Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to be America’s next broadband provider

"Satellite technology can help reach Americans who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber optic cables and cell towers do not reach."

Elon Musk’s SpaceX moved closer to another orbital frontier as regulators advanced its application for a low-orbit constellation of satellites — and join a jostling field of operators from Canada, Norway and elsewhere trying to cash in on broadband service from space.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Wednesday recommended the agency approve Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s application to provide broadband services using satellite technologies in the United States and on a global basis. The proposal now goes to Pai’s four fellow commissioners for consideration at the agency which earlier approved three international operators for satellite-broadband operations: OneWeb, Space Norway AS, and Telesat Canada.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX wants to be America’s next broadband provider