SpaceX and Elon Musk have lost a financial injection of over 800 million euros. The reason given by the responsible US authority was that commitments to its Starlink Internet project had not been kept.
The provision of fast and affordable internet is not yet widespread in many countries. Especially in rural areas, people who live there usually only have a very slow internet connection or are completely without access to the internet.
In America, the federal media and radio regulator FCC has set itself the goal of increasing the availability of the Internet in more remote areas of the country. Elon Musk was able to win a tender for this purpose with SpaceX. Our colleagues from 3djuegos.com also reported on it.
It has now become known that the US authorities have decided against paying Musk the funding of over 800 million euros associated with the tender. The reasons given were promises that Musk could not keep with his Starlink internet.
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Elon Musk’s satellite internet loses hundreds of millions in funding
What happened? Elon Musk and his company SpaceX have had subsidies of over 800 million euros canceled. The money was originally intended to be used for the Starlink internet project. Starlink offers users internet access via a satellite network.
The responsible US authority, the FCC, refused to pay the funding. The reason for this was that promises that were part of the original tender were not kept. It was about large-scale internet coverage in rural areas of the USA.
Why did Elon Musk lose funding? The US authorities cited two major points of criticism as reasons. Internet speed tests did not reach the values stated in the announcement. A 100 Mbit/s fast access was promised. However, measurements only showed a much slower 20 Mbit/s for the broadband connection.
In addition, the entry price and ongoing costs are far too high for users. In order to be able to connect to the Internet via the satellite network, you need a corresponding satellite dish. The one-time cost for this is around 550 euros. There are also fees for internet access. These amount to 100 euros per month.
Jessica Rosenworcel, head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said: “The FCC’s mission is to ensure that consumers everywhere have access to reliable and affordable high-speed broadband.” (via theverge.com) Since Musk could not guarantee this, The subsidy amounting to millions was rejected.
Has SpaceX accepted the decision? No not really. The payment of the funding has already been rejected once. A year ago, the FCC justified its decision with the same criticisms as today. At that time, Elon Musk and his company objected.
And even now, Elon Musk has not completely given up on his plans. In response to the media and radio regulator’s decision, Christopher Cardaci, general counsel at SpaceX, wrote a letter to the FCC.
In it, he emphasized that Starlink is the only viable option for people who live and work in rural and remote areas of the country. It remains to be seen whether the final word has been said on this issue and whether Musk will accept this defeat.
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