Arguments against Swarm being part of the non-voice non-geostationary mobile satellite service processing round are just trying to keep "a dynamic, technologically innovative, and well-funded competitor from competing," the company said in an FCC International Bureau consolidated opposition Monday. The precedent of denying or deferring action involves applications that came years after an initial processing round cut-off date, while Swarm narrowly missed the deadline and it had its petition for market access filed before the commission took action on other applications, it said. The opposition was in response to Hiber, Myriota and Kineis petitions to defer or dismiss or arguments against Swarm's market access ask.
Myriota's 2019 petition to provide non-voice non-geostationary orbit mobile satellite service in the U.S. using an Australia-licensed satellite constellation (see 1908160043) is approved, the FCC International Bureau ordered Friday.
The FCC International Bureau extended the launch and operation milestone for Viasat's Viasat-3 satellite from June 19, 2019, until the end of 2021, said an order in Friday's Daily Digest amending its U.S. market access grant. The bureau also approved removing the 19.7-20.2 GHz downlink and 29.5-30 GHz uplink bands and adding the 17.7-18.3 GHz, 19.3-19.4 GHz and 19.6-19.7 GHz downlink and the 27.5-28.1 GHz and 29.25-29.5 GHz uplink.
Loft Orbital scaled back microsatellite constellation plans (see 1908080003). The company asked in an FCC International Bureau filing Wednesday to amend its application to one IoT satellite that would use the 400.05-400.15 MHz downlink band and 864-925 MHz uplink. Its 2019 application was for 10 microsatellites. It expects September launch.
Communications and Power Industries shouldn't be allowed to buy General Dynamics' Satcom Technologies subsidiary until CPI sells its ASC Signal Division subsidiary, or CPI could end up with too tight a grip on the commercial and military geostationary orbit satellite antenna marketplace, said a DOJ Antitrust Division Clayton Act complaint (docket 20-cv-01416 ) filed Thursday with U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It said minus the CPI/GD Satcom competition, DOJ and commercial satcom customers would likely face higher prices, lower quality and diminished innovation. The lawsuit targets General Dynamics, CPI and owner Odyssey Investment Partners. In an accompanying proposed final judgment, DOJ said it and the defendants agreed to CPI selling all ASC Signal assets within 60 days of the court's order or 30 days after regulatory approvals are received.
With the FCC allocating part of the lower C band for terrestrial services, New Spectrum Satellite wants to move feeder links for its planned 15-satellite non-geostationary orbit constellation (see 1707270023) from the C and K bands to the Ka band, it said in an International Bureau letter of intent filed Tuesday.
Intelsat is about a year behind in its required funding of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, ITSO said in a motion Sunday (in Pacer, petition 20-32299) asking U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond for relief to allow it to go ahead with an arbitration proceeding with Intelsat before the International Chamber of Commerce. It said it submitted a FY 2020 budget of $1.85 million and a FY 2021 budget of $1.9 million. ITSO said after using up its reserves, it has been operating on $101,000 in interim funding provided by Intelsat, though that "falls far short" of its FY 2020 budget and will run out in July. Intelsat didn't comment Tuesday.
The Commerce Department's revised commercial remote sensing regulation released last week, with a streamlining of the licensing process, "will help enable continued innovation, decrease regulatory and licensing delays and ensure American leadership in commercial space and satellite remote sensing," the Satellite Industry Association said Friday.
Expecting C-band affected parties to make critical investments without the certitude of a finalized cost catalog is "unreasonable," SES said in a docket 18-122 posting opposing delaying the catalog finalization. Even a 30-day delay means "a cascading series of interruptions" in the FCC's C-band clearing schedule, it said. The catalog was based on stakeholder input and is largely thorough and accurate, SES said, saying further adjustments could be done without actions as disruptive as wholesale delay.
Orbital debris is a global issue, and actions by individual countries -- including the FCC's rules update in April (see 2004230040) -- won't significantly affect space sustainability or improve prospects for in-orbit services like end-of-life satellite disposal, Northern Sky Research analyst Shagun Sachdeva blogged Thursday.