Smartphones with mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service will be the norm within a handful of years, with it becoming inevitable that every handset will offer the capability and all mobile carriers will partner satellite operators on direct-to-device service offerings, mobile and satellite industry experts told us. Others question the demand for SCS service.
Some state broadband directors said they don't anticipate multiple rounds of broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program bidding by providers due to the tight 12-month time frame between when NTIA approves initial state proposals and when finalized proposals with the list of subgrantees are due to the agency. There's also concern there will be serviceable locations that don't get provider bids, and it's not clear how to address those without more bidding rounds, said Brian Newby, North Dakota broadband program director, at a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday.
Different states could see varying levels of interest from ISPs in bidding on broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program projects due to how they craft project requirements, cable industry experts say. Among these are prevailing wages for subcontractors and middle-class affordability offerings. Unclear is how many BEAD eligible areas end up with just one bidder, or none, we're told.
Expect the rapid growth in space launches to continue in coming years, driven by NASA and national security demands as well as by “almost unquenchable demand” for data via satellite connectivity, Peter Knickerbocker, Bank of America space practice manager, said Wednesday at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce aerospace conference in Washington. He said as many as 40,000 satellites could be in orbit by 2030. Knickerbocker also said venture capital investing in space dropped 50% in 2022, and investors' confidence will rebound when they see investment success stories.
Expect to see other MVPDs and programmers striking deals that marry traditional linear networks with streaming options, akin to the agreement Disney and Charter Communications struck ending their blackout 2309110034), pay-TV industry watchers and experts say. "It doesn't stop there," sports network and media rights consultant Lee Berke told us.
A year after the FCC adopted a five-year deorbit rule for low earth orbit (LEO) satellites (see 2209290017), space regulatory experts see the rule becoming a norm for many space operators, but it's less clear if many other countries will codify it into their own rules. Getting U.S. market access means agreeing to the five-year deorbit, which makes the U.S. rule a de facto international standard in many cases, they said.
Proposals from GOP presidential hopefuls Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to abolish the Commerce Department face long odds of coming to fruition, but space experts told us the calls raise new questions about how that would affect commercial space operations and the operators that the entity currently regulates. Right-leaning groups want a new Republican administration to consider restructuring Commerce’s space regulatory operations. House Communications Subcommittee leaders, meanwhile, believe the chamber can resurrect the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act (HR-1338) to revamp the FCC’s satellite regulatory process.
With a blackout of Disney channels on its channel lineup last week, Charter Communications unveiled Friday what it had been pitching to the programmer -- a plan for what it said was a sustainable video model that marries linear video with direct-to-consumer (D2C) apps. Without buy-in to this model, Charter is "moving on" from the traditional video distribution model, Charter CEO Chris Winfrey said in a call Friday with analysts and media. "This is not a typical carriage dispute," he said.
NTIA expects that 90% of broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) equipment spending will go for American-made equipment and materials, said NTIA Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG) Policy Advisor Will Arbuckle Wednesday in an FTI Consulting webinar. That expectation stems from an NTIA analysis of the availability of American-made items and from numerous companies announcing capacity expansion, he said. "We don't think we are done," with more companies announcing manufacturing expansions to fill BEAD made-in-America demand, he said.
FCC commenters disagreed about whether there's consumer confusion concerning the price of cable and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) video service, with video providers warning in docket 23-203 replies l that the FCC's "all-in" video pricing proposal will cause rather than fix consumer uncertainty. Confusion is already here, countered locality and broadcast interests. The sides also continued to disagree about whether the commission has legal authority for its pricing disclosure proposal. Initial comments made similar points (see 2308010028). The all-in pricing NPRM was adopted in June (see 2306200042).