Members of the U.S. Congress expressed concerns regarding reported considerations within the FAA to terminate its existing telecommunications contract with Verizon in favor of a new arrangement with Elon Musk’s Starlink.

In a letter on March 7 to acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau, Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts); Rick Larsen (D-Washington), the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; and Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), the ranking member of the aviation subcommittee, requested information about potential changes to the FAA Enterprise Network Services (FENS) program.

The congressional inquiry references a 15-year, $2.4 billion contract awarded to Verizon in 2023 to provide telecommunications and information management services within FAA facilities. According to the letter, recent reports suggest the agency may terminate this agreement.

“While we understand if FAA may have concerns with certain aspects of the current contract’s implementation, reports that the agency was considering terminating the Verizon contract for a new venture with Starlink without the appropriate safety or legal reviews are deeply troubling,” the representatives wrote.

The letter specifically questions whether Musk’s role as a “special government employee” for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) creates potential conflicts of interest. These representatives requested written responses to 12 detailed questions by March 14, including whether the DOT or FAA plans to cancel the Verizon FENS contract, whether they intend to award a new contract to Starlink, and what due diligence has been conducted regarding potential conflicts of interest.

This congressional correspondence follows a March 4 hearing before the House T&I Committee’s aviation subcommittee, where the issue was raised directly with aviation stakeholders.

During that hearing, Cohen questioned aviation leaders about the evaluation and regulation of systems like Starlink for critical air traffic control communications, and what safeguards would be necessary to ensure reliability and cybersecurity.

When asked about the impact of the DOGE-related layoffs as well as rumored changes in ATC equipment are having on aviation safety professionals, Dave Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, expressed concerns about workforce morale. “The amount of constant stress and questions that are coming every week and the accusations and the negative comments about federal employees are causing folks to regularly now wonder if they’re gonna have a job tomorrow,” Spero stated during the hearing. “As they begin to pull people out of their positions, and we all have to take on more responsibilities every single day, folks wonder how this is gonna play out.”

Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, responded that regardless of who is awarded the contract, his organization “stands in firm support of remaining involved in any productive or being a collaborative partner in developing and testing and implementing any new technologies, ensuring that they meet the safety standards that are set.”

Rep. Hank Johnson Jr. (D-Georgia) described the situation as “corruption and cronyism” that is “a threat to the safety of the public.”

When questioned about potential impacts of the ongoing and potential changes on air traffic controllers, Daniels stated, “Air traffic controllers still have to manage with stress day in and day out. Anything that adds to that, any uncertainty is what brings an added risk that has to be evaluated into the system.”

The issue emerges amid broader discussions about modernizing the nation’s air traffic control system. Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, noted that several leaders were recently briefed that the “old voice switch” in the telecommunications contract had to be replaced. 

“There was a replacement plan. It had to be accelerated because of the obsolescence, and so the telecons are charging the FAA quite a bit of money, which is a further drain from their accounts to be able to maintain this antiquated system,” Bunce explained. “The telecommunications backbone of this is not only fiber optic, but it’s also got to be satcom and everything. So again I think if we have the mechanism out there where we fairly compete [for] these contracts, we’ve got to do something to reinforce that backbone.”