
Musk's Starlink Gives Space Lenders a Crisis of Confidence
Welcome to The Brink. It's Eleanor Duncan and Abhinav Ramnarayan in London, where we looked at the debacle of satellite companies facing Starlink competition. We also have news on Altice, FTX and Evergrande. Follow this link to subscribe. Send us feedback and tips at debtnews@bloomberg.net.
In September, Elon Musk wrote on X — the social media platform he owns — that SpaceX 's Starlink constitutes roughly two-thirds of all active Earth satellites. Since then, the world's richest man has become one of the most influential advisers in the White House, deepening concerns among competitors and their investors that SpaceX may become even more dominant in the sector.

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Yahoo
an hour ago
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Sunday shows preview: Trump-Musk spat leaves admin reeling; ‘Big, beautiful bill' hits speed bump
President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk's feud spilled out in public on Thursday, with the world's richest man and the world's most powerful leader trading barbs that engulfed news cycles in Washington and abroad. Musk, a Trump ally, was vocal about his disappointment with Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' currently sitting in the Senate. Musk, who spent millions during the 2024 presidential campaign to help elect Trump, called the massive piece of legislation a 'disgusting abomination.' Trump then weighed in on Thursday at the White House during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit, saying, 'Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore.' The spat intensified, with Musk floating the prospects of creating a third party, claiming that without his political contributions, Trump would not be victorious against ex-Vice President Harris in November and accusing the president of having ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump threatened to cut off federal contracts awarded to Musk's companies. Later on Thursday, Musk signaled he might be open to brokering a truce with the commander-in-chief. After speaking with several news outlets Friday morning, Trump suggested he is ready to move on and indicated that he will not be speaking with Musk for a while. Trump told CNN Friday morning that he is 'not even thinking about Elon' and added that the SpaceX and Tesla CEO has 'got a problem. The poor guy's got a problem.' In the Senate, Trump's agenda bill, which passed the House chamber last month, has sparked concerns and criticism from GOP senators. The first group of GOP Sens., which consists of Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), are arguing they could vote against the bill if it slashes Medicaid benefits. Others, including Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) have previously said they would not back the legislation if it retains the current debt and spending levels. The GOP can have three defections total if all Democrats vote against the legislation. Sen. Johnson will be on CNN's 'State of the Union where he will likely discuss if any of his concerns regarding the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' have been addressed. As part of a push to root out waste, fraud and abuse within Medicare, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said this week that a bill sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), that would crack down on Medicare Advantage overpayments known as 'upcoding,' could be inserted into Trump's massive legislation. Cassidy will be on NewsNation's 'The Hill Sunday,' where he will likely discuss the latest on the reconciliation package along with his recent visit to the White House. NewsNation's 'The Hill Sunday': Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.); Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Ma); U.S. Chamber of Commerce chief policy officer Neil Bradley. ABC's 'This Week': Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). NBC's 'Meet the Press': Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.). CNN's 'State of the Union': 'Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), and Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.); Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). CBS' 'Face the Nation': National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett; Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.); Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas); Save the Children U.S. President and CEO Janti Soeripto. 'Fox News Sunday': Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought; Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.); Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures': White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt; Secretary Of Interior Doug Burgum, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); House Ways And Means Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.); Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
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United Airlines Turns Off Starlink Access Amid Interference Concerns
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. United Airlines' plans to retrofit its entire regional fleet with Starlink connectivity have hit a roadblock, at least temporarily. United first started rolling out Starlink access using a free-with-ads model in May, becoming one of a select club—including Hawaiian Airlines and the boutique air carrier JSX—to offer flyers access to SpaceX's satellite broadband service. Its speed and performance proved a hit with PCMag when it debuted, and United announced plans to install Starlink in its entire two-cabin regional fleet by the end of 2025. However, Starlink has been turned off on almost two dozen Embraer E175 regional jets, according to air industry publication The Points Guy. The issue stems from static interference between the antennas that pilots use to communicate with air traffic controllers and Starlink's antennas. United confirmed the reports in a statement, saying that this type of radio interference is 'fairly common with any new airline Wi-Fi provider' and that the issues are not a flight safety risk. 'We expect the service to be back up and running on these aircraft soon,' a spokesperson said. According to The Points Guy, roughly a third of the impacted planes have already had a fix applied. United doesn't expect to cancel any flights as a result of the issue and will instead wait until each aircraft's scheduled maintenance to fix the interference issue. Though Starlink may be off the table for many domestic fliers, at least in the short term, United has introduced new ways for travelers to distract themselves in recent weeks. The Chicago-based carrier announced earlier this week that it's bringing the streaming-audio service Spotify to the on-demand entertainment displays of over 680 of its aircraft, offering 'specially curated versions of Spotify's most popular playlists.' The new Spotify integration will replace the 'Audio' option on the home-screen menu of those displays.


UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
Static interference forced United Airlines to disable Starlink service
United Airlines has suspended its Starlink Wi-Fi service on two dozen regional airliners to fix static interference that occurs while the system is in use, the airline confirmed on Friday. File Photo by Caroline Brehman/EPA-EFE June 7 (UPI) -- Free Starlink internet service on some regional United Airlines flights has been suspended due to static interference. The airline began offering free Starlink Wi-Fi service during flights in May, but static interference forced United officials to turn off the service on about 24 airliners, the Wall Street Journal reported. The airline is working with Starlink to correct the problem, which it says does not affect flight safety. "We expect the service to be back up and running on these aircraft soon," United officials said. "The fix will be deployed during routine maintenance, and the airline doesn't anticipate any impact on flight schedules." The problem was first revealed by The Points Guy, which reported the issue commonly occurs when new onboard connectivity technologies are installed on aircraft. United installed the Starlink service on about two dozen regional aircraft but received reports of static interference while the Wi-Fi service was used. A similar problem arose when United Airlines installed its Viasat connectivity service on its main air fleet. A quick fix solved the problem. Starlink is a subsidiary of the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX and uses a global network of small satellites to provide subscribers with Wi-Fi service anywhere in the world.