Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who heads up his own spaceflight company called Blue Origin, congratulated Musk and the rest of the SpaceX team for the Starship test flight.
The FCC awarded the money in an auction to fund high-speed internet projects in rural America. SpaceX will receive the funding to supply broadband in underserved areas across 35 states.
Rural Americans have long dealt with slow internet. But in interviews, SpaceX Starlink beta testers in Montana, Idaho, and elsewhere report speedy service that has transformed the way they use the web.
Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet project is faster than its retail competitors, according to data from Ookla Speedtest Intelligence. But then again, nobody is really using it yet.