The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has said Verizon is "not moving fast enough" with its $2.4 billion contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

As reported by Reuters earlier this week, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a call for companies to move faster to lay fiber.

It comes just a couple of weeks after reports suggested Elon Musk's Starlink was closing in on winning the 15-year telecoms contract from Verizon.

Starlink has since rejected those reports, noting it has no intention to take over the contract.

"I want companies that want to move fast," said Duffy at a press conference. "I can't wait 10 years... The American people can't wait 10 years or 12 years to lay fiber."

The FAA awarded the contract to Verizon in 2023. The contract set out to overhaul a communications system that serves as the backbone of the nation’s air traffic control system.

Verizon has defended itself, noting that it's working with the FAA to create an advanced, safer national air traffic control, reported Reuters.

"We are open and willing to work with companies that may offer complementary services to this new communications network," said Verizon in a statement.

Duffy added that it will take more than one company to build up the FAA's technology systems, suggesting that more companies will be needed to support the modernization projects.

"It’s not going to be one company. We’re going to need a lot of companies to buy in and help build up the system,” Duffy added.

Starlink said last week that it's open to support upgrades towards aging systems.

"Starlink is a possible partial fix to an aging system. There is no effort or intent for Starlink to 'take over' any existing contract," SpaceX posted on X.