BILLIONS FOR BROADBAND

About $9 billion in subsidies will be awarded to help bring broadband access to rural areas across the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Monday.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX will receive nearly $886 million, one of the largest subsidies announced by the FCC, as the company pushes forward with its experimental Starlink project that aims to beam internet access to rural areas from a constellation of satellites in space.

The bulk of the subsidies, however, will be awarded to more traditional providers, including Charter Communications, LTD Broadband and the Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium. Each has received a little more than $1 billion. The subsidies will be distributed over the next 10 years.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement the awards were the “single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide.”