Biden's $42.45B Rural Broadband Failure: BEAD vs. Starlink Cost-Analysis

Starlink would've been a smarter choice vs. the "BEAD" program

Recently I’ve seen people on X/Twitter posting about Joe Biden’s “rural broadband” project known as BEAD (Broadband Equity Access Deployment) that was initiated in 2021.

Many Americans, including myself, knew very little about this project and just found out how much money Biden seems to be wasting in the name of “equity.”

Biden’s administration seems to think that rural Americans not having access to ultra-high-speed internet is a colossal problem.

Calculation: Cost Savings of Starlink vs. BEAD (Rural Broadband)

The reality is that Biden could’ve saved the U.S. approximately $37.36 billion (low end) and $39.48 billion (higher end)– which represents ~0.60-0.64% of the total U.S. budget for 2024 - by opting to go with Starlink.

The BEAD program aims to allocate $42.45 billion to expand broadband access in rural and underserved areas across the U.S.​ (The White House & NTIA).

Evidence from The White House suggests there are ~8.5 million households without high-speed internet (unserved and underserved locations).

Starlink hardware devices currently (2024) cost: $349 (low end) to $599 (higher end) per household.

How much would it cost to buy all ~8.5 million underserved rural households a Starlink device?

• Low end: (8.5 million) x ($349) = $2.97 billion

• High end: (8.5 million) x ($599) = $5.09 billion

It is also extremely likely that the government could negotiate a deal for buying Starlink devices in bulk as part of the rural broadband initiative and end up spending much less than the above figures.

Most bulk purchases via government contracts are given discounts in the ~10% to ~20% range… this means that the government may only end up paying between $2.67 billion and $4.58 billion (after a 10% discount).

For how many years could the U.S. government fund Starlink devices in rural underserved areas before reaching the BEAD budget?

Likely 28-35 years before reaching the $42.45 billion BEAD budget – and this assumes devices need to be replaced every ~7 years.

1. Initial Deployment Costs

• Low-end: $2.97 billion (for 8.5 million households @ $349/device)

• High-end: $5.09 billion (for 8.5 million households @ $599/device)

Remaining budget after deployment:

• Low-end: $39.48 billion

• High-end: $37.36 billion

2. New Households Each Year

Assuming rural household growth of 0.3% per year, there are 25,500 new households annually:

• Low-end annual cost: $8.9 million

• High-end annual cost: $15.3 million

Over 7 years, the total cost for new households:

• Low-end: $62.3 million

• High-end: $107.1 million

3. Replacement/Upgrade Costs Every 7 Years

After 7 years, both the existing 8.5 million households and the 178,500 new households will need replacements. So the total number of households at this point is 8.6785 million.

• Low-end replacement cost (Year 7): $3.03 billion

• High-end replacement cost (Year 7): $5.2 billion

4. Total Costs Every 7 Years

• Low-end total cost at Year 7: $3.09 billion (replacement + new households)

• High-end total cost at Year 7: $5.31 billion

5. Remaining Budget After 7 Years

After 7 years:

• Low-end remaining budget: $36.39 billion

• High-end remaining budget: $32.05 billion

6. Total Calculations (How Many Years of Funding?)

With these costs, the government can fund Starlink hardware (initial deployment, new household additions, and replacements) for:

• Low-end: Over 35 years (5 replacement cycles)

• High-end: Around 28-30 years (4-5 replacement cycles)

This approach allows the government to provide hardware for decades, covering multiple upgrade cycles while staying within the BEAD program's budget.