Latest news with #connectivity
LBCI
a day ago
- Business
- LBCI
President Aoun meets Starlink official over efforts to expand service to Lebanon
President Joseph Aoun was briefed by a senior Starlink official on the company's ongoing consultations with the Ministry of Telecommunications aimed at adding Lebanon to the network of 136 countries where the service is already available. The official outlined the key benefits of Starlink's satellite internet, emphasizing its potential to enhance connectivity for industrial, commercial, banking, and educational sectors, in addition to improving services across public institutions.
Associated Press
a day ago
- Automotive
- Associated Press
Electric Vehicle App Engagement Reaches New Highs but Brands Face Pressure to Improve Speed and Reliability, J.D. Power Finds
TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2025-- As the electric vehicle (EV) market matures, companion mobile apps have become a critical part of the ownership experience. From unlocking the vehicle to remotely managing charging and climate, EV apps now serve as an extension of the vehicle itself. According to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. OEM EV App Report SM released today, EV app usage continues to climb, though satisfaction is still held back by connectivity issues, remote command speed and inconsistent feature performance. These usability gaps contrast sharply with rising expectations, as more EV owners are expecting quick and integrated app functionality each time they drive. 'EV owners are telling J.D. Power exactly what they need: reliable performance and connectivity to interact with their vehicles,' said Violet Allmandinger, mobile apps lead at J.D. Power. 'Top-performing apps deliver fast, consistent remote controls and have desired features. However, most other apps are still closing that gap.' Following are some key findings from the 2025 report: Report Rankings Tesla (864) ranks highest overall and among premium manufacturer EV vehicle mobile apps. Mercedes-Benz (839) ranks second and My BMW (833) ranks third. MyHyundai with Bluelink ranks highest among mass market manufacturer EV mobile apps with a score of 820 (on a 1,000-point scale). Kia Access (808) ranks second and MINI (797) ranks third. See the rank chart for each segment at The U.S. OEM EV App Report, now in its fifth year, gauges EV owners' experience with their brand's mobile app. Insights are derived from surveying EV owners and an assessment of the most relevant EV mobile apps. Results are based on a standardized assessment approach relying on more than 350 best practices for vehicle apps that include more than 70 EV-specific attributes. The report includes apps from the top 28 award-eligible brands that sell EVs in the United States; 10 profiled EV brands in China; and eight profiled EV brands in Europe. Brands from China and Europe are included in this report given their expanding presence in the EV marketplace. Additionally, 1,966 EV owners in the United States were surveyed in March-April 2025 to gather insights on app usage; feature desirability; and app overall execution for the 2025 report. For more information about the U.S. OEM EV App Report, visit About J.D. Power J.D. Power is a global leader in automotive data and analytics, and provides industry intelligence, consumer insights and advisory solutions to the automotive industry and selected non-automotive industries. J.D. Power leverages its extensive proprietary datasets and software capabilities combined with advanced analytics and artificial intelligence tools to help its clients optimize business performance. J.D. Power was founded in 1968 and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit The J.D. Power auto-shopping tool can be found at About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules: View source version on CONTACT: Media Relations Contacts Geno Effler, J.D. Power; West Coast; 714-621-6224;[email protected] Shane Smith; East Coast; 424-903-3665;[email protected] KEYWORD: MICHIGAN UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE EV/ELECTRIC VEHICLES APPS/APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING SOURCE: J.D. Power Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 05/29/2025 08:00 AM/DISC: 05/29/2025 07:59 AM
Al Bawaba
a day ago
- Business
- Al Bawaba
Ooredoo's O Plus, The Postpaid Plan Everyone's Talking About
We are on a mission to empower customers across our global footprint to access and enjoy the best of the Internet in a way that is personal and unique to them. We continue to invest in our networks to ensure seamless connectivity that caters to our customers' growing digital needs. We are working as a real digital enabler across our markets and our aspiration is to help people simplify their lives and enjoy exciting and rewarding digital experiences.
