Elon Musk’s Starlink could receive up to $20 billion in government funding if the Commerce Department goes ahead with plans to rip up the rule book on rural broadband contracts, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly wants to modify the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, a Biden-era initiative that aims to provide $42.45 billion in funding to expand high-speed internet access across the country, particularly in rural areas.
Lutnick, however, plans to make the program, which focuses on fiber-optic cables laid in the ground, “technology-neutral,” according to sources who spoke to the Journal.
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This would mean that satellite internet providers, like Elon Musk’s Starlink, could receive some of the kitty. The company had actually lobbied the Commerce Department to modify the rules last year, only stopping when President Donald Trump took office, according to WSJ sources.
Republicans have complained that the BEAD program has been rolled out too slowly, and focuses too heavily on cable infrastructure. Arielle Roth, Trump’s pick to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), also complained about the program’s “woke social agenda.”
This is most likely a reference to climate and sustainability sensibilities in the Biden-era program. It also encourages states to fund companies with racially diverse workforces or union participation, WSJ sources said.
Even still, Starlink was slated to receive $4.1 billion, but with Lutnick’s overhaul it could receive $10 billion to $20 billion, people familiar with the matter told the newspaper.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said that the Trump administration was committed to “harnessing cutting-edge technology to deliver real results for the American people, especially rural Americans who were left behind” by the previous administration.
SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The report comes as Musk’s Starlink looks set to strike a deal to provide air traffic control services for the Federal Aviation Administration, according to the Washington Post. The authority is reportedly close to canceling a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon in favor of Starlink, whose employees are already embedded inside the FAA.
