Broadband grants paused as critics allege favoritism toward Elon Musk’s Starlink
- The Texas Broadband Development Office has placed a temporary hold on disbursements of federal funds related to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program.
- The hold follows accusations of favoritism towards certain companies, particularly Elon Musk's Starlink.
- Lawmakers have announced an audit of the Broadband Office due to concerns about the grant award process.
- Changes in disbursement rules for low-Earth orbit satellite providers were made shortly before grants were awarded, reportedly at the direction of the governor's office.
- The audit process is currently underway, with no clear completion date provided.
The Texas Broadband Development Office has put a temporary hold on all disbursements of billions of dollars in federal funds related to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, or BEAD. This decision follows accusations of favoritism towards certain companies, specifically Elon Musk’s Starlink, prompting lawmakers to announce an audit of the office.
The hold was communicated to subgrantees via email, stating it was effective as of Monday and would remain in place until further notice. The office did not provide a reason for the pause and has not responded to inquiries regarding the situation.
Concerns about the distribution of over $3 billion in BEAD funding were raised during a Senate committee hearing, where it was noted that changes to the disbursement rules for satellite providers were made shortly before grants were awarded. Lawmakers are calling for increased transparency in the grant award process, and an audit has been initiated to address these concerns.
因批评指控偏袒埃隆·马斯克的Starlink，宽带拨款暂停
德克萨斯州宽带发展办公室已对与宽带公平、接入和部署计划（BEAD）相关的数十亿美元联邦资金的拨款实施临时暂停。此决定是在对某些公司，特别是埃隆·马斯克的Starlink，提出偏袒指控后做出的，促使立法者宣布对该办公室进行审计。
暂停的通知通过电子邮件发送给子拨款人，表示自周一起生效，并将持续到另行通知。该办公室未提供暂停的原因，也未对有关情况的询问作出回应。
在一次参议院委员会听证会上，关于超过30亿美元BEAD资金的分配提出了担忧，指出在拨款授予前不久，针对卫星提供商的拨款规则发生了变化。立法者呼吁提高拨款授予过程的透明度，并已启动审计以解决这些担忧。