OneWeb Potential, Vote Outcome Likely Made It a June 22 Agenda Item
OneWeb's proposed 720-satellite constellation is a big deal, which is why Chairman Ajit Pai opted to address it at the June 22 commissioners' meeting (see 1706010049) instead of letting the request for U.S. market access be handled by the International Bureau, satellite industry insiders tell us. A lawyer with satellite clients said the item likely will be a noncontroversial, 3-0 vote about bringing broadband to rural areas.
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A satellite industry executive noted OneWeb is a particularly high-profile application since it's among the first of several major non-geostationary orbit broadband constellations to go through FCC review in recent history. And President Donald Trump in December singled out the company as an example of high-tech job growth. The draft FCC order notes the novelty of OneWeb's application, calling it "the first of its kind for a new generation of large, non-geostationary-satellite orbit (NGSO) fixed-satellite service" constellations. Pai earlier this month, announcing the meeting agenda, blogged that OneWeb fit into the FCC priority of promoting broadband deployment, particularly in remote and rural areas. The company expects to have its first satellites launched and in operation by early next year (see 1705190049).
Given the 14-month time frame between the application (see 1604290016) and the meeting, it might be a reasonable expectation on the part of other NGSO constellation companies that the FCC can and will process their applications as expeditiously, said a lawyer with satellite clients. The lawyer said that in talks with the International Bureau, there are indications the agency is trying to expeditiously handle applications. That 2016 application also set off a processing round for additional NGSO-like constellations (see 1611160010).
Not everyone agrees 14 months is a reasonable expectation. A satellite industry executive said, given the unique characteristics and complexities of some proposed constellations, it may not be reasonable to say the FCC is creating even a soft expectation of that kind of turnaround. Another executive said, given rapid technology changes in satellite, any kind of expectation of a similar time frame for application processing likely won't hold up. Mike Gold, chairman of the Federal Aviation Administration Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, said various regulatory agencies handling space-related matters, including the FCC, appear to be enthusiastic about the new capabilities changing technologies are enabling and for making whatever regulatory process changes they need.
A resolution is needed by at least year's end to the SpaceX and Telesat applications since both expect to launch test satellites early next year, which requires a license, entitling them under the avoidance of inline interference rule to pick their “home” spectrum at that point, said satellite industry consultant Tim Farrar. The end of 2017 would be roughly 14 months from their November filings, he said. Farrar said systems "still on the drawing board will probably be treated with less urgency," and those other systems also won't be pushing the FCC to rush a ruling out since the timeline for deployment is based on when the license is granted.
An executive said the FCC might see other large NGSO constellation applications in coming months, but they likely will involve earth observation -- not communications -- satellites. The window closed on applications for other NGSO constellations sharing the same bands with the end of the processing round.