by Joey Rullett
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – SpaceX on Friday challenged the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to reject the space company’s satellite internet division $885 500,000 rural broadband subsidy, which it called “flawed” and “highly unfair” in a regulatory filing.
FCC last month denied billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX and LTD broadband for funds temporarily awarded under 2020 Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund , which is a multi-billion dollar program in which SpaceX is expected to receive 100 dollars. $5 million to transmit satellite internet to areas of the US with little to no internet connection.
“The decision appears to be a clear bias in favor of fiber, rather than a fact-based decision to connect Americans without service,” David Goldman, SpaceX’s senior director of satellite policy, said Friday night. wrote in the stern appeal.
FCC declined to comment.
SpaceX’s Starlink, a rapidly growing network of more than 3 000 low-Earth orbit satellites, so far in the U.S. With tens of thousands of users, consumers pay at least $599 and $100 for user terminals
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in announcing the denial of service in August that Starlink’s technology “has real promise” but that it would not meet the program’s requirements, citing data showing the speed over the past year and arguing that the price of the service is not worth it too high for consumers.
SpaceX under this program attempts to provide 100/20 Mbps service to 642,925 in 642 position state. In its appeal, the company said the FCC had wrongly assessed Starlink’s performance.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr opposed the FCC’s decision in a statement last month, slamming the agency for denying funding without a full committee vote.
“To be clear, this is a decision to tell families across the nation that they should continue to wait on the wrong side of the digital divide even though we have the technology to improve their lives right now,” Carr said.
