Texas pauses broadband grant payments amid favoritism claims tied to Musk’s Starlink
- Texas's Broadband Development Office temporarily halted all disbursements of federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program funds on Tuesday, with the pause effective Monday and lasting until further notice.
- The hold followed accusations that the grant process favored certain companies, including Elon Musk's Starlink, prompting lawmakers to announce an audit.
- State officials did not give a reason for the pause in the email sent to subgrantees, and they said no action was required from them for now.
- Lawmakers had already questioned how more than $3 billion in BEAD funding was awarded, including changes to upfront payment rules for low-Earth orbit satellite providers.
- Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said the legislature would take action in the next session, which begins in January.
Texas's Broadband Development Office has temporarily stopped all payments tied to billions of dollars in federal BEAD funds. The office told subgrantees the hold was effective Monday and would remain in place until further notice, but it did not explain why the disbursements were paused.
The pause comes after criticism that the state's broadband grant process favored some providers, especially Elon Musk's Starlink. Lawmakers have been examining how more than $3 billion in BEAD money was awarded, and an audit was announced after the complaints surfaced.
During earlier legislative scrutiny, officials said changes were made to the rules for low-Earth orbit satellite providers shortly before grants were awarded. Starlink and Amazon were selected as subgrantees. State leaders said an audit is underway, and legislators signaled they may act further when the next session begins in January.
德州在偏袒马斯克星链的质疑中暂停宽带补助拨付
德州宽带发展办公室已临时停止所有与数十亿美元联邦 BEAD 资金相关的拨付。该办公室在发给分包受助方的邮件中说，这一暂停自周一起生效，并将持续到另行通知，但没有说明暂停原因。
这项暂停出现在外界批评德州宽带拨款流程偏向部分服务商之后，焦点之一是埃隆·马斯克旗下的 Starlink。州议员一直在审查超过 30 亿美元 BEAD 资金的分配方式，相关投诉出现后，官方宣布启动审计。
在此前的立法审查中，官员表示，低地轨道卫星服务商的规则在拨款发放前不久被修改。Starlink 和亚马逊都被选为分包受助方。州领导人表示，审计正在进行中，议员们还说，明年 1 月开始的新会期将采取进一步行动。