BEAD Could Get 'Very Messy' With Starlink Objections to Virginia Awards, Says CCG's Dawson
The BEAD program "could still get very messy before it's done," wrote CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson in a Monday blog (see 2508140057). With Starlink objecting to Virginia's BEAD awards, Dawson said it's unclear whether NTIA will agree with Starlink…
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that it should have received the $60 million it requested instead of $3.26 million the state awarded. Starlink and Project Kuiper won a combined 9.4% of BEAD locations in Virginia, while the overwhelming majority went to either fiber or cable TV. "We'll have to wait to see how NTIA reacts to the Starlink comments," Dawson said, noting the company said the $60 million would cover almost every eligible location in the state. NTIA "has the flexibility to agree with or ignore Starlink," he said, and the agency "could decide which fiber grants to undo, but it would more likely pass the issue back to the state."