- SpaceX is asking states to sign a waiver that would modify certain BEAD metrics for satellite service, such as capacity reserves and performance testing
- NTIA reportedly told states not to sign, but declined to comment on the leaked waiver
- States could try to redirect funds from Starlink to Amazon, even though Amazon still hasn’t launched commercial service, New Street’s Blair Levin said
SpaceX’s Starlink, which won more Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) locations than any other ISP, is asking states to modify performance requirements for satellite service.
According to a leaked document obtained by Broadband.io’s Doug Adams, SpaceX is requesting that states sign a waiver with several provisions regarding low Earth orbit (LEO) capacity reserves, subscriber metrics and more.
The grantee (referring to Starlink) “shall reserve an amount of network capacity that it determines sufficient for purposes of delivering Broadband Service to BSLs in the Project Area,” the waiver wrote, but noted Starlink “is not required to keep reserved capacity fallow where potential subscribers in the Project Area have not yet requested service.”
That provision conflicts with the LEO subgrant rule in NTIA’s June 6 policy notice, which says, “an Eligible Entity shall reserve sufficient capacity from the LEO provider” to deliver broadband that meets BEAD’s technical requirements.
Additionally, SpaceX said states should count broadband serviceable locations (BSLs) as served even if a consumer subscribed and subsequently cancelled during the BEAD performance period. For performance testing, SpaceX wants to “exclude subscribers who have installed CPE such that its view of the sky is obstructed and subscribers with damaged or malfunctioning CPE.”
And the company is asking for a 50% upfront payment of its BEAD allotment, which totals to about $733.5 million per Connected Nation data.
Nothing seems decided, as NTIA reportedly told states not to sign the waiver — for now. Fierce reached out to NTIA asking for confirmation, but an agency representative declined to comment.
The contract and its provisions signal that Starlink “is the primary winner of the Trump changes to BEAD,” said New Street Research Policy Analyst Blair Levin in a note today.
He doubts states will just refuse to sign SpaceX’s waiver and try to re-bid BEAD locations to terrestrial ISPs. “There is too much complexity, and it would take a long time to do so.”
Contract disputes will “at a minimum” cause further BEAD delays, Levin added. If states delay the program to seek alternate providers, that would also help Starlink as the BEAD funds are “relatively immaterial.”
Indeed, SpaceX continues to roll out Starlink to new locations without help from BEAD. While NTIA stalled the program for another year, Starlink reached over 9 million global subscribers in 2025 and expanded service to 35 additional markets. SpaceX recently scored U.S. regulatory approval to launch another 7,500 satellites.
Could states redirect Starlink's BEAD money to Amazon?
Instead of offering Starlink’s locations to a wireline ISP, states could argue that “considering the problematic contract provisions, they will shift funds from Starlink to Kuiper,” Levin said, referring to Amazon Leo.
SpaceX and Amazon plan to serve 472,000 and 415,000 locations respectively for BEAD. That might be a tall order for Amazon, which so far has fewer than 200 satellites in orbit and still hasn’t launched commercial service.
If states wish to redirect funds to Amazon, “we would expect Starlink to challenge any such move at NTIA and in the courts, but that is still a likely faster and legally simpler path to achieving the states’ goals than rebidding the BSLs that Starlink won,” Levin wrote.