Having multiple earth stations in motion sharing a channel is very different from having a single ESIM operate on that channel continuously, Iridium said in a docket 17-95 FCC filing posted Friday on a meeting with Office of Engineering and Technology staff including Chief Julius Knapp. The company said its interference concern isn't that constantly operating ESIM terminals will overload a non-geostationary orbit satellite receiver but that bursts of short-term interference that disrupt NGSO feeder links will be too frequent. That's why it's important to know the number of ESIMs operating a particular region, and their locations over time, alongside basic operating parameters, when defining realistic exclusion zones, it said. Iridium said it repeated its arguments against allowing ESIM deployment 29.25-29.3 GHz band (see 1801180052).

Boeing remains at odds with other satellite operators about how to read the Section 25.159 of FCC rules for the controlling interest standard. Satellite operators opposing Boeing's transfer of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite applications to Greg Wyler's SOM1101 argue Wyler has control over OneWeb because he's a member of OneWeb's board, but that runs against a "common sense reading" of rules, Boeing said in an International Bureau proceeding letter posted Wednesday. It said adopting opponents' read the section could lead to "ripple effects" throughout telco and satellite industries in cases where executives sit on other company boards. Boeing said its initial applications were legitimate and not filed for spectrum warehousing or speculation purposes, and the burden is on objectors to prove otherwise. Iridium, Telesat Canada, O3b and SpaceX earlier this month (see here, here, here and here) argued 25.159 said individual directors were attributable interest holders under the multiple-ownership rule and thus OneWeb Chairman Wyler holds attributable interest in that company and its NGSO systems, as well as owning SOM1101. O3b said the FCC should deny the Boeing-to-SOM1101 amendments and dismiss Boeing's NGSO system applications in question since the company has no interest in pursuing them. SOM1101 and Boeing disagree with other satellite companies over the issue of Wyler's control of OneWeb (see 1803010006).

A combination of "nimbler" low earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary smallsats alongside "highly capable" larger satellites is a flexible route to tackling shifting consumer, enterprise and government requirements, Northern Sky Research's Carolyn Belle blogged Wednesday. Commercial operators recently announced plans to go that route, including Eutelsat and startup Astranis, joining the ranks of previously announced partnerships such as Intelsat/OneWeb, Telesat's LEO, JSAT/LeoSat and Iridium/Hiber, she said.

BlackSky Global is seeking FCC International Bureau approval for a non-geostationary orbit earth exploration satellite service. In an application Tuesday, it said its initial plans are for four satellites operating in the X, S, L and UHF bands, but its constellation could expand to 60. The company has an experimental license application pending for the first satellite in its constellation, Global-1, and said it plans to seek commercial authorization for it once the test phase is complete.

OneWeb wants FCC approval for nearly tripling its non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite constellation granted U.S. market access in June (see 1706220039) from 720 satellites to 1,980. The International Bureau application Monday follows a pending ask for FCC OK to amend V-band broadband constellation application from 1,280 satellites to 2,560 (see 1801050002). OneWeb said it's seeking the modification in light of relaxed milestone rules for NGSOs adopted in September (see 1709260035), leading it "to reassess what it can achieve under the newly expanded milestone timeframe." The company pointed to those new milestone rules when it asked in January for the V-band constellation changes. In the latest filing, OneWeb said the move to 1,980 satellites is "another logical step" in its business plans of global broadband connectivity by 2027. It said it has market approval for the Ka- and Ku-bands the constellation would employ, and the additional satellites wouldn't increase interference risk. OneWeb said the additional satellites give it more tools for protection from interference and service interruptions coming from in-line events involving other satellite operators. It said it and other NGSO operators already are "expending substantial effort" in good-faith coordination talks. Satellite experts predicted the September NGSO rules changes might lead to other amendments to applications (see 1801100044).

