Satellite Startups Face 'Fatal' Regulatory Fee Burden, Spire Says
The kind of regulatory fee burden the FCC is considering "can be fatal" to small satellite operators and might force early stage ones to either close or move to other licensing jurisdictions, Spire Global said in a docket 19-105 posting…
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Tuesday. A non-geostationary orbit operator with a license and a U.S. market grant like Spire would see its fees go from $154,875 in 2019 to $618,950 in 2020, it said. Spire called "unreasonable and not supported by law" the FCC argument that its past interpretation of its statutory authority to not allow charging regulatory fees on satellites licensed in other jurisdictions is possibly erroneous. An order charging foreign-licensed satellite operators regulatory fees is on the commissioners' May 13 agenda (see 2004220048).