy residents of their eligibility and verify their Starlink applications as quickly as possibly, though that the pace would depend on the level of demand. The state is not going to establish an application window with a firm deadline. Instead, it will provide a rolling open enrollment process. In a press release Thursday, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) unveiled the Working Internet ASAP (WIA) under the MCA that she said "will coordinate the bulk purchase of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite hardware and service reservations from Starlink." She predicted the state would have its digital divide closed by the end of the year. “Maine has more work to do to build out our broadband infrastructure – but by the end of this year, everyone in our state will have the opportunity to access a reliable connection," she said.
Maine's approach could influence the debate over reforming the legally and financially vulnerable $8.1 billion Universal Service Fund run by the FCC that helps pay for Internet in high-cost areas. Maine’s Starlink deployment could also provide USF-funded schools and libraries with a new source of Internet connectivity at lower rates. And under a Trump administration, it is possible NTIA might direct more BEAD money to Starlink and put less emphasis on fiber deployments with high per-location costs. Maine's pivot to Starlink tracked with the broadband deployment advocacy of Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, who has repeatedly called on the FCC and NTIA to fund Starlink as a far faster and more affordable approach to closing the digital divide in remote locations. Carr was angered by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s decision last December to pull $885 million in RDOF support from Elon Musk’s Starlink. In Maine, the attitude about Musk and Starlink is different. “While we build the infrastructure for our future, we can't afford for people to be living in the digital dark,” MCA President Andrew Butcher said.