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Pool photo courtesy Bob Daemmrich\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n
Senator Charles Schwertner at the Texas Senate in 2023. <\/p>\n
\u201c[These were] other grant applicants that were not LEO\u2019s that came forward and said, \u2018hey, we want our [application process] to be reconsidered, too. We want the sweetheart deal that was given to the LEOs.\u2019 And y’all chose not to reconsider those applicants, did you?\u2019\u201d Schwertner said.<\/p>\n
Clayton did not explain why those companies’ requests were rejected. But, under questioning from State Senator Nathan Johnson, Clayton said the changes to how his office distributes grants to low earth orbit broadband providers came at the urging of the Office of Governor Greg Abbott.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe office of the governor asked us to look at how our proposed structure compared to other states, ” said Clayton.<\/p>\n
He added the concern was \u201cgenerally that we were out of step with other nearby states.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society<\/a>, said the testimony reinforces his group’s findings that Musk\u2019s companies have been lobbying to change rules nationwide around how broadband grants are awarded and paid out.<\/p>\n \u201cStates would prefer to give them a small amount of money up front and then distribute the rest of the money sort of in increments based on the adoption of internet service,\u201d Garner said. \u201cThis is not something Starlink likes. And so they have been pushing back on states that try to implement this reimbursement process.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to questions from KUT, Governor Abbott\u2019s Press Secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote that: \u201cGovernor Abbott supports getting high-speed internet to rural Texans as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Low Earth Orbit satellite service is essential for the most remote areas where traditional fiber is too expensive and slow to build.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahaleris added that \u201cThe Broadband Development Office in the Office of the Comptroller made the decision to adjust the grant disbursement schedule to better align with other states and allow providers to access capital earlier, helping deliver service to rural communities faster.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of a national shake up in grant funding for broadband\u00a0<\/p>\n States have been struggling with the question of how they should administer broadband grants since recent changes to the program<\/a> were announced at the national level.<\/p>\n Last year the Trump administration revamped the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, or BEAD, program. That\u2019s the government\u2019s $42 billion fund that funnels money to states for broadband grants.<\/p>\n While previous rules had favored grants for traditional fiber-based high speed internet, the new rules told states to award grants on a \u201ctechnology neutral\u201d basis.<\/p>\n
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