SpaceX Doesn't Want to Offer Starlink for $15, Requests Exemption From NY Law
SpaceX's Starlink is trying to exempt itself from a New York law requiring ISPs to offer internet plans starting at $15 per month for low-income residents.
On Wednesday, New York’s Affordable Broadband Act (ABA) went into effect, forcing broadband providers to offer low-income consumers internet plans at $15 for download speeds no lower than 25Mbps and $20 per month for speeds at 200Mbps or greater.
The law could drastically reduce the price of Starlink, which costs $120 per month for residential users. But the ABA also has a loophole for small internet providers that serve "no more than twenty thousand households" in the state.
On Tuesday, a day before the law came into force, SpaceX filed for an exemption, which was spotted by a Reddit user. The company says Starlink serves “fewer than 20,000 households within New York State," according to a letter to NY's Public Service Commission.
“As of the date of this filing, SpaceX provides broadband to [***Begin Confidential***] [***End Confidential***] residential customers in New York. This figure is consistent with the data most recently filed with the Federal Communications Commission, accounting for user growth since such filing,” the letter adds.
