Elon Musk’s SpaceX, others will get $19 million to increase internet speeds in South MS
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is included on a list of companies that were awarded federal subsidies to bring high-speed broadband internet to people who live in rural Mississippi, including all six of the state’s southernmost counties.
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday announced that about 435,000 people living in rural Mississippi will gain access to high-speed broadband over the next 10 years with the help of over $495 million in federal funding. That includes 12,451 homes and businesses in South Mississippi’s six counties.
SpaceX was awarded $885.5 million — about a tenth of the $9.2 billion in funds given to 180 companies to support rural broadband customers in 49 states.
Of the money coming to Mississippi, $19.4 million is being spent in the lower six counties with just under $4 million going to SpaceX and the rest to a group of rural electric cooperatives called Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium.
The money was allocated through an auction by the FCC, and will increase access to broadband speeds of at least 100/20 Mbps, with an overwhelming majority (82%) getting gigabit-speed broadband.
“This historic auction is great news for the residents of so many rural Mississippi communities, who will get access to high-quality broadband service in areas that for too long have been on the wrong side of the digital divide,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “We structured this innovative and groundbreaking auction to prioritize bids for high-speed, low-latency services to deliver the best results for rural Americans, and the results show that this strategy worked. This auction was the Commission’s single largest step ever taken toward delivering digital opportunity to every American and is another key success in our ongoing commitment to universal service.”
SpaceX operates the world’s biggest commercial satellite network, called Starlink. The company also made headlines over the summer by being the first private company to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, in partnership with NASA.
SpaceX received federal support in many of the state’s counties, including George, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, Pearl River and Stone.
George County:
SpaceX - $1.26 million for 1,270 locations
Hancock County:
Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium - $2.1 million for 21 locations
SpaceX - $18,764 for 37 locations
Total - $2,170,256 for 2,158 locations
Harrison County:
SpaceX - $1.1 million for 571 locations
Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium - $2.9 million for 782 locations
Total: $2,910,393 for 1,353 locations
Jackson County:
SpaceX - $1.4 million for 1,231 locations
Pearl River County:
Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium - $5.96 million for 4,277 locations
SpaceX - $48,495 for 167 locations
Total: $5,968,807 for 4,444 locations
Stone County:
Rural Electric Cooperative Consortium - $5.6 million for 1,954 locations
SpaceX got $31,982 for 41 locations
Total: $5,673,830 for 1,995 locations
This story was originally published December 10, 2020 at 5:50 AM.
