FCC Clears SpaceX's Satellite Broadband Project for Launch

UPDATE 3/29/18: The FCC has approved SpaceX's plan to launch the network of 4,425 satellites for the company's internet broadband project.

Original story: A SpaceX project to supply satellite-powered broadband cleared a regulatory hurdle on Wednesday. FCC chairman Ajit Pai recommended approval of the company's plan, citing the need to bring internet to "hard-to-serve places" in the US.

"To bridge America's digital divide, we'll have to use innovative technologies," Pai said in a statement.

Satellite-powered internet is nothing new, but SpaceX promises to make it cheaper and faster via 4,000 satellites in low-orbit (or about 700 miles from Earth, far lower than many communication satellites).

SpaceX satellites will communicate with ground stations to supply affordable broadband with theoretical speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps), far ahead the 31Mbps an average US household receives.

On Wednesday, Pai said the satellite technology could also serve areas of rural America where fiber optic cables and cell towers have failed to reach. It'll also introduce healthy competition with internet service providers on the ground too, he said.

Pai's support puts SpaceX on track to become the first US-based company the FCC has approved to supply a new generation of satellite-powered broadband. Canada's Telesat, the UK's OneWeb, and Space Norway have also received approval from the FCC on similar proposals.

SpaceX hasn't commented on the news. But the company is reportedly launching a pair of experimental satellites this Saturday that will test the antenna technology meant to power the broadband access. Once the testing is complete, it plans to launch the broadband system in phases, with the initial deployment starting at 1,600 satellites. The first batch could start going up in 2019.

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