Kristian Stout and LEO Policy Working Group’s Report covered by “Policyband” Substack
In its “D.C. Memo,” the Policyband substack highlights the recent bipartisan report from the ICLE and New America joint LEO Policy Working Group. ICLE Director of Innovation Policy Kristian Stout was part of the team of analysts that drafted the report.
LEO: Less than two years ago, the FCC under Democratic Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Biden appointee, refused to grant Starlink $885.5 million to connect about 643,000homes and businesses in 35 states over 10 years. Times have changed. States have so far awarded 20% of BEAD locations to either Starlink or Amazon’s Project Kuiper. And last Thursday, a new bipartisan report endorsed inclusion of low Earth orbit satellite Internet service (LEO) into Capitol Hill discussions about reforming the FCC’s $8.5 billion Universal Service Fund. “LEO satellite service can now deliver high-speed broadband (100/20 Mbps) directly to homes, making it a powerful tool for achieving universal service goals,” said an Oct. 30 report by the LEO Policy Working Group drafted by a team of analysts, including former Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, Nicol Turner Lee at Brookings, Joe Kane at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, and Harold Feld at Public Knowledge. “Policymakers must address existing barriers and create a regulatory environment that effectively incorporates LEO systems into ongoing and future federal broadband subsidy programs to help them effectively serve unserved and underserved households,” the report said.
Read the Policyband post here.