Focusing on Spectrum First, CSSMA Sees Broader Smallsat Issues on Horizon
The Commercial Smallsat Spectrum Management Association will focus foremost on spectrum, and CSSMA anticipates involving itself increasingly in an array of regulatory issues that affect smallsats. Some question whether it's on a trajectory to be in conflict with or redundant to the Satellite Industry Association. There could be conflicts and overlaps with SIA, but a bigger smallsat industry concern is startups moving forward to get into space without a good understanding of the licensing and regulatory compliance necessary, where CSSMA can play a role, said Christopher Stott, CEO of orbital frequencies and regulatory services company ManSat.
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The group, launched this fall, largely represents smaller companies and startups, with a heavy focus on spectrum management and spectrum coordination, said Spire General Counsel Jonathan Rosenblatt, a head of the association. Other members include Hawkeye 360, Kepler, Planet, Kongsberg Satellite Services and Phase Four, says its website. Rosenblatt said likely CSSMA areas of interest beyond spectrum include regulatory issues like orbital debris or an expected smallsat proceeding at the FCC. The agency's Part 25 licensing requirements and filing fees, plus milestone and bonding requirements, "don't exactly fit a small satellite constellation," Rosenblatt said, saying those issues likely would be part of any such smallsat proceeding.
Roseblatt said CSSMA "is right in the thick" of involvement with working parties leading up to the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference. The group earlier this fall pushed for better FCC/NTIA coordination of filing for licenses for bands shared by federal and nonfederal users (see 1710310034).
CSSMA isn't slighting SIA, and has a different user set and focus and capability, Rosenblatt said. An organization is needed for the smallsat startups that don't have money for lobbying, he said. Smallsat operators still have extensive common cause with large operators, said Rosenblatt, saying Spire is joining SIA.
CSSMA has "definitely come together at the right time," Stott said. Smallsat operators are competing fiercely, but space is so heavily regulated they have common interests they can tackle collectively through such a group as CSSMA, Stott said. He said regulatory bodies like the ITU want to enable smallsat operations, and CSSMA could play a role as educator with regulators and separate it from operations such as SIA.
Its focus on coordination issues of spectrum sharing with government means CSSMA for now is in a role distinct from SIA, a satellite executive said. Areas where they might split, like in a smallsat proceeding, won't be known until that item comes out, the executive said. The executive said there's likely more potential for disagreements between existing players and new entrants than splits based on satellite sizes.
SIA President Tom Stroup didn't comment about CSSMA directly. He said issues facing smallsat operators include the ongoing spectrum frontiers proceeding and the smallsat item expected sometime next year. The FCC next year also is expected to release an item regarding orbital debris, he said.
CSSMA was an informal group for close to two years of commercial smallsat operators and staffers from agencies like the FCC and NTIA meeting multiple times annually to discuss items informally, Rosenblatt said. Those meetings provided some clarity, but "there is only so much to be done informally," he said. Now that CSSMA is a formal IRS code 501(c)6, agency representatives aren't members but observers, Rosenblatt said, noting the group hopes to add international representation.