There are unintended consequences to almost any decision. AndTeslaCEO Elon Musk’s SpaceX might be impacted by one of them.
The2,700-plus-page trillion-dollar infrastructure package moving its way through the U.S. Senate has about $65 billion pegged for ruralbroadband internet. That’s surely a good thing. In this modern world, everyone needs high-speed internet access for work, learning, and, frankly, streamingNetflix(ticker: NFLX).
The bill would help companies likeAT&T(T) andCharter Communications(CHTR) deliver coverage to rural areas. AT&T CEOJohn Stankeycalled the benefits of a potential infrastructure bill “icing on the cake” back in April. But AT&T may not even need the support. “I think we can move forward without this policy to deliver to you what we said we were going to deliver,” the CEO said.
In the end, funding for broadband technology may actually hurt the next generation of high-speed internet technology—or make it harder for new tech to compete.
SpaceXwants to offer high-speed, space-based internet to the masses.Elon Musk’sspace company has launched hundreds of its smallStarlink satellitesinto low earth orbit.
The SpaceX broadband business could be worth$42 billion, according to Morgan Stanley analystAdam Jonas. That was his estimate about a year ago. SpaceX isn’t a publicly traded company, and analysts don’t frequently update numbers for private firms—if they maintain any at all.
Whatever the Starlink number is today, it’s a big part of the$74 billionprivate market valuation SpaceX reached in early 2021.
Starlink can, in theory, deliver internet anywhere, but it is better in rural areas, according to Musk. Now Starlink may have a healthier competitor—the existing broadband industry, with a $65 billion subsidy.
Yet the subsidy might not change the competitive position all that much. The economics of the space-based internet offerings isn’t set in stone. Jonas assumes Starlink will charge about $25 to $50 a month for its high-speed internet service. That, however, is an early estimate and doesn’t really consider regional differences and customers’ ability to pay around the globe.
The broadband players, of course, also have existing businesses that make money. Those profits could be used to subsidize any rural initiatives. Business is complicated. Government decisions sometimes add to the complexity. That is one thing lawmakers might want to consider when deciding who gets taxpayer money.