FCC REAFFIRMS DECISION TO REJECT STARLINK APPLICATION FOR NEARLY $900 MILLION IN SUBSIDIES12/14/2023
The FCC concluded in its heavily redacted “Order on Review” that the Starlink satellite mega-constellation was not meeting network performance requirements. A previously awarded $885 Million in public support through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) will not be fulfilled. In a dissenting comment, Commissioner Brendan Carr stated that SpaceX was performing well, and was recently awarded military contracts.
Left unmentioned is when the FCC will measure—or ask sister agencies like the EPA, NASA, and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) to measure—impacts to the environment and to astronomers. In November 2022, the FCC apparently agreed in a Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) report to conduct environmental impact assessments regarding SpaceX and other satellite mega-constellations. https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-105A1.pdf Comments are closed.
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