CNET
2 days ago
- Business
- CNET
Which Internet Plan Is Right for You? 10 Expert Tips to Help You Decide
A good internet connection has become a necessity, but trying to get one can feel like a chore. There are a ton of providers offering different speeds, prices and promotional offers, which can make it difficult to pick the right connection for you. Some homes may have access to only a couple of options, but most US homes can choose from at least three providers that offer various bundles and speeds. Now, setting up your home internet may not seem like the most fun part, but picking the right provider and plan will save you a lot of money and hassle down the line. Here's what you need to know. How do you know which provider and plan is best for your needs? Somethings to look out for: Speed usage How much you want to spend on your internet Internet provider related details: connection type, additional fees, contracts and data caps Read more: Here's How You Can Stop Internet Throttling By Your Broadband Provider. 1. Evaluate your internet speed needs The best place to start is asking yourself these questions: How much internet speed do I currently use? Would I like a better connection? How many people in my home use the internet and how many devices are connected to my network? Is there a gamer or two in the house? Does anyone work from home? Is there more than one smart device connected to the network? Locating local internet providers For basic internet use like online shopping, browsing social media and light TV streaming, download speeds of 100 megabits per second are usually enough (and they meet the Federal Communications Commission's new definition for broadband). But I recommend faster internet speeds for working and learning from home, streaming in HD on multiple devices simultaneously and connecting numerous smart home devices like security cameras, video doorbells and smart speakers. Gigabit and multi-gig plans will all but guarantee you've got enough speed for every person and device in your home, but those are often the highest-priced plans. If you don't want to splurge on gigabit service but still prefer something on the faster side, consider speeds in the 300 to 600Mbps range, assuming they're available in your area. Advertised vs. actual speeds Pro tip here: Keep in mind that advertised speeds and actual speeds are two different things. An ISP's advertised maximum speeds may be 100Mbps, but those are speeds to the home. Actual speeds in the home are likely going to be lower, even more so when using a Wi-Fi connection and adding multiple devices to your network. CNET's Trisha Jandoc discovered this upon facing slow speeds despite being on a gigabit plan. Additionally, if you have an outdated router, you may not be getting the speeds you're paying for. When shopping for internet service, be sure to factor in that speed loss and select a plan with advertised speeds faster than what you'd like your actual speeds to be. For an in-depth examination of how much speed your house might need, you can check out our internet speed guide. Quick tips to help speed up your Wi-Fi at home Quick tips to help speed up your Wi-Fi at home Click to unmute Video Player is loading. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Next playlist item Unmute Current Time 0:05 / Duration 4:25 Loaded : 15.68% 0:05 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 4:20 Share Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Close Modal Dialog This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Quick tips to help speed up your Wi-Fi at home 2. Explore all of your ISP options Available internet providers vary by location and possibly by address within the same ZIP code. Even if you aren't moving far, the available internet providers, and the technologies they use, could be different. Your options can understandably feel limited, so know that it's uncommon for one provider to be the absolute only ISP option in an area. In markets where a cable internet provider such as Xfinity or Spectrum is available, there's also likely to be a fiber or DSL service available from providers like AT&T, CenturyLink or Frontier. Additionally, the recent rise of 5G home internet from T-Mobile and Verizon has further increased broadband competition in both rural and urban settings. Serviceability check tools like the one you'll find a bit further up the page are a good way to identify the internet providers in your area and get an overview of potential plans and pricing. I can't speak for all serviceability tools, but CNET's version uses proprietary in-house technology to help ensure your results are accurate and keep your information secure. 