FCC awards SpaceX $886 million for satellite internet network

The Federal Communications Commission announced $9.2 billion in awards to companies providing broadband internet to rural areas across the US, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX was one of the biggest winners. The company will receive $886 million over the next 10 years for its Starlink satellite broadband project, under the Federal Communication Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

Starlink is SpaceX’s constellation of satellites that will fly at low altitudes around the Earth, providing internet on the ground below. SpaceX already has launched 900 of the planned 12,000 satellites needed for the Starlink system into low-Earth orbit. Musk has said the company needs 800 satellites in space to provide “significant operational capabilities.” S...

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