Summary
Elon Musk, co-leading Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency,” could influence U.S. broadband funding to benefit Starlink, his satellite internet company.
The Biden administration’s $42.45 billion BEAD program prioritizes fiber optics for rural broadband, but Starlink has been excluded for failing to meet performance standards.
Musk has criticized the program as wasteful and could push for funding delays or reallocation, benefiting Starlink as the only option in underserved areas.
Critics warn this shift favors Musk’s financial interests over reliable fiber infrastructure, raising conflict-of-interest concerns.
The Biden administration’s $42.45 billion BEAD program prioritizes fiber optics for rural broadband, but Starlink has been excluded for failing to meet performance standards.
This is a wild misrepresentation of what happened with starlknk and the broadband funding.
SpaceX won the deal where the metrics were ABC by year 2025 ( I think 2025 but maybe later)
In year 2022 or something like that, they did some tests, it wasn’t at 2025 goals, and were like nah, you aren’t gonna make it and revoked it.
No one else had that done to them. It’s not like the fiber companies had laid their fiber yet to all the areas and they said oh you haven’t done it all yet? Finding pulled!
I don’t even know if a single house had been connected to fiber yet from that funding, while starlink had connected many thousands and was improving.
