Recent federal guidance may open avenues for expanding internet access, but implementation challenges remain.
Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield, people impacted by Hurricane Helene, and remote researchers in Antarctica have all relied on LEO satellite internet to stay connected. Over a quarter of people living in rural areas in the United States, and at least 24 million people overall, lack access to high-speed internet. LEO satellites, among other technologies, may help close the connectivity gap in rural areas, but several technical and regulatory issues complicate achieving this goal.
The federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program currently provides the main source of federal support for expanding internet infrastructure. The program aims to close the “digital divide” and connect every American to high-speed internet by granting $42 billion to states to build infrastructure.
In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced changes to the BEAD program ostensibly aimed at embracing a “tech-neutral” approach. This neutrality includes a greater focus on funding internet service provided by low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
Satellites offer one way to deliver internet connectivity in remote locations—and during turbulent situations which disrupt traditional internet infrastructure. Wired internet connections such as fiber and cable, which depend on stable ground infrastructure, are less adaptable to intense conditions.
Previously, the BEAD program promoted a “fiber first” strategy by prioritizing funds to lay fiber optic cables. Proponents of this path pointed to the fiber’s industry status as the “gold standard” for internet service. Compared with LEO satellite internet or traditional cable TV and copper telephone wires, fiber transmits more data at high speeds with low “latencies”—that is, short lag time for data traveling from a source to an end point. Fiber optic cables can last 30 years or longer, but they cost more to install upfront because of labor and material. As a result, the costs of fiber installation pose a particular problem in rural areas with geographic barriers and long distances that cables must run across.
LEO satellite internet, however, can reach these areas where it is difficult to lay fiber infrastructure because of its minimal ground infrastructure. LEO satellites orbit about 100 to 1,000 miles above the planet. They use “spectrum,” or radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over, to transmit information between earth-based user satellites and ground stations. A LEO satellite completes one orbit around Earth in under two hours and quickly passes beyond an individual user terminal’s range. Continuous internet service requires “constellations” of hundreds or thousands of satellites to provide coverage. BEAD guidance mandates that LEO internet providers issue rural users satellite equipment at no cost, although these subscribers remain responsible for monthly service rates.
Despite the ability of LEO satellite internet to connect remote users, both the technology and its implementation have several pitfalls. LEO satellite networks cost more to maintain long-term because satellites must be replaced about every five years due to the heavy wear and tear of orbit. These satellites also experience service disruptions from inclement weather and long latencies, which cause problems for real-time uses such as gaming and video calling.
These technical issues previously led a federal agency to renege on LEO satellite internet funding. In 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded Starlink, the leading LEO satellite internet provider, nearly $900 million in federal funds through a different initiative to bring high-speed internet to unserved and underserved rural areas. The agency revoked the funding in 2022, however, due to concerns that Starlink would not be able to provide the required service speeds with low latencies.
At a minimum, an internet provider receiving funds under BEAD must deliver download speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of 20 Mbps—or 100/20 Mbps. The BEAD program designates two types of locations as priority funding targets: “unserved” areas, which lack access to internet with at least a 25/3 Mbps speed, and “underserved” areas, which lack access to internet with at least a 100/20 Mbps speed. Even at these speeds, uploading a one gigabyte file would take someone in an underserved area at least forty-four minutes but would take someone with high-speed internet in other parts of the country less than six minutes.
Other technical issues also contribute to the digital divide. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), a federal watchdog agency, questioned the accuracy of the maps compiled by the FCC to assess which areas of the United States lack sufficient internet access. These maps are used to determine local eligibility for BEAD funding. GAO observed that the FCC did not formally evaluate the reliability of the map data and noted the “substantial” number of successful challenges requesting updates. GAO included multiple comments from stakeholders raising concerns about how the map data are sourced entirely from internet service providers.
Concerned stakeholders suggested that providers “have an incentive to overstate the service they offer to prevent competitors from having an opportunity to provide service in the same location.” GAO interviewed multiple local and federal officials who confirmed the maps’ overstatement of high-speed internet service. Maps that incorrectly show areas as having access to high-speed internet eliminate states’ ability to gain service for these areas through BEAD funds.
Putting aside the various technical obstacles to further adoption, numerous paths exist to fill the gap of internet service availability. Fiber offers a resilient foundation for high-speed internet, but it comes with higher installation costs. LEO satellites offer flexible deployment in challenging circumstances, but they provide less reliable service and impose higher maintenance costs.
So long as either of these forms of internet service meet the minimum performance standard for high-speed internet, though, states may use federal funding across a variety of technological avenues to achieve greater connectivity.
