Elon Musk’s SpaceX Riles Its Rivals for Broadband Subsidies – The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—Elon Musk’s SpaceX is facing a final test—and some resistance—in its bid to secure almost $1 billion in federal subsidies for its satellite-based broadband service.

SpaceX in the waning weeks of the Trump administration won preliminary rights to $886 million in government backing to provide rural broadband service via Starlink, its system of low-Earth-orbiting satellites.

The federal government is now planning a final round of vetting before it bets big that Mr. Musk’s technology can help close persistent gaps in U.S. high-speed internet service. Most of the $9.2 billion in subsidies awarded by the Federal Communications Commission was earmarked for more established technologies, which included companies laying fiber-optic cable.

The FCC is requiring SpaceX and others in line for subsidies to demonstrate their financial and technical wherewithal to build out a network, and Friday was the deadline for submitting those plans.