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Millions of Americans don't have high-speed internet, and connecting these people is big business. Among those who want a slice of that money is billionaire Elon Musk. NPR's Bobby Allyn looked into how Musk's Starlink satellite network could soon have more power over how underserved parts of the country get online.
BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE: The idea got a huge boost on the Joe Rogan podcast. Trump sat down with Rogan just before the presidential election. They're discussing a federal grant program created to connect the more than 20 million Americans without at-home internet. Construction has not begun.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: They haven't hooked up one person yet.
JOE ROGAN: Not one person.
TRUMP: That's right.
ROGAN: They spent $42 billion.
TRUMP: That's right.
ROGAN: They could have gotten Starlinks to everybody with that kind of money.
TRUMP: For almost nothing.
ROGAN: Yeah.
TRUMP: For a monthly charge.
ROGAN: And it would have been incredible. And it's...
TRUMP: And he wanted to...
ROGAN: ...High-speed internet everywhere you want to go.
TRUMP: And he wanted to do that.
ALLYN: The Trump administration has now taken steps to allow Musk to do that. Congress created the Broadband Equity and Access Deployment program in 2021. After years of planning, more than 30 states are ready to extend underground fiber cables to mostly rural households. The Commerce Department recently announced a review of the program. It emphasized a tech-neutral approach. In plain English, that means Musk's satellite service could get some of that business.
BLAIR LEVIN: How much money can he get? How much money can he prevent a competitor from getting?
ALLYN: That's Blair Levin, a telecom policy expert at the Brookings Institution.
LEVIN: If the decision's made on the basis of politics, it will cost the country for decades to come.
ALLYN: Levin says right now, traditional fiber broadband is faster, cheaper and generally more stable than satellite internet like Starlink, though he says it is very good for people with no other options. The person Trump tapped to make decisions over this big pool of money is Arielle Roth. She's been nominated to be a top official in the Commerce Department. She once said this $42 billion grant program had extreme tech bias in favor of fiber. Roth's Senate confirmation hearing was this week. Democrats pushed her to commit to not turning the broadband program into a subsidy for Musk.
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ARIELLE ROTH: If I'm fortunate to be confirmed, I will administer the program to the benefit of the American people, not any single individual or company.
ALLYN: During Roth's hearing, Ted Cruz, a Republican senator from Texas, said the billionaire did not get a fair shake when the program started.
TED CRUZ: The Biden administration, I think, engaged in petulant and partisan politics by blacklisting Elon Musk and Starlink, which is technology that could have connected particularly households in distant rural places.
ALLYN: With Musk now a top adviser in the White House, analysts like Drew Garner with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society say if Starlink wins a big slice of the federal program...
DREW GARNER: Then America's taxpayers' money are going to be going to pay Elon Musk to give Americans expensive and slow internet service when they could have had fast, affordable internet service.
ALLYN: Musk and the Commerce Department did not return requests for comment. There are other ways Starlink can benefit. The Federal Communications Commission is now headed by outspoken Musk supporter Brendan Carr. In 2023, the Biden FCC turned down Starlink for a nearly $900 million rural broadband contract. Carr disagreed with the decision, criticizing the move as a clear error that will cause even more delays. Under Carr, the FCC can revisit this decision. Garner, the broadband expert, says Starlink didn't get the money at the time because underground cables were viewed as cheaper and more reliable.
GARNER: You do essentially have to rebuild the Starlink network every five years because satellites are constantly falling out of the sky.
ALLYN: And then there's radio spectrum, the invisible highways for all of our wireless communication. Starlink will be asking the FCC for more of it. If it prevails, Starlink could get a big edge over other satellite companies. NPR reached out to five Starlink rivals. None would agree to an interview. Levin with Brooking says this is because of a culture of fear.
LEVIN: I think everyone is reluctant to attack Musk or to attack the president.
ALLYN: Levin says companies worry about retaliation from the White House, which this month began to receive Starlink internet service. Bobby Allyn, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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