Image: Starlink
SpaceX’s Starlink has been nominated for $51.6 million in federal subsidies to expand high-speed internet access across Ohio. According to a report from PCMag, the satellite internet provider will serve 31,000 underserved locations in the state as part of Ohio’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Ohio picked Starlink to cover 41% of all eligible locations in its BEAD proposal — more than any other participating internet service provider. Spectrum, owned by Charter Communications, came in second with just 13%.
This is the second-largest BEAD allocation Starlink has received so far. Earlier this week, Montana awarded the company $119 million to serve 20,000 locations, or 28% of the state’s underserved sites. Colorado, meanwhile, also favored satellite internet over fiber but leaned more heavily on Amazon’s Starlink rival, Project Kuiper.
The BEAD program was originally structured to prioritize fiber deployments. However, changes made under the Trump administration shifted the focus to “technology neutrality” and lower-cost rollouts. That opened the door for satellite services like Starlink, which are far cheaper and faster to deploy than laying fiber across rural areas.
Ohio was awarded $793 million in BEAD funding, but state officials say they’ll only need $227 million to fulfill deployment goals. With Ohio putting cost first, Starlink had a natural advantage, offering near-immediate coverage compared to the lengthy and expensive process of laying fiber.
Still, the trade-off is performance. Under the program, Starlink is only required to deliver 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload speeds, while fiber providers like Spectrum and AT&T plan to offer gigabit service. Starlink will provide free hardware to eligible locations, but it is not obligated to discount monthly subscriptions. That said, the satellite broadband provider is currently offering discounted Residential plans in eligible states and 50% off its Standard dish across the U.S.
Despite criticism, SpaceX says it is working on boosting Starlink’s speeds to gigabit levels. The company has also challenged BEAD awards in states like Virginia and Louisiana, arguing that Starlink was unfairly excluded. SpaceX even asked the Commerce Department, which must approve each state’s proposal before any funding is released, to intervene.
