Musk can win some 42 billion dollar wide bowl under Trump: NPR

West Virginia Governor Patrick Morris Last week The process of disposal of the wide -bored broadcast program from the federal, which gained a little notice. It was not a surprise. It looked like an unnoted announcement of a government project receiving an extension.

But below the surface, the news was the first case for the state taking the direction of the Trump administration to raise a group of billions of dollars from the money to benefit from the White House adviser, Elon Musk.

Over the past four years, states that include Western Virginia are working with the federal government to end plans to extend the optical cables of the underground fiber to It estimates 22 million Americans Without the Internet at home.

But the Trump administration fixes the $ 42 billion in the Federal Grant Program known as the broad equation, access and publication program to be “neutral for technology”, which means open to Internet service via satellite. This comes despite the fact that communications experts insist that fibers are the fastest and most expensive way to link disadvantaged societies.

Republicans in Washington are inconsistent with the companies, including Musk’s Starlink Satellite Company, were excluded from grants during the era of former President Joe Biden. The redesign of the program aims to fix this. In the eyes of Democrats and musk critics, the batch of the White House appears to serve as a bulletin to the Pole of Technology.

In its announcement, West Virginia said that White House officials have given the state 90 days to assess the most efficient way to connect residents in remote areas to fast internet service, including satellite options.

Morie’s office did not respond to a request for comment from NPR.

To Evan Finmann, who was running the wide range of bold grants at the Ministry of Commerce under Biden, this step is not logical.

“Western Virginia was before the specified date, under the budget and ready to provide excellent contacts for every home and business in Western Virginia. How can anyone come back and say,” Let’s go back to the drawing board? ” Fainman, who stepped down from his role, said earlier this month.

“It is difficult to determine any reasonable situation to raise these plans based on technology or economy,” Finman said.

Communications Expert: How many money will you get musk?

The stock, access, and broad publishing program, also known as Bead, which was authorized by Congress when legislators passed the 2021 infrastructure bill, received a reaction from many angles to his slow pace.

When President Trump went to Podcast Joe Rogan just before the November elections, the two participated in the moment, expressing shock that Bead has not yet linked a single family.

Rogan said that if Starlink was exploited from Musk to connect without access to a high -speed internet, he had already done it. “He wanted to do it,” Trump added, referring to musk.

So when the Minister of Commerce Howard Lootnick Declare Earlier this month, the Trump administration will renew the program, industry experts believe this is a gift for musk.

“How much money can it get? How much money can it prevent the competitor from getting?” Blair Levin, a communications policy analyst at the Brookings Institute, said. “If the decision is made on the basis of politics, it will cost the country for decades to come.”

This is because the wide range of traditional fiber, as Levin said, is faster, cheaper and more stable than the Internet via satellite such as Starlink. He said that satellite service is very effective for families in remote areas where there are no other options.

“The satellite Internet is like the dirt road, the Internet is like a highway,” said Drew Garner of the Bentone Institute for the wide national team and society. “You can build a few homes from an earthen road, but you can build hospitals, schools, companies and entire cities from a highway.”

Starlink, owned by Musk’s Spacex, is a small antenna system over a house to connect to a constellation of satellite in orbit.

The Starlink plan similar to the high -speed fiber service is about $ 120 a month, as the cost of devices is about $ 400. Due to the cost of creating a network of satellite, there are only a few serious competitors, none of them focused on the consumer market.

Levin said that some frustration of the bead ice pace is understandable and common through the political spectrum.

Liberal political commentator Ezra Klein appeared in the Bodcast, comedian John Stewart, and explained in detail that the countries that were of 14 steps were subjected to federal financing, with Stuart’s appearance was surprised.

“I am unable to speak,” Stewart said. “The fact that they have broke their legs on this is very amazing.”

Musk, usually not a fans of Klein or Stuart, Share a video clip From behind to his X account, which was seen nearly 30 million times.

Even Fenman, who supervised the initiative, said he hoped that the construction had already begun, but he argues that Trump administration changes will not only delay.

“I am sympathetic to the argument that the program should have been faster,” Finman said. “But the program went very slowly, not logically,” we must then slow down the program so that we can provide worse contacts at a higher final user cost. “

Trump says to supervise Bead is a victim of “sitting in a social agenda”

The new person Trump, who took advantage of him to make decisions about this large group of money, is Ariel Roth, Senator Republican Consultant Ted Cruz from Texas.

she Once he said This granting program of $ 42 billion was a “great bias for technology for fiber”, and that the program was a victim of a “social agenda”, referring to the provisions of the program that encourages countries to choose companies with a diverse workforce racist or unions -backed companies. These rules It is expected to end Under the Minister of Commerce Lottenic.

In the Senate Roth Confirmation session Last week, Democrats prompted her to commit to not converting the wide range program into support for the Musk Empire.

“If you are lucky to confirm, I will manage the program for the benefit of the American people, not any one or one company,” Ruth told legislators. The assertion vote has not yet been determined.

During the session, Cruz said that musk billionaire did not get a fair tremor when the program started.

Cruz said: “The Biden administration, I think, participated in partisan and party policy by inserting the black list Elon Musk and Starlink, a technology that can particularly link families in distant rural places.”

With Musk now a large White House consultant, communications analysts like Garner said if Starlink wins a large segment of the Federal Program, “” America’s taxi money will pay Elon Musk to give Americans expensive and slow internet service when they have a quick internet service at reasonable prices. “

Like most other Musk companies, Spacex has no communications section. Neither the musk nor the Trade Department returned requests for comment.

Bead may be the largest amount of federal funds that Starlink will be able to benefit soon, but it is not the only source.

The Federal Communications Committee is now chairing a supporter of the explicit musk Brendan Car. Mostk companies often slow up on X It was presented in the pictures With musk. Which is Once he said The Biden Administration was subjected to “organizational harassment”.

In 2023, Biden FCC And she refused Starlink for a country wide range of about 900 million dollars after Starlink was given money at the beginning. Car did not agree to the opposite of the course, criticism This step “as a clear mistake” would cause more delay.

Under Car, the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) enables to review this decision.

Garner, a wide domain expert, said that Starlink did not receive money at the time because optical fiber technology is faster and more affordable and requires less maintenance.

“You have to rebuild the stars network every five years because satellites are constantly falling from the sky,” he said.

Then there is a radio spectrum: invisible highways for all wireless connections.

Starlink FCC will order more of them. If it prevails, Starlink can land on other Satsy companies.

NPR communicate with the five Starlink competitors, but no one will agree to an interview.

Livin said with Brookings that this is due to the culture of fear. “Everyone hesitates to attack musk or attack the president now,” he said.

Levin said companies worried about revenge on the White House, which started this month to obtain Starlink.