US House Panel Investigates FCC’s Denial of Nearly $900 Million to Starlink, Reports Reuters

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON – A U.S. House committee announced an investigation on Monday into the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to deny SpaceX’s satellite internet division, Starlink, $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies.

In December, the FCC reiterated that its decision regarding the space company was based on Starlink’s inability to meet fundamental program requirements and its failure to demonstrate the capability to deliver the promised service. This followed a challenge from SpaceX regarding the FCC’s 2022 ruling.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Republican, has requested in a letter to the FCC that all relevant documents concerning the decision be submitted by October 21. The committee aims to determine whether the FCC "followed established processes and is not improperly using the regulatory process for political purposes."

The FCC acknowledged receipt of the letter and stated it would provide a response.

In December 2020, the FCC provisionally awarded $9.2 billion to over 300 bidders for high-speed broadband deployment, with Starlink securing $885.5 million during a 2020 auction intended for rural services. However, the FCC denied the funding to Starlink in August 2022, citing speed-test data while Starlink had committed to providing high-speed internet access to 642,000 rural homes and businesses across 35 states.

Elon Musk has strongly criticized the FCC’s decision to revoke the funding, deeming it "illegal." He claimed last week that had Starlink received the funding, "it would probably have saved lives in North Carolina" during Hurricane Helene.

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel informed Congress in February that Starlink’s publicly available performance data confirmed the FCC’s previous findings regarding Starlink’s struggles to meet the basic uplink and downlink speed standards set by the program. She also noted that Starlink’s proposal required subscribers to buy a $600 dish to initiate service.

Two Republican commissioners on the five-member FCC dissented from the decision, arguing that the FCC was unfairly holding SpaceX to targets due in 2025 too early.

Last month, Rosenworcel expressed a desire for increased competition against Starlink, highlighting that it controls nearly two-thirds of all active satellites and has launched around 7,000 satellites since 2018. She emphasized that "our economy doesn’t benefit from monopolies," advocating for more space actors and companies to develop innovations in the field.