3. Consider the connection type Speed and cost are among the most important considerations when it comes to choosing an internet service, but you may want to start by comparing the internet connection type each provider uses. There are some exceptions, but if we're ranking connection types in order of most to least desirable, I'd start with fiber-optic, cable and 5G home internet. Keep DSL, fixed wireless and satellite as a last resort. Fiber-optic internet is the best bet for fast, consistent speeds, low latency and greatest overall value. Service also comes with the advantage of symmetrical or close to symmetrical upload speeds. Cable internet is not far behind in terms of speed and value, and is often a good choice for cheap internet, especially since you can often get a cheap cable TV and internet bundle from some providers. Meanwhile, 5G home internet is quickly proving to be a convenient alternative to cable and even fiber connections in rural areas. In fact, customers are reported to be more satisfied with a wireless 5G connection due to it's affordability and accessibility. The new technology could also provide much-needed upgrades to broadband in rural areas where less speedy or reliable DSL, fixed wireless and satellite internet services are often the only options. 4. Compare speeds, not just pricing Here's where the bulk of your internet shopping takes place: comparing plans from each available provider. It's tempting to look at the price first and speed second, but I'd suggest focusing on speeds first, then price. Opting for a cheaper plan that doesn't quite meet your household's speed demands, especially one that comes with a contract, may end up costing you more when you need to upgrade to a faster plan or provider anyway. Look for plans with the speeds you want, or higher, then compare the prices among those options. Find the one that best fits your speed demands and your budget. Price vs. value Pro tip here: A low price is nice, but is it a good deal? To get an idea of a plan's value, consider the cost per Mbps by dividing the cost by the advertised speed. For example, Xfinity's cheapest plan is available for as low as $40 a month for speeds up to 400Mbps -- that's a cost of around 10 cents per Mbps. Not bad, but one of Frontier Fiber's cheapest plans costs $50 a month, more expensive than Xfinity's cheapest plan. Frontier's plan comes with speeds up to 1,000Mbps for a cost per Mbps of just 5 cents. Although Xfinity's plan is cheaper, Frontier is the better deal. 5. Beware of set price increases Spectrum hikes it's prices after a year once the promo period ends, as seen through it's broadband labels. Spectrum/screenshot by CNET So you've identified potential providers and plans. Let's take a closer look at the monthly cost. Will it be the same a year down the road? Or are there steep price increases and hidden fees waiting for you? On average, internet costs around $78 a month in the US, but your monthly bill could be more than that once the promo period ends. I know that low pricing can be tempting, but a cheap plan can lose its value entirely from one bill to the next when the price goes up by 50% or more. Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox and others have competitive introductory pricing but a looming monthly hike of $20, $30 or more after 12 months. Carefully examine the FCC-mandated broadband labels for each plan. Check for hidden infrastructure fees or equipment fees you could bypass by buying your own equipment. The good news is that providers have to be fairly transparent about price increases as far as when you can expect them and how much they'll inflate your bill. Additionally, many providers don't require a contract, so if the price hike is too steep, you can cancel without penalty. Not all providers have a planned price increase. AT&T, Frontier, Verizon Fios and a handful of others, including EarthLink, don't have promotional or introductory pricing, so you won't have to worry about a guaranteed price increase. Your bill may still go up at some point, which understandably happens, but it won't go up as drastically or quickly. 6. Know your (data) limits Some ISPs enforce data caps and will charge extra fees or throttle internet speeds when you go over. Be aware of the data cap, if any, before signing up for an internet service. Those considering satellite internet will have to be the most mindful of data caps and usage. Although none of the major satellite internet providers impose overage fees for data used, unless you upgrade to an unlimited data plan, your speeds will significantly slow after going over your priority data allotment. Data caps are less of a problem with every other connection type, but they're still there. Fixed wireless internet like what you may find from AT&T or Rise Broadband in rural areas often comes with a data cap of 250 to 350GB. Select cable and DSL providers also have data caps, although typically much higher, between 1 and 1.5TB per month. That's a generous amount of data and much higher than the average household will use, but still, a plan with unlimited data is preferred. You don't want to have to watch your data usage all month, and you certainly wouldn't want to suffer slowed speeds or added fees for going over. 7. Weigh all Wi-Fi options in your new home Viva Tung/CNET You'll need a router to create a home Wi-Fi network. Most, if not all, ISPs offer a router either for rent, to purchase or for free. If you plan on renting your equipment, take a look at what the rental fee is ahead of time, then go ahead and tack that onto the monthly price. Some rental fees are better than others, but anticipate it to add anywhere from $5 to $20 extra to your bill. In some cases, that means an appealing $20 rate may jump up to $35 or even $40 after equipment costs, so make sure you take a look at the fine print before securing a promotional internet rate. Many providers have started