The Broadband Access Coalition urged the FCC to marry a plan by Intel and Intelsat for clearing 3.7 GHz spectrum (see 1710020047) with BAC’s own plan for the 3.7-4.2 GHz band (see 1708080050). “The BAC supports a win-win-win solution,” said a filing in docket 17-183. “The Commission can achieve this win-win-win solution by combining the Intelsat/Intel and BAC proposals. These proposals are not inconsistent with one another.” BAC said the Intel/Intelsat plan on its own isn’t enough. “Standing by itself, the Intelsat/Intel concept will do nothing to provide broadband service to unserved and underserved communities, and therefore, it fails to address Chairman [Ajit] Pai’s top priority: closing the digital divide.” BAC said no one knows how much spectrum fixed satellite service operators need or are using, because the federal database is inadequate. “What Intel appears to be proposing is that FSS satellite operators be given carte blanche to determine (1) how much spectrum they can make available; (2) what frequencies they can make available; and (3) how much to charge for this spectrum,” BAC said. “This is absurd.” AT&T said in a recent filing it supports BAC efforts for the FCC to obtain more information from satellite operators on their use of the band and would go even further. AT&T said, for example, FSS operators should have to provide: “Specification of earth station coordinates and receiver parameters relevant for co-existence studies, including but not limited to reliable 3D coordinates; azimuth and elevation directions of the antenna boresight; receiver antenna pattern, including gain and tilt; center frequency and bandwidth; noise figure; and information on the front end for the receiver to calculate minimum guard and power restrictions from co and adjacent channel operations.”

Pointing to its goal of protecting positioning, navigation and timing services delivered via GPS, the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation (RNTF) in an FCC docket 11-109 letter posted Thursday to Chairman Ajit Pai and the regular commissioners opposed "any efforts" resulting in harmful interference to PNT services. It also included recent opinion pieces by members of the National Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Advisory Board (see 1708070025) and by the Phoenix Center (see 1703210060) that questioned Ligado's planned terrestrial low-power broadband service as potentially being a major interference threat to GPS. RNTF didn't mention Ligado in its filing and didn't comment Friday. Ligado didn't comment.

OneWeb's ask to double the size of its proposed V-band broadband constellation (see 1801050002) and to employ the 12.2-12.7 GHz band constitutes a "newly filed application" and should go to the back of the queue and trigger a new processing round. That's what MVDDS 5G Coalition representatives including from Dish Network, Go Long Wireless and Vision Broadband told International and Wireless bureau staffers, according to an IB proceeding filing posted Wednesday. The coalition said at minimum, the FCC shouldn't consider the OneWeb proposed amendment until it's placed on public notice. It said members hold numerous licenses in the band for multichannel video and data distribution service and direct broadcast satellite services and it has been urging the FCC to open up that band to 5G. OneWeb didn't comment Thursday.

Since 2000, startup space ventures -- companies that began as angel- and venture capital-backed startups -- have attracted $18.4-plus billion in investment, Bryce Space and Technology reported Tuesday. Most of that has come in recent years, with $2.4 billion in 2015, $3 billion in 2016 and $2.5 billion last year, it said. The early 2000s had an average of four funded space companies starting annually, but the average has been 19 annually over the past six years, Bryce said. It said 2017's $2.5 billion figure involved 164 investors putting money into 73 startup ventures -- up from 136 investors and 65 ventures the year before. About 75 of all investment -- and 90 percent of seed and angel investment -- came from U.S. investors since 2015, it said.

With satellite on the verge of being a notable competitor in broadband services and a key part of the IoT (see 1803130029), the FCC needs to build on its history of promoting fixed satellite service broadband and keep approval of new, satellite-based services a top priority, Free State Foundation Senior Fellow Seth Cooper blogged Wednesday. He said the agency needs to continue to prioritize streamlining satellite service rules and clearing spectrum for commercial satellite use, urging making "suitable spectrum available in a timely fashion for new satellite technologies and services" and pointing to Ligado's proposed broadband terrestrial low-power service.