FOX News correspondent Alexandria Hoff reported on former President Trump's visit to the Hurricane Helen area in Georgia in a “special report.”
billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk The Federal Communications Commission's failure to move forward with an order to SpaceX's Starlink to provide rural broadband may have cost lives in Hurricane Helen-ravaged North Carolina, the Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday. .
SpaceX CEO Musk said, “If the FCC does not act in bad faith to revoke the subsidy given to SpaceX after Hurricane Helen, there would now be 19,522 Starlink kits available in North Carolina.” I responded to a post about X from a user. Successful bidder. ”
“Had the FCC not illegally revoked SpaceX's Starlink award, lives in North Carolina likely would have been saved,” Musk wrote in his response. “Litigation costs lives.”
Western North Carolina was particularly hard hit. hurricane helenAfter making landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane, it also caused devastation in other parts of the Southeast. It was the second deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States, with at least 170 deaths confirmed in six states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Helen death toll rises to 170 as Biden sends 1,000 troops to aid response and recovery efforts
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk criticized the FCC over its decision to cancel Starlink's rural broadband award. (Getty Images/Getty Images)
SpaceX Starlinkwhich provides high-speed internet via satellite connectivity, was awarded $885 million by the FCC in 2020 to help expand high-speed internet access in rural areas across the country.
of FCC has been canceled The original award was in 2022, but Starlink reaffirmed that decision in December 2023, arguing that it did not have a reasonable ability to meet the program's requirements.
“Chairman Rosenworcel is committed to the FCC's thorough review of programs aimed at providing long-term access to reliable and affordable broadband in rural areas,” an FCC spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement. I support it.''
“In this case, the FCC refused to provide public funds to more than a dozen companies (not just Starlink) that did not meet program requirements.As an independent agency, the FCC denied funding to more than a dozen companies (not just Starlink) that did not meet program requirements. “We take seriously our obligation to ensure that payments are made only to 'comply with regulations and laws,'” the FCC statement continued.
Brendan Kerr says FCC revoked Starlink's Rural Internet Award because of 'partisan politics'
Starlink terminals provide Internet access through a satellite connection. (Photo illustration: Scott Olson/Getty Images/Getty Images)
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr criticized the agency's decision not to provide rural broadband funding to SpaceX, telling FOX Business: The government did not illegally cancel Starlink's legally earned 2020 award. ”
Kerr previously told FOX Business that he viewed the decision to cancel the Starlink award as a result of partisan politics. President Biden's Musk's previous statements that his relationships with other countries are “worthy of consideration” and regulatory oversight from other federal agencies have affected his business.
Trump says he spoke with Elon Musk about deploying Starlink to devastated areas of Helen
Storm damage from Hurricane Helen on September 28, 2024 near Biltmore Village in Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Residents of affected communities hurricane helenThe U.S. government is still working to restore communications and power to areas affected by historic flooding in western North Carolina, but efforts are being hampered by the level of damage to roads and bridges in the region. There is.
former president trump “I just talked to Elon,” he said on Monday, “because we couldn't get any contact with Starlink, so we wanted to connect Starlink.”
white house “This was already happening,” spokesperson Andrew Bates wrote on X on Monday afternoon. Bates said in an update Wednesday that FEMA helped deliver a total of 67 Starlink systems to the state.
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of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced in a press release Wednesday that it has provided 50 Starlink satellite systems to assist responders with communications.
Starlink announced Tuesday that a total of approximately 500 Starlink kits have arrived or are scheduled to arrive in areas affected by Hurricane Helen.
Musk also announced that Starlink is working to make the system work in hurricane-affected areas regardless of payment status, providing virtually free access to those affected by Helen. did.
FOX Business' Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.
