The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday rejected an application for Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet project to collect $885 billion in subsidies to provide broadband to rural Americans.
Starlink, part of the tech tycoon’s SpaceX enterprise, provides high-speed internet access through connections to satellites in low-earth orbit. The FCC said that Starlink failed to demonstrate it could “deliver the promised service.”
“Starlink’s technology has real promise,” Jessica Rosenworcel, FCC chair, said in a statement. “But the question before us was whether to publicly subsidize its still developing technology for consumer broadband — which requires that users purchase a $600 dish — with nearly $900 million in universal service funds until 2032.