including your equipment at no extra cost. AT&T, Verizon Fios, Google Fiber and 5G home internet providers T-Mobile and Verizon, for example, have no added equipment fees. Others, like Spectrum, CenturyLink and Xfinity, may include either a free modem (but not the router needed for Wi-Fi) or all of your equipment at no extra cost with select plans. You may also have the option of using your own router and skipping the equipment fee altogether. CNET's Joe Supan saved close to $1,000 in yearly fees by deciding to by his own router, for example. Although the upfront costs may be high, including the potential optimizations like mesh Wi-Fi, supplying your own may pay off in a year or two if you can save $15 per month in equipment fees. The option to purchase your router is a little less common, but you may come across it with satellite internet or prepaid internet services. This can add to your upfront costs, especially in the case of satellite internet, but you may save money in the long run. 8. Consider any lengthy contracts Your internet provider may lock you into a contract, sometimes disguised as a "term agreement." Breaking your contract by canceling service or failing to pay your bill before the term is up could result in early termination fees and problems if you want to sign up for service again in the future. Some providers require a contract, typically of one or two years, with all plans and services. Others may require a one-year contract to qualify for the lowest introductory rate or special offers. Most ISPs require no contract at all. Term agreements aren't much of an issue if you plan on keeping the service for the length of the contract, but if you think you may move or want to switch providers at some point, it's nice to know you can do so without penalty. Also note that if you decide to switch providers and you rented equipment from a previous provider, you return your equipment within the designated timeframe to avoid any other fees (often up to $300). 9. Consider customer satisfaction ACSI It's no secret that most of us aren't particularly fond of our internet provider. Customer satisfaction ratings, such as those from sources like the ACSI and J.D. Power, shed some light on which providers fare better than others and why. In most cases, customer satisfaction numbers will fall somewhere in the middle of the road and not indicate much one way or the other. In others -- like Optimum's consistently low customer satisfaction score, Frontier's improving numbers or Verizon's consistently high marks -- may be a bit more telling. Do a little social research. Ask neighbors and friends who they have and why, what they like and don't like. Check out Reddit, and other media sources for further insight. Take the feedback for what it's worth, but don't believe everything you hear or read. 10. Watch out for promotional offers There's a reason I'm mentioning this tip last. Signup bonuses, much like low introductory rates, are tempting, but they're never incentive enough to commit to an ISP or plan that isn't the right fit for your needs. Gift cards, free months of internet service or streaming subscriptions eventually expire or lose their value. When that happens, you don't want to be stuck with an expensive plan that is faster than you need or a cheap ISP that doesn't deliver the speeds you want. Additionally, you may have to sign a term agreement when accepting promotional offers to prevent you from canceling as soon as you get the reward. Still, promotional offers like Verizon's streaming bundles which comes with a free Netflix and Max subscription for a year and then $10 a month after, may be worth investigating. Bottom line: finding good internet service is worth the effort There can be a lot to consider when signing up for an internet service. Along with the cost and speeds, be sure to evaluate the fine print -- price increases, data caps, equipment fees and contract requirements -- so you know what to expect when you get the bill each month. It can be overwhelming, but ultimately, your research and knowledge of the internet provider you settle for will pay off in the long run. 10 expert tips to finding your ideal ISP FAQs How do I choose the right provider and plan for me? In order to find the ideal internet service provider and plan for you and your household requires considering these key things: Speed, how much you want to spend on your internet and internet provider-related details such as connection type, additional fees, contracts and data caps. Considering these things can help narrow your search for internet service. What are the best internet providers? This may not be the most exciting answer, but the best ISP will all boil down to what's available at your address. The top providers in the country that offer the widest coverage are EarthLink, T-Mobile Home Internet, Spectrum, AT&T, Xfinity and Verizon 5G Home Internet. EarthLink's unique use of a variety of connection types makes it one of the most available ISPs in the country. T-Mobile comes at a close second with coverage available to more than 60% of the country. There are spots in the Midwest and the West that will have very little to no coverage for T-Mobile. In that case, Spectrum and Xfinity's cable coverage offer wide availability throughout the country.
