FCC Chairman Ajit Pai issued a statement of support for SpaceX's envisioned Starlink constellation, a huge network of spacecraft that will set up shop in low-Earth orbit.

"To bridge America's digital divide, we'll have to use innovative technologies. SpaceX's application — along with those of other satellite companies seeking licenses or access to the U.S. market for nongeostationary satellite orbit systems — involves one such innovation," Pai said in a statement Wednesday (Feb. 14).

"Satellite technology can help reach Americans who live in rural or hard-to-serve places where fiber-optic cables and cell towers do not reach," he added. "And it can offer more competition where terrestrial internet access is already available."