Headline: An outgoing official at the US Commerce Department alleges that the $42 billion BEAD program risks being derailed even more to benefit Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Article: An outgoing official at the US Commerce Department is alleging that the Trump administration could misuse a federal broadband program to enrich Elon Musk’s Starlink business over funding faster fiber installations.
On Friday, the outgoing director to the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program sent an email, blasting the Trump administration’s decision to potentially shift more of the funding to satellite internet systems such as Starlink.
The problem is that much of the funding has been allocated to US states for fiber installations capable of delivering speeds of 1Gbps or more — which is faster than Starlink, a service that’s facing congestion issues in the US.
Date: March 17, 2025
Read Full Article: Pcmag.com
