Elon Musk's broadband-from-space subsidy irks rivals who sought cash

The US Federal Communications Commission faces pressure from rural internet service providers to deny a planned $886 million subsidy to Elon Musk’s SpaceX for beaming broadband to underserved areas from space.

Even before winning a competition for the funds, SpaceX had begun launching satellites. More than 1,000 of the Starlink craft are now aloft, providing service to test subscribers. The company says its system “is uniquely positioned to deliver high-quality broadband se­r­vi­ce to the hardest-to-reach rural Am­­e­ri­c­ans.”

But that hasn’t stopped complaints about it winning a competition for subsidies from the FCC’s Rural Digital Opport­unity Fund, in part because the service was