Iridium, SES/O3b Renew Fight Against Intelsat's Galaxy 15R
Iridium and SES/O3b are continuing objections to regulatory approval Intelsat is seeking for its planned Galaxy 15R satellite. The dearth of detail about the 15R satellite isn't acceptable since its Ka-band communications will include the 29.25-29.3 GHz band Iridium uses,…
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Iridium said in an FCC International Bureau reply Monday. It said it would be "completely arbitrary" for the FCC to grant Intelsat's application without conditioning it on the company coordinating with Iridium, since Intelsat doesn't explain how it would comply with the coordination obligation, even while it's amenable to similar conditions in other shared or adjacent bands. The FCC "might not need a lengthy dissertation at this stage," but it needs Intelsat to do more than acknowledge the rules exist. In a separate bureau filing Monday, SES/O3b said Intelsat hasn't shown Galaxy 15R can operate on a noninterference basis with non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service systems, nor has it submitted the required interference analysis for Ka-band geostationary orbit FSS operations. Intelsat didn't comment Tuesday. The company said it wants to launch 15R in 2022 as a replacement for its Galaxy 15 (see 1705250004).