The devastation from Hurricane Helene is spotlighting Starlink and its ability to deliver high-speed internet to disaster zones. It’s also given SpaceX CEO Elon Musk a way to slam the FCC for denying his company $886 million in federal subsidies back in 2022.
“Contemptible political lawfare,” Musk said of the FCC in a tweet on Monday.
The federal government and SpaceX are deploying dozens of Starlink dishes to areas in North Carolina that have lost cell and internet access. The technology uses orbiting satellites instead of ground-based networks to deliver high-speed broadband in remote or underserved areas.
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“Starlink has been an enormous help to those of us in [western North Carolina],” wrote one user on Reddit. “I’ve had several friends/family members come to my house to use it and be able to connect with others.”
At the same time, the disaster prompted Musk to bash the FCC for denying millions to fund Starlink connectivity in US rural areas. On Tuesday, Musk took another shot at US regulators, accusing them of forcing SpaceX to inflate the costs for Starlink.
“By the way, the price could be much less if the government didn’t insist on so many crazy requirements that add no value,” he alleged in a tweet.
In 2022, the FCC denied the funding over doubts that Starlink could supply fast enough speeds amid capacity constraints. But now Musk’s supporters argue that thousands of hard-hit residents would have already received access to Starlink if the funding had been awarded. Musk agrees.
However, the FCC is pushing back against allegations it denied the funding to Starlink over political reasons. “The FCC is an independent agency. Any notion that its decisions are politically motivated and not fact-based is false. In this instance, the agency denied public funds to more than a dozen companies—not just Starlink—who did not meet the program requirements,” an agency spokesperson told PCMag.
Back in February, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel also elaborated to lawmakers on why the Commission denied the $886 million in subsidies to SpaceX. “Among other things, our technical review demonstrated that Starlink had difficulty meeting the basic uplink and downlink speed standards for the program. Our finding has since been confirmed by the company’s most recent publicly available performance data,” she wrote.
“Furthermore, our review indicated that in more than 6,501 census blocks where Starlink sought support from the RDOF program were not unserved rural households, but actually parking lots, traffic medians, and locations that already have service like the Chicago Loop and Newark International Airport,” she added. “When we requested that Starlink no longer seek funding for these locations, the company refused.”
In the meantime, Musk is touting Starlink access in North Carolina to show his support for presidential candidate Donald Trump.
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“Earlier today, @realDonaldTrump alerted me to additional people who need Starlink Internet in North Carolina. We are sending them terminals right away,” Musk tweeted on Monday.
This came after Trump said he had talked with Musk about sending the Starlink dishes to areas of North Carolina. “We’re gonna try to get Starlink in as soon as possible,” Trump said.
The White House says it was preparing to send dozens of Starlink units to the state prior to Trump’s remarks. “Forty Starlink satellite systems are available to help with responder communications and an additional 140 satellites are being shipped to assist with communications infrastructure restoration,” FEMA said on Monday.
Last month, Trump said he would appoint Musk to run a “government efficiency commission” if he wins reelection in November.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from the FCC.
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
