The supplemental coverage from space (SCS) NPRM approved last month (see 2303160009) seems designed to facilitate satellite having a broader role in consumer connectivity than just emergency communications and messaging, Sheppard Mullins' Drew Svor and Emily Dalessio blogged Friday. They said the FCC's "traditional, siloed approach to licensing" and its ability to move quickly on SCS applications might be challenged by big numbers of applications from satellite and mobile network operators.
Current FCC space licensing, regulatory fee and spectrum management regimes often don't work well with many novel space activities, Venable space lawyer Laura Stefani blogged Thursday. The agency is working on new policies, but it's unclear if it "will do enough, fast enough, to provide regulatory relief and certainty," she said. Congress also needs to clearly define different agencies' roles in regulating the space industry, especially as conservative judges "are looking for clear, specific delegations of statutory authority to uphold major agency actions," she said.
AST SpaceMobile expects to launch five of its Block 1 BlueBird satellites in Q1 2024, with launches of its next-generation Block 2 satellites to start later that year, executives said in a call with analysts Friday as the company announced its Q4 2022 financial results. Chief Financial Officer Sean Wallace said the company ended the year with about $239 million in cash on hand, and that, plus its ability to raise funds, should cover its needs for the next 12 months, including the Block 1 satellites. The Block 2 satellites should have improved RF capabilities, executives said. Asked about the FCC's proceeding on supplemental coverage from space (see 2303160009), CEO and founder Abel Avellan said it was "very, very encouraging" for AST's plans because such a direct-to-handset service framework could encourage partnerships between space operators and terrestrial carriers. He said he expects other nations to do similarly. Asked about Germany’s BNetzA requirement that AST SpaceMobile shut off operations when its satellite is within radio visibility of the country (see 2301110032), AST said it hasn't filed for regulatory approval in Germany.
The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) launched its Operational Watch Center, staffed with analysts who monitor data feeds and produce reports on cyberthreats that could affect the space industry, it said Thursday. ISAC, comprised of private and public sector members and focused on protection of U.S. infrastructure, came from a Bill Clinton presidential directive.
OneWeb agreed to some DOJ national security and law enforcement conditions for the pending modification of its U.S. market access grant (see 2101130002), per an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. Among the conditions, it won't provide or allow access to records or domestic communications infrastructure to a foreign government or entity without prior written U.S. government consent.
Dish Network and EchoStar's opposition to SpaceX's use of the 2 GHz band for supplemental coverage from space (see 2303150048) ignores Dish's pledge years ago to provide mobile satellite service in the 2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz bands, though it did nothing, SpaceX told the FCC International Bureau last week. "Rather than deploying service, DISH deploys petitions," it said, saying Dish is upending FCC policy "by demanding that satellite operators show how they can protect terrestrial service -- in a satellite spectrum band." Dish didn't comment.
Kepler and Spire continue to urge FCC support for a small-satellite mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum allocation in the 2020-2025 MHz band. In an RM-11869 filing Thursday, they recapped a meeting with International Bureau staffers in which they said having 1 MHz for downlink and 4 MHz for uplink would help in alleviating spectrum bottlenecks faced by emerging MSS operators. The two petitioned for the allocation in 2020 (see 2012220049).
Since the FCC gave SpaceX a partial waiver letting it start operations before receiving a necessary ITU finding, Amazon's planned Kuiper constellation should receive the same treatment, Amazon told the International Bureau Wednesday. In an application for an amendment of its pending modification, Amazon said "uncertainty and delay" in the ITU process could threaten Kuiper deployment, so the commission should allow Kuiper to begin before receiving the usually needed equivalent power flux density findings from the ITU. It said it would take "all reasonable steps to eliminate any harmful interference" to geostationary orbit systems in frequency bands subject to ITU EPFD limits.
Telesat had hoped to have financing for its Lightspeed low earth orbit constellation wrapped up by 2022’s end, but “we’re not there yet,” CEO Dan Goldberg told investors Wednesday as it announced the year’s annual results. Goldberg said he's optimistic financing will be secured and it’s in discussions with equity investors. He said Telesat is still investing in Lightspeed development independent of that financing issue. “There’s a huge market for a well-engineered, enterprise-grade, enterprise-focused LEO constellation,” he said. He said it already got $4 billion in financing committed. In its annual report, Telesat said it won't meet the milestone date set by the FCC for Lightspeed's U.S. market access granted in 2020, and it plans to seek an extension. Asked about future geostationary orbit satellite launches, Goldberg said Telesat would replace or launch a GEO “if we’re convinced we’ve got a strong business case for it." There are no GEO replacement plans for 2023, he said.
Sunsetting non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service protection would create a "dangerous precedent" in other bands with long-standing interference protection, OneWeb said Wednesday in docket 21-456, recapping a meeting between company representatives and FCC International Bureau staff. Sunsetting two-degree spacing among geostationary FSS networks "would be unfathomable," and sunsetting NGSO FSS interference protection should be viewed the same way, it said. Instead, the agency should codify such mechanisms as good-faith coordination among NGSO operators, limiting use of default band splitting to systems in the same processing round requiring later-filed systems to protect earlier-authorized systems from interference, it said. The FCC said Wednesday that a draft order regarding NGSO FSS interference protection would be on its April agenda (see 2303290068).