Dallas state Sen. Nathan Johnson, a Democratic candidate for Texas attorney general, says he would examine state broadband grants awarded to Elon Musk’s Starlink as part of an anti-corruption agenda, according to The Dallas Morning News.
The pledge puts a state-level spotlight on a fight that has mostly played out in Washington: whether public broadband money should prioritize high-capacity fiber networks or subsidize satellite service from companies such as SpaceX’s Starlink.
Johnson told The Dallas Morning News he was not alleging a proven crime. “I am not declaring that corruption was at work in this instance. I am saying that it sure looks like it,” Johnson said. “Public confidence in the bidding process has been undermined.”
The Dallas Morning News reported that Starlink received 99% of the state grants in a government program meant to expand rural broadband access. Johnson said the company’s haul was an estimated $110 million.
The Texas awards sit inside a larger federal fight
The dispute is tied to the $42.5 billion broadband grant program created by the Biden-era infrastructure law. The program was designed to expand internet access, with fiber projects expected to play a central role because fiber can deliver far more capacity than satellite service.
The Verge reported that Republican-led changes to the program redirected money away from planned fiber deployments and toward satellite broadband companies controlled by Musk and Jeff Bezos. Techdirt, which has tracked the policy fight, reported that some low-income communities in Louisiana had been positioned to receive fiber before the program’s direction changed.
Techdirt also reported that the revisions removed provisions aimed at making the resulting broadband affordable and equitably deployed. Arielle Roth, the head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, has defended the changes as an improvement, according to Techdirt.
A Texas attorney general investigation would not control the whole program. The NTIA oversees the federal money, and Techdirt identified federal officials including Roth and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as central players in the broader policy shift. State broadband offices, however, still had roles in approving and distributing awards, which means Texas records could matter if Johnson gets the job and follows through.
Why Starlink is a disputed substitute for fiber
Starlink can be useful for households far from existing networks, especially where building terrestrial broadband is difficult or expensive. The technical tradeoff is capacity. Low-Earth-orbit satellite broadband shares limited spectrum and network resources across users, so performance can degrade as more customers connect in the same area.
Techdirt cited a recent Penn State working paper on Starlink congestion and argued that subsidizing a flood of new users could worsen existing strain on the network. Techdirt has also reported that Starlink has charged high-demand fees of up to $1,500 in some areas.
Republicans have said the revised broadband approach saved about $21 billion, according to Techdirt. A separate fight is underway over so-called non-deployment funds, money Congress had earmarked for broadband access but that remains on hold, according to Roll Call and StateScoop reports cited in the debate.
Johnson’s proposed probe would start with a narrower question: why one satellite provider received nearly all of Texas’ rural broadband grant awards, and whether the public bidding process can withstand scrutiny.
This story draws on original reporting from Techdirt.
