Virginia Steers $613M Broadband Funds Mostly To Fiber

Heavy fiber Buildouts Despite Satellite Eligibility

Virginia Finalizes $613 Million BEAD Funding Proposal

Virginia has quietly released its “Benefit of the Bargain” award recommendations for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, outlining how $613 million will be distributed. The allocations, which still need approval from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), are shaped by the revised BEAD rules announced in June. Those updates removed the earlier “fiber-first” requirement and opened the process to “technology-neutral” bids from fiber, satellite, cable, and fixed wireless providers.

Even with this broadened eligibility, the state’s plan heavily favors fiber projects. SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper each secured a portion of the funding, but the majority of awards are going to fiber buildouts.

From Fiber Priority to Technology Neutrality

The BEAD rule changes—introduced earlier this year by the Trump administration—gave satellite providers equal footing with fiber operators in the competition for funds. The U.S. Commerce Department framed the shift as a way to support faster and more cost-efficient deployment in hard-to-reach areas. The adjustments opened more opportunities for companies like Starlink and Kuiper to compete nationwide.

Fiber Still Claims the Largest Share

Despite these changes, Virginia’s award breakdown still overwhelmingly favors fiber connections. New Street Research estimates that 81% of locations will be served by fiber, 10% by satellite, 8% by cable, and 1% by fixed wireless.

Virginia and Louisiana stand out as the only two states so far recommending that most BEAD funds be directed toward fiber under the revised rules. State leaders say the decision is rooted in fiber’s superior capacity, durability, and ability to meet long-term demand.

Satellite Funding Remains Limited

Under Virginia’s plan, Starlink will receive just under $3.3 million to connect 5,579 locations—about $584 per site—while Project Kuiper will get $4.4 million for roughly 7,000 sites at $641 each. Combined, these satellite projects represent just $7.7 million, or about 1.3% of the total funding.

The largest fiber award went to All Points Broadband, which secured more than $171 million to serve nearly 20,000 sites at an average cost of $8,655 per location. Some of these builds are expected to deliver speeds up to 10 gigabits per second.

Performance, Reliability, and Environmental Factors

Drew Garner of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society said Virginia’s evaluation process considered not only cost, but also speed, latency, scalability, and environmental conditions. Dense tree cover—common in the state—can hinder satellite performance. SpaceX has promoted beam-switching technology to address such issues, though skepticism remains.

Fiber’s symmetrical gigabit speeds and immunity to congestion make it the preferred long-term solution. Satellite networks, on the other hand, can slow down when too many users share the same beam. In high-demand areas of the Pacific Northwest, Starlink has even implemented a $1,000 surcharge to deter new sign-ups in saturated zones.