Elon Musk’s satellite internet flies under the radar at public schools nationwide
Tech magnate Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink has quietly made inroads with public schools nationwide over the past two years, winning over
CUBA, New Mexico — Tech magnate Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink has quietly made inroads with public schools nationwide over the past two years, winning over students, families and administrators who say it’s the kind of connectivity that has been sorely lacking in some of the most rural corners of the U.S.
Public school districts in Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia have announced pilot projects or are already using Starlink to bring broadband internet service to students’ out-of-the-way homes via a network of satellites.
But it’s not cheap. At $599 for upfront equipment including a satellite dish and $110 per month for the service itself, Starlink works thanks to a combination of federal, state and local tax dollars — including money from the CARES Act Covid-19 relief fund — as well as local corporate donations.
That’s left schools to figure out if Starlink, which is part of SpaceX, can be a sustainable solution.
“Students that are connected right now don’t necessarily have money at home to pay for this,” said Tim Chavez, technology director for the Cuba Independent School District in northern New Mexico. About 400 households here with 700 students have been set up with Starlink on a grant of $1.2 million in federal Covid-19 school relief money. Some of them live in remote areas more than 50 miles from their school.
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