(Photo illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)SpaceX is now offering a Starlink internet plan for $15 per month in New York to comply with the state’s affordable broadband law. However, eligible customers will need to contact SpaceX's support team to get the deal.
The New York Affordable Broadband Act took effect earlier this year. It requires internet service providers to "offer 25Mbps (or more) plans for no more than $15 per month” to consumers on low-income assistance plans.
SpaceX is now offering a New York Affordable Broadband Service Plan, which it says is the same as its Residential Lite service plan but with download speeds limited to 25Mbps. In contrast, the actual residential lite plan, which SpaceX introduced earlier this year in the US, can offer download speeds closer to 40 to 130Mbps for $80 per month.
The regular $120 residential tier is even faster, with median download speeds in the US reaching 104Mbps in Q1, according to Ookla. However, Starlink as a whole still isn’t quite hitting the FCC's minimum broadband speed metric of 100Mbps for downloads and 20Mbps for uploads.
In January, SpaceX tried to exempt itself from the New York law, which only applies to ISPs that serve over 20,000 households in the state. In a filing, the company told New York’s Public Service Commission it was under the threshold and argued that offering service for $15 would be an "unreasonable" 87.5% reduction in revenue.
Now it looks like the company has decided to comply. It come as SpaceX has been trying to attract more users across the US by offering other discounts and even free Starlink dishes.
SpaceX's New York Affordable Broadband Service Plan appears to still require the customer to buy the $349 standard Starlink dish. To access the program, New York residents must place an order for the residential lite plan on Starlink.com. “If you select any other service plan, you will not be eligible for the New York Affordable Broadband Act Service Plan," the policy says.
The user then needs to submit a support ticket to Starlink with "New York Affordable Broadband Act" as the subject and request enrollment in the $15-per-month plan. Customers also need to attach documentation showing they’re enrolled in a low-income assistance program, such as Medicaid or the National School Lunch Program, or receiving benefits from "Senior Citizen or Disability Rent Increase Exemptions."
“Our team will review your documentation, and if you are eligible, we will enroll you in the New York Affordable Broadband Act Service Plan,” the policy adds. “Please do not submit multiple tickets.”
In January, AT&T pulled the plug on its 5G Internet Air service in New York, citing an inability to comply with the new broadband law.