FCC Space Chief Promises Faster Processing and War on 'Regulatory Drag'
FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz is promising modernization of the bureau's licensing, as well as making spectrum available for more intensive space uses. Speaking Wednesday at Satellite 2025, Schwarz said he sees space policy through the lens of economic growth, and the bureau's "main job ... is to facilitate and accelerate all the investments in your industry." Slow processing of applications and overly burdensome rules "are creating unnecessary regulatory drag." Schwarz -- who noted that he lives on a farm in the Washington region served by satellite-delivered broadband -- said regulatory drag can compound over time, resulting in significant effects on the economy and the types of services the space industry offers.
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Obtaining a license for space operations "shouldn't be a multiyear odyssey," Schwarz said. He said the agency's current space licensing structure "is rooted in a 'Mother, may I?' regulatory philosophy designed for the last space race." He said it emphasizes "paperwork, processes and precaution." The bureau will emphasize clear rules, with "envelopes of flexibility" for operators, he said. He added that it will also simplify its licensing processes and move to shorter timelines and less bureaucracy and that there will be greater use of automation in licensing. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said faster space operations licensing was a priority of his administration (see 2411210028).
Schwarz said the FCC wants to replicate the "successful mobile spectrum policy playbook of the last few decades" in satellite operations. Beyond seeking new spectrum bands for space, the agency will determine if existing bands are being used as intensively as possible, he said, adding that the bureau will "look to clear out restrictive technical rules holding back deployment."
Also at the conference and trade show, Clint Crosier, director-aerospace and satellite solutions of Amazon Web Services, said private funding for orbital debris removal will likely start with space operators looking to clean up their immediate neighborhoods. A master fund or organization dealing with debris issues would be optimal, but that's not in the near future, he added.
Instead, commercial support for debris removal will come first from commercial space stations or asteroid-mining operations shelling out to have space junk removed from their orbital planes to create a bubble of safety.
Laurent Jaffart, head of the European Space Agency's European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications, said there will likely need to be external incentives as well as penalties to coax responsible behavior in space. "It needs to be the carrot and the stick." As there are regulations about what cars can be on the road, space also might need rules concerning "who shouldn't be there" and must deorbit, he said.
Beyond the physical sustainability of orbit, spectrum sustainability also needs attention, Jaffart said. There are concerns about spectrum access being concentrated "in the hands of very, very few," keeping out new entrants.
Hamdullah Mohib, CEO of United Arab Emirates startup and investment fund Marlan Space, said that given space's role in national security, sabotage threats -- whether cyberattacks or otherwise -- will increase. In addition, the risk of nations being cut off from services offered by outside third parties will drive more sovereign space needs. That in turn will increase space congestion and orbital debris risks, he added.
Satellite 2025 Notebook
SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen said that next year, the company will launch a new generation of Starlink satellites with 10 times the data capacity as is available now. He said they will be launched using its under-development Starship heavy launch rocket. An initial public offering isn’t imminent at SpaceX, Johnsen said, adding that the company currently has “a laser focus” on business operations and getting Starship to market.
Satellite company CFOs said they were bullish about government contracts going forward, even in an era of budget cutting. Iridium’s Vincent O’Neill said it’s not expecting big cuts to federally funded contracts and programs it participates in. Intelsat’s Toby O’Brien said satcom service purchasing by DOD should remain strong. Countries outside the U.S. wanting sovereign capabilities will also represent opportunities, he said. Speedcast’s Clint Stewart said the company is seeing some challenges from the trade war tariffs and their being abruptly launched and withdrawn.
Even given all the interest in low earth orbit, geostationary orbit remains important and a steady market, said Tom Mueller, founder and CEO of rocket startup Impulse Space. As access to GSO gets cheaper and easier -- such as through Impulse’s Helios rocket -- demand for GSO services also will grow, he said. Helios’ maiden flight is set for mid-next year, and there’s already private sector interest in its rideshare program, he added.