https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/10/fcc-denies-starlinks-application-for-885m-subsidy/

The FCC has rejected the application of Starlink to provide broadband to rural America at a cost of $885 million over ten years, nullifying a tentative approval back in 2020. The agency said SpaceX, and another company initially awarded $1.3 billion, had “failed to demonstrate that the providers could deliver the promised service.”

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is a $9.2 billion long-term effort to subsidize the rollout of internet service in places where private companies have previously decided it’s too expensive or distant to do so. It was one of the most cherished projects of former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who for all his flaws seemed genuinely concerned with the “digital divide.”