This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. SpaceX recently won rights to $885 million in government subsidies for high-speed internet from a Federal Communications Commission program. The goal of the $20.4 billion program, called the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, is to coax companies to bring high-speed internet service to underserved areas of the US. SpaceX's subsidies will go toward Starlink, its growing satellite-internet service. In exchange, the company has to offer service to about 642,000 homes and businesses across 35 states. The FCC rules require that SpaceX offer those customers internet service "at rates that are reasonably comparable to rates offered in urban areas."