The Verge
2 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
The plan for nationwide fiber internet might be upended for Starlink
For about 15 percent of US households as of 2023, the only internet options are crappy, especially in rural areas. But thanks to the US Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, which aims to connect everyone in the US to high-quality, mostly fiber-based internet, that's close to changing. Or at least, it was. The plan's lead architect, Evan Feinman, says that before he was forced out by the Trump administration in March, three US states were just one 'minor administrative step' away from connecting their first residents under BEAD. In fact, he says, they could have started the process already — if not for US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a recent Trump appointee. In March, Lutnick announced a 'rigorous review' of BEAD, which he claims is too 'woke' and filled with 'burdensome regulations.' Now the plan may change. Lutnick's changes to BEAD could hand a lot of the program's money over to private interests like Elon Musk's satellite internet provider, Starlink. And for every person whose home is served by a Starlink connection, their internet will likely be slower, less reliable, and more expensive than what BEAD might have gotten them with fiber. You can think of BEAD as a modern version of the nationwide US telephone network or electrification projects. It's been more than three years since the Biden administration established the $42.5 billion program, and so far, it hasn't actually connected anyone to the internet — a common criticism coming from the political right. But Feinman says that's by design. 'At every step of the game, states were screaming that we were going too fast,' he tells The Verge. 'When we made allocation, more than a dozen states sent us letters saying, 'Go slower, go slower, go slower.'' In fact, Feinman says, the first states would already have started construction if it wasn't for delays by the Trump administration, which has been encouraging states to redo finished phases of the program to make more space for satellite internet. That shift, Feinman said in April, could effectively mean 'millions of private capital is in the garbage.' Until now, BEAD has spent its time laying the groundwork to connect people. The states were given a year and a half to come up with proposals. According to the BEAD progress dashboard, 38 states have either begun or, in the case of West Virginia, finished picking service providers for the proposals. Nevada, Delaware, and Louisiana are just waiting for final approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration so they can sign contracts with companies, start laying fiber, and setting up infrastructure. 'More than a dozen states sent us letters saying, 'Go slower'' In his March statement about BEAD's review, Lutnick accused the Biden administration of 'woke mandates, favoritism towards certain technologies, and burdensome regulations.' The Commerce Department 'is revamping the BEAD program to take a tech-neutral approach that is rigorously driven by outcomes.' He didn't specify what he hoped the makeup of this 'tech-neutral' approach would look like. But Feinman told Financial Times in March that before he left, Lutnick had instructed BEAD's workers to give more priority to satellite connectivity and 'singled out Musk's provider, Starlink.' Musk, of course, has been a key player in the Trump administration as well as a vocal critic of BEAD. He's also been accused of trying to enrich himself using his unofficial, yet seemingly very powerful position within the US government. The Wall Street Journal reported Lutnick planned to overhaul the program in a way that could funnel as much as $20 billion, or close to half the program's overall funds, to Musk's Starlink. When I asked Feinman about this number, he said it's hard to know how much more money will go to satellite networks, but that the changes Lutnick is proposing 'will shift tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of locations away from getting a fiber connection and on to the satellite networks.' As for Lutnick's 'tech-neutral' comment, Brian Mitchell, director of Nevada broadband office OSIT, says, 'I think that's what we did from the start.' Given Nevada's vast geography and sparse population, he says, 'it was never going to be realistic for us to do 100 percent fiber like you might see elsewhere.' Nevada's final proposal called for fiber internet in 80 percent of its locations, with satellite and fixed wireless internet making up what's left. As an example of what's on the line, Feinman says West Virginia's proposal included 'a fiber connection for every single West Virginia home and business' with $150 million to spare and ahead of its deadline. That sounds pretty good for a state that says it ranks 50th out of 52 (all the states plus DC and Puerto Rico) in broadband connectivity. Now, plans like West Virginia's could shift many of the proposed fiber connections to satellite instead. Currently, the BEAD program requires states to prioritize fiber over any other connection method for a given location, unless building it out would cost more than a certain cap — a cap each state was allowed to set. But one of Lutnick's ideas is apparently to issue a single nationwide cap. According to Feinman, if Lutnick's 'one-size-fits-all cap' is low enough, satellite internet companies will always win out. In Nevada, for instance, that could see the ratio of fiber-to-satellite flipping from around 80 percent fiber to about 70 percent satellite internet, according to Feinman. Not long after Lutnick announced his BEAD review, Feinman emailed his team to say he was leaving and warned that Lutnick's actions could mean 'stranding all or part of rural America with worse internet so that we can make the world's richest man even richer.' Feinman says that he had offered to continue running BEAD, but that the administration declined to renew his tenure. Although Lutnick hasn't detailed specific plans for BEAD, he's already at work changing the program. Near