Former Broadband Director Calls Handout to Musk's Starlink a 'Betrayal' to Rural America

America's most expensive broadband investment ever just lost its top leader and supporter, Evan Feinman. Feinman issued a sharp warning to colleagues in an email Sunday morning that millions of rural Americans could get stuck with slow internet speeds if rules are changed to favor Elon Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink. In a CNET interview, Feinman echoes this warning and provides advice for consumers. His farewell email to colleagues, first reported by ProPublica’s Craig Silverman in a Bluesky post, sounds the alarm on proposed changes to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program, most significantly shifting from a fiber-first approach to one that would favor satellite internet. "Obviously, there's a very prominent figure who is a major player in this administration who happens to own a low-Earth orbit satellite network," Feinman told CNET. Locating local internet providers Until March 16, Feinman was the director of BEAD, a $42.5 billion fund passed as part of ... Read full article.