SpaceX’s Broadband-From-Space Plan Gets Final FCC Approval

Elon Musk’s company is first U.S.-licensed to get clearance
Satellites said able to help bridge U.S. digital divide

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Feb. 6, 2018.Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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By Todd Shields and Dana Hull

March 29, 2018 at 10:26 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX won approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to offer broadband service from space, using a constellation of 4,425 satellites racing around the Earth in low orbits.

The action, approved in a 5-0 vote by FCC commissioners announced on Thursday, is the first approval of a U.S.-licensed satellite constellation to deliver broadband, or fast internet service, the agency said in an emailed news release.