WASHINGTON: The US Federal Communications Commission approved Elon Musk’s SpaceX plan to expand its broadband services to commercial airlines, ships, and trucks on Thursday by allowing the company to use with moving vehicles, its Starlink satellite internet network.
Starlink has long sought to expand its customer base from individual broadband users in remote, internet-poor locations to enterprise customers in the potentially lucrative automotive, shipping, and airline sectors. Starlink is a rapidly expanding constellation of internet-beaming satellites in orbit.
In its authorization, which was published on Thursday, the FCC echoed statements made in SpaceX’s request for approval from early last year. According to the FCC, approving a new class of terminals for SpaceX’s satellite system will increase the range of broadband capabilities to meet users’ growing demands for connectivity while they are in motion.
