FCC chair wants more competition to SpaceX's Starlink unit

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday she wants to see more competition to SpaceX's internet satellite constellation Starlink.

Elon Musk's Starlink controls nearly two thirds of all active satellites and has launched about 7,000 satellites since 2018.

Rosenworcel said at a conference Wednesday that Starlink has "almost two-thirds of the satellites that are in space right now and has a very high portion of internet traffic... Our economy doesn't benefit from monopolies. So we've got to invite many more space actors in, many more companies that can develop constellations and innovations in space."

Musk tweeted earlier this month that Starlink, the only high-bandwidth internet system covering the entire planet, "will probably deliver over 90% of all space-based Internet traffic next year."

Rosenworcel said "every communications market that has competition is strong, we see lower prices and more innovation, and honestly, space should be no exception."

Rosenworcel said the FCC is working to help new entrants understand how the commission works and processes license applications. "Outreach has really become a part of our ongoing effort here, because we know there's going to be a whole bunch of new players in the space economy."

Last year, the FCC reaffirmed its 2022 decision to deny Starlink $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies.

The FCC said the decision was based on Starlink's failure to meet basic program requirements and that Starlink could not demonstrate it could deliver promised service after SpaceX had challenged the 2022 decision. The FCC rescinded the funding in August 2022 based on speed-test data after Starlink had agreed to provide high-speed Internet service to 642,000 rural homes and businesses in 35 states.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)