this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2025
444 points (99.6% liked)

Technology

74073 readers
2679 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
L4s@hackingne.ws
444
Starlink tries to block Virginia’s plan to bring fiber Internet to residents (arstechnica.com)
submitted 1 day ago by drmoose@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
113 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Starlink operator SpaceX is fighting Virginia's plan to deploy fiber Internet service to residents, claiming that federal grant money should be given to Starlink instead. SpaceX is already in line to win over $3 million in grant money in the state but is seeking $60 million.

Starlink is poised to benefit from the Trump administration rewriting rules for the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant program. While the Biden administration decided that states should prioritize fiber in order to build more future-proof networks, the Trump administration ordered states to revise their plans with a "tech-neutral approach" and lower the average cost of serving each location.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Glitchvid@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago

BEAD funds are more or less administered by the state, and nothing is fundementally stopping them from doing the right thing and preferring local bids.

It's entirely possible too, look at North Dakota, it has near 100% fiber coverage for the entire state, because the same model that brought electrification to them brought them fiber. In Utah and surrounding states there are municipal networks building out to member cities.

The real threat is the states capitulating to the incumbent providers like Comcast – but at least it's a State level issue instead of being totally a given at the federal level.