Republican says FCC SpaceX decision risks giving Chinese providers an edge

WASHINGTON: Chinese satellite internet providers could gain a competitive advantage from a decision by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) staff to deny SpaceX $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies, FCC commissioner Nathan Simington said Monday.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Friday challenged the FCC’s decision rejecting its application for funds tentatively awarded in 2020 under the commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, a multibillion dollar program in which SpaceX was poised to receive $885.5 million to beam satellite internet to U.S. regions with little to no internet connections.