National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) ad hoc committee members pressed the FCC about the rationale for rejecting the proposed 1 db interference standard in its 2020 Ligado order. Thursday's meeting was one in a series as part of a NASEM independent technical review of the order contracted by DOD, with the committee assessing the potential for harmful interference to GPS and satellite systems for DOD operations (see 2012040043). FCC staffers spent roughly 40 minutes going over the order and rationale, and often pointed to aspects of the order when asked questions. Committee member Preston Marshall, Google engineering director, challenged the FCC for deeming 1 db as a defective interference protection criteria but then "walk[ing] away completely" from finding more suitable protection criteria. "What it boils down to ... there were no alternatives offered," replied Office of Engineering and Technology acting Chief Ron Repasi. The committee and FCC representatives discussed whether Ligado had an affirmative direction to fix interference issues in military equipment, or just to negotiate for a fix. The commission order wanted a program where DOD and Ligado work together to figure out interference issues, said Paul Murray, OET associate chief. He said GPS manufacturers know how their gear performs and how it would respond to Ligado signals. "I don't want to say it's easy," but certain determinations can be made with such discussions "by people who know how to think about the problem," he said. Asked about whether the FCC is obligated to ever respond to or act on the reconsideration petitions, Murray said that while there's no deadline, "there are lots of things that are moving out there that may influence" what the agency does.
With its Peacock streaming service growing faster than expected, Comcast plans to ramp up spending on content for it, executives told analysts during a quarterly call Thursday. CEO Brian Roberts said it will look at ways to expand its broadband footprint more aggressively, with government subsidies and new household and business formation potential growth opportunities.
The commercial space universe is moving toward satellites operating in close proximity, such as for satellite servicing and inspections, but the technology and the policies to allow such work is lagging, space policy experts said at a Secure World Foundation/Center for Strategic International Studies webinar Wednesday. As space becomes more congested and more nations and private sectors are in space, "the more states worry" about close approaches in geostationary orbit (GEO) and low earth orbit, said Almudena Azcarate Ortega, U.N. Institute for Disarmament Research associate researcher-space security and weapons of mass destruction programs. Space "already suffers from a significant lack of trust" and approaches done without consent or transparency would increase that, she said.
A second pass by the FCC at updating orbital debris rules might have to wait until a fifth commissioner is confirmed, space experts and commission staff told us. Commissioners approved an orbital debris rules update order 5-0 in April 2020, with some contentious issues in the draft moved to an accompanying Further NPRM (see 2004230040). An agency official said a draft order is potentially not a huge priority for Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, parked behind bigger priorities and not being vigorously pushed by staff. The chairwoman's office will have to move on it at some point, given the mega-constellation boom, the official said.
The U.S. can help mitigate orbital debris by such things as investing in better cataloging of debris, mandatory beacons on satellites to enable better tracking, and pushing a moratorium on anti-satellite testing, said commercial space operator and other speakers at a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy event. Debris remediation was the topic of a similar session last week (see 2201130054). OSTP Space Policy Assistant Director Ezinne Uzo-Okoro said the feedback from the space community will help guide a plan to be issued this summer for agencies on policy actions and R&D the U.S. should prioritize for orbital debris.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Maine's prorated cable TV refunds law (see 2201040072) opens the door to other states pursuing similar rules, consumer and cable regulatory experts told us. Whether they actually will is less clear. The ruling reversing a lower court's rejection of the Maine law could mean a 3rd Circuit reversal of a lower court's agreeing with Altice that the Cable Act preempts the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities' prorating rule (see 2108240043), experts said.
FCC handling of designated entities SNR Wireless and Northstar Wireless got probing Friday by Judge Harry Edwards as he repeatedly criticized the idea that ostensible investor protections gave Dish Network de facto control of the DEs when the FCC hadn't worried about those same protections in past DE situations. Judge Patricia Millett tore into the DEs' assertion that they had made substantive changes from the original terms of their investor agreements with Dish, in the nearly two-hour U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit oral argument (docket 18-1209). The DEs are challenging the FCC's 2020 rejection of the AWS-3 bidding credits -- the second time the agency did so (see 2011230062). New Street Research's Blair Levin said the panel appeared to side with FCC arguments, as was expected.
The U.S. government is a big generator of a lot of low earth orbit debris and should kick-start a nascent debris remediation market by becoming a big buyer of remediation services, said space companies and interests Thursday at a White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) event. Speakers -- many of them from debris remediation startups -- made cases for government spending to give impetus to aspects of the market. There were calls for more clarity on the legal and policy framework around debris remediation.
Expect more cable operators to roll out wireless mobility service in 2022 or 2023, analysts told us. The mobile subscriber growth Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice have had since starting their services likely won't level off for some time, they said.
Some orbital altitudes are becoming increasingly dangerous because of growing amounts of orbital debris, Darren McKnight, senior technical fellow for orbital debris monitoring company LeoLabs, said Thursday in a University of Washington webinar. He said 780 km to 850 km is becoming a hotbed of debris generated by the U.S., China and Russia. He said 1400 km is also becoming problematic, compounded by atmospheric drag helping clear lower altitudes over time, but at 1400 km "it's there for centuries." The U.S. is "woefully behind the rest of the world" on the need for active debris remediation, with French, Japanese and European space agencies "way ahead," he said. "It's been seen as something we can worry about decades later. We need to worry about it now." Mega constellations "are really the victim" rather than the causes of increasing orbital debris concerns, McKnight said. He said operators like SpaceX and OneWeb are "operating very responsibly" and going beyond government regulatory requirements, though they still will likely face difficulties because of debris from old payloads and rocket bodies. Russia's anti-satellite missile demonstration in November (see 2111160063) raised the likelihood of a collision in some orbits by a factor of two, generating 500 to 2,000 trackable pieces of debris and probably ten times that in untraceable debris, he said. Technology has changed notably since 1997, when the 25-year guideline that's now become an international norm was established, he said. Electric propulsion systems would accommodate requiring satellites be deorbited one or five years after end of mission, though no nations have gone that route, he said. He said along with technical solutions to remediate debris, more preemptive efforts are needed to prevent debris generation, such as increased information sharing by satellite operators and inter-government trust.