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State BEAD awards include satellite service for remaining Dunn County gaps; affordability remains a concern
Summary
County staff said preliminary BEAD awards granted low-earth-orbit satellite service (SpaceX) for the last unserved pockets in Dunn County; the grant will cover upfront equipment costs, but monthly service rates and ongoing affordability were noted as outstanding issues.
Dunn County staff told the Community Resources and Tourism Committee that preliminary state BEAD awards have allocated low-earth-orbit satellite service to remaining unserved locations in the county, but supervisors asked how quickly service and affordability will follow.
Dan (county staff, budget/administration) showed a statewide BEAD map and said the governor’s announcement covers areas identified as unserved or underserved. “Those were awarded to SpaceX,” Dan said, referring to the low-earth-orbit satellite provider. He added that one of the BEAD program’s purposes is to absorb the upfront customer equipment cost (previously about $780) so households can access service.
Dan said that in Dunn County the BEAD map shows only small pockets of need; many county addresses were already served. He cautioned that availability does not guarantee affordable monthly plans: “Most of these plans run in the $70–$80 dollars a month, and that is a significant monthly charge for many people,” Dan said.
Supervisors asked technical and timing questions about the awards. A committee member noted that satellite service can be deployed more quickly than fiber but asked whether satellite can fully replace hardwired connections. A county staff member with technology experience said hardwired connections remain more reliable for many users, particularly during extreme weather, while satellite offers near-universal reach.
The committee discussed mapping inaccuracies that had shown a few served locations as unserved because the federal building-footprint method used by the FCC sometimes flagged small outbuildings as separate “serviceable locations.” Dan said staff worked with providers to correct some errors but that the dataset still contains anomalies.
Committee members asked about a timeline for households still reporting no service; Dan said awards are now public but implementation timing will depend on providers’ rollout schedules and any affordability subsidies available to customers.
No formal action or vote on broadband was recorded.
