The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is now reportedly asking its employees to find "tens of millions" of dollars to supposedly fund a new deal that it is preparing for Starlink as part of its upcoming overhaul.
However, this comes with a massive change for the federal agency, as they are also allegedly on the verge of canceling a deal they currently have with Verizon.
Over the past weeks, various reports have claimed that the FAA is planning to change its operations, particularly its network service provider and air management system. It seems that Elon Musk's space-based internet as the answer.
FAA Is Looking for 'Tens of Millions' of Dollars for Starlink Deal
The Rolling Stone reported (via Engadget) that the FAA is now scrambling for money as it has tasked its employees to find "tens of millions of dollars" worth of funds so that it can engage in a deal with Starlink for its planned overhaul.
The plan is to overhaul the United States' airspace management system, which SpaceX is already a part of, particularly in helping the FAA avoid any more air-related mishaps in the future.
However, the FAA is reportedly also considering making use of SpaceX's subsidiary, Starlink, to upgrade its network systems by using its satellite internet infrastructure, which has been a growing service worldwide.
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Verizon FAA Deal May Be Canceled For Starlink
However, there is another major change that may take place over at FAA with this alleged Starlink deal as it will reportedly need to cancel its existing contract with Verizon to move forward with the upgrade.
Verizon is currently in a deal with the FAA that provides them with the network connections for its airspace management operations, but reports have claimed that the agency wants this to change.
That being said, the FAA has not yet confirmed any deal with Starlink as of writing.
FAA and SpaceX's Partnership
Over the past weeks, there have been reports about a partnership between the FAA and SpaceX as the federal agency is looking for a third-party entity that will help them fix the issues in their air management systems.
This was after a recent air disaster over at Washington's Reagan National Airport where an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter collided mid-air.
It was then revealed that the FAA has been planning to make a switch to Starlink's satellite internet since the Biden administration, noting its reliable and fast internet.
However, the deal with Starlink means that the FAA will have to terminate its existing deal with Verizon, and according to reports, this is the route that the agency plans to take to improve its systems.
