Maine To Offer Free Starlink Dishes To Bring Internet To Remote Locations
- by PCMag on MSN.com
- Oct 18, 2024
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(PCMag/Brian Westover)
Maine has decided to offer free Starlink dishes to residents living in the state’s most remote areas that currently have no access to reliable broadband.
The program comes from the Maine Connectivity Authority, which has been charged with expanding high-speed broadband in the state. On Thursday, the agency announced it’ll harness SpaceX’s Starlink to supply internet to “Maine’s hardest-to-reach locations.”
“Maine has more work to do to build out our broadband infrastructure – but by the end of this year, everyone in our state will have the opportunity to access a reliable connection,” said the state’s governor Janet Mills.
The Starlink dishes will be offered to about 9,000 homes and businesses based in locations without access to cable, DSL or fixed wireless. In November, the Maine Connectivity Authority will start accepting applications from eligible residents to receive the subsidized Starlink equipment.
Maine is offering the Starlink dishes to help 1.5% of the state’s most remote locations receive reliable broadband. The technology from SpaceX works by relying on satellites, instead of ground-based cables or cell towers to deliver internet, making it particularly well-suited for users in rural and remote areas.
But it looks like the Starlink service won’t be entirely free for eligible users in the state. Maine Connectivity Authority’s senior director Brian Allenby told Broadband Breakfast that “each customer will manage their own subscription with Starlink,” implying that eligible residents will need to pay the monthly internet fee for the satellite internet access.
In the US, SpaceX is currently charging $349 for Starlink dishes and usually $120 per month for the internet access.
In an email to PCMag, Allenby added: "MCA is covering the cost of the LEO (low-earth orbiting Starlink) hardware, is providing optional installation support, and is also covering the additional cost of ensuring the Starlink network has the capacity for these new subscribers."
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