the end of March, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey announced he'd met with Lutnick and got his state a 90-day extension that Feinman says West Virginia will use to reopen service provider bidding, endangering the state's pending fiber agreements. The Commerce Department has since issued a blanket invitation to all states to seek such extensions. That likely means at least some states will turn to slower, pricier internet for their citizens. There are states where Starlink makes sense. Mitchell says that his state 'knew that satellite was going to play a big part in connecting Nevadans, and that's the result that we delivered.' Satellite connections make up 10 percent of the state's final proposal. That's a 'great result for Nevadans,' he says, adding that providers are prepared to sign contracts and start building out connections 'as soon as the paperwork comes in from NIST,' or the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The first Nevadans could be connected as soon as this summer, according to Mitchell. (Neither NIST nor the NTIA responded when The Verge asked about the status of those approvals.) Continued delays could be costly. Garry Gomes, CEO of Sky Fiber in Nevada, urged Lutnick earlier this month to push Nevada's BEAD program forward in a letter to the NTIA forwarded to The Verge by OSIT. He said Sky Fiber — Nevada's biggest awardee under BEAD — has 'already invested over $360,000 in equipment, engineering, and staffing' and that its teams are ready to 'immediately' start construction on BEAD deployment. 'Yet the project remains stalled,' Gomes wrote. 'Delays not only risk higher costs and lost labor but also erode public confidence in what is arguably the most ambitious and promising broadband investment in our nation's history.' Would more Starlink involvement be such a bad thing? Sure, it doesn't come close to touching fiber, but a service only has to offer over 100Mbps down and 20Mbps up, with no less than 100 milliseconds of latency, to qualify as 'reliable broadband internet' under BEAD. Feinman says Starlink, while a 'really really good technology,' offers service that's 'barely nosing over' that requirement. This was something that Ookla echoed in December with its median findings from Starlink users in Maine, showing that median users saw 116.77Mbps down and 18.17Mbps up. But, hey, a D minus is still a passing grade, right? But while there's room in BEAD for satellite internet, it's not a replacement for hard-wired, ground-based connections. Even Musk himself has said that, having called satellite a 'nice complement' to tech like fiber and 5G back in 2021. Performance-wise, Starlink pales in comparison to fiber, which increasingly offers as much as 5 gigabits per second, down and up. That's more than 43 times faster than Ookla's reported median speed for Starlink. It's 20 times faster than 249Mbps, the best-case-scenario throughput the company shows for my midwestern address. And it's hardly worth comparing the upload speeds between the two options. Starlink service isn't just undeniably slower than fiber; it tends to be more expensive, too. Its fixed service is $80–$120 per month and comes with pricey upfront equipment fees. (Starlink's site advertises $30–$50 monthly, but when I tried to sign up for service while reporting this out, the price jumped to $120 a month with a $349 equipment fee, for a 'total due today' of $376.57.) In some areas, Starlink's website says its equipment is free if you sign a 12-month contract. Meanwhile, AT&T offers a gigabit fiber plan in my city of Milwaukee for $80 per month, with a $150 equipment fee. 'Nobody is campaigning on slower, more expensive internet for their constituents' Even if all things were equal, Feinman says the company can't scale to the needs of the program, as it 'doesn't have the capacity to serve that many locations.' What's more, it's costly to maintain Starlink's service, which requires rocket launches into space to replace dying or outmoded satellites. Subterranean fiber, on the other hand, can last decades before needing to be replaced. Before the Trump administration started futzing with BEAD, Feinman says the program enjoyed a great deal of bipartisan support. 'This is not what anybody outside of a very small circle of Trump administration folks wanted the program to become,' he says. 'This is not what Senate Republicans wanted it to become. It's not what any member of the Democratic coalition on Capitol Hill wanted. It's not what Republican governors wanted. It's not what the industry wanted.' Mitchell echoes that, saying that both Republicans and Democrats in his state have 'been very supportive' and adding that 'nobody is campaigning on slower, more expensive internet for their constituents.' He also says he doesn't think that has changed as the administration changed hands. 'All of our local officials and local governments are excited for who was awarded,' Mitchell says, 'and are ready to start working with them to issue the necessary permits so they can move forward with deployment.' Instead, they're waiting for Lutnick's review. A bipartisan group of 115 state legislators from 28 states signed a letter to Lutnick in April, stating that while they welcome some changes to BEAD, they urge him to make them optional. 'At this late stage, major changes would undermine our work and delay deployment by years,' they wrote. As for what's next, Feinman says he's working hard to make noise about what's being done with the program in an effort to preserve its core mission of connecting everyone to high-speed broadband internet. His departure letter in March said he thought the BEAD program would still mostly work even without so-called 'woke' requirements, which include things like fair and safe labor practices as well as outreach to historically underrepresented and marginalized groups. He also said 'shovels could already be in the ground … in half the country by summer' without Lutnick's proposed changes and that if the administration let the program move forward, 'it would be a huge political win for the Trump team.'
