ITU member states at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference were uninterested in studying the 12.7-13.25 GHz band for international mobile telecommunications, and instead adopted provisions to expand satellite operations there, Intelsat told FCC staffers, according to a docket 22-352 filing Friday. With the 12.7 GHz band intended to provide equitable access to geostationary orbit for ITU member states, any FCC action allowing terrestrial mobile use of the band "would not be aligned with international use and would lack the benefits of international harmonization," Intelsat told representatives of the Wireless and Space bureaus and Office of Engineering and Technology.

Pointing to the FCC denying SpaceX permission for direct-to-device operations in the 2 GHz band (see 2403270002), Sateliot in a Space Bureau filing posted Thursday argued that its pending petition for U.S. market access shouldn't be subject to similar dismissal. Sateliot has requested FCC OK for its proposed narrowband constellation of 10 small satellites operating in the 2 GHz band that would provide IoT applications on a wholesale basis in areas where partner mobile network operators lack terrestrial coverage. In an amendment to its pending petition, Sateliot said the FCC's 2010 decision to restrict additional mobile satellite service (MSS) access to the 2 GHz band was reasonable then but didn't foresee adoption of the agency's smallsat rules, which are based on compatibility with existing and future operations. It said the agency also didn't foresee standards-based, multiband IoT equipment compatible with terrestrial operations. Given those changed circumstances, the FCC should consider a waiver on the outdated restriction of additional MSS operations in the 2 GHz band, Sateliot said. Commission rules require that smallsat systems are compatible with existing operations and not constrain additional access to the spectrum, it said. Sateliot said it complies with those requirements due to its limited constellation size, its provision of connectivity only in the absence of MNO terrestrial coverage, and its use of standards-based IoT terminals compatible with terrestrial operations.

Xplore hopes to launch an Xcube-1 remote sensing small satellite on a SpaceX rideshare between Q4 this year and Q2 2025, the company told the FCC Space Bureau in an application posted Tuesday seeking permission to launch and operate the satellite. The company said it plans a low earth orbit constellation that will provide remote sensing data products and edge computing on multiple payload computers.

The FCC's supplemental coverage from space (SCS) framework adopted at the March open meeting (see 2403140050) gives AST SpaceMobile a path to more than 200 Mhz of spectrum for direct-to-device services, CEO Abel Avellan said Monday evening as the company announced Q4 results. He said the framework also should facilitate AST's pending applications with the FCC. AST expects that many regulatory agencies globally will follow the U.S. SCS regime, he said, offering Brazil's proposed SCS framework as an example. He said its five Block I Bluebird satellites should launch in July or August, with the first of its Block II satellites launching between December 2024 and March 2025. The investment of AT&T, Google and Vodafone announced in January (see 2401180068) gives AST funding to launch the Block I satellites and the initial Block IIs, Avellan said. He added the Google agreement also includes collaboration on product development. "It’s super strategic for us" and will "create value on the Android ecosystem for our customers and end users," he said. Startup AST reported no revenue for the quarter.

Capella is seeking FCC Space Bureau sign-off to add two more satellites to an existing authorization. In an application posted Monday for authority to modify its license, the company said Acadia-5 and Acadia-6 would join its authorization for Acadia-1 through -4. The company said 10 of its 13 satellites already authorized -- the Acadias and Capella-2 through Capella-10 -- are deployed. Acadia-5 and -6 are slated to launch in Q3 and Q4, respectively, said Capella. The earth imaging company said the two additional satellites will let it offer a wider variety of imagery and other data products.

The government of Canada agreed to make a loan of roughly $1.58 billion to help fund Telesat's planned Lightspeed low earth orbit constellation, Telesat said Monday. The first Lightspeeds are scheduled for launch in June 2026 and offer full global coverage and service by the end of 2027 (see 2403280044).

SpaceX could quickly become a major player in the emerging optical communications terminal (OCT) market, Quilty Space wrote Monday. The company said last month at Satellite 2024 that it would begin selling the product. SpaceX probably doesn't envision being a supplier as a major commercial opportunity, but likely sees this as a way of driving interoperability standards, Quilty said. SpaceX pushing its optical inter-satellite link system could help it set terminal inter-satellite link standards, Quilty said. The company also likely sees an opportunity to drive network traffic onto its Starlink system via integration of its OCTs onto others' satellites, it said.

SpaceX's successful small satellite rideshare launch program limits launch startups' "latitude for making mistakes," Ill-Defined Space's John Holst blogged Friday. He said SpaceX's Starship heavy launch vehicle "will narrow that even more." And Chinese launch operators potentially could "be more devastating" than SpaceX on other smalllsat launchers, he said. Many startups are ignoring the value proposition SpaceX offers for launching smallsats cheaply.

Aerkomm plans to combine with special purpose acquisition company IX Acquisition Corp. to take Aerkomm public, the California satellite communications technology company said Friday. The combined business will be called Akom, it said. The transaction should close in Q3, pending approval of IX and Aerkomm shareholders, it said.

Telesat expects a "significant" revenue decline this year in its geostationary orbit business owing to cord-cutting and increased SpaceX competition, CEO Dan Goldberg said as the company announced Q4 2023 results Thursday. However, in a call with analysts, Goldberg said the company doesn't expect a similar decline in future fiscal years. He said Telesat anticipates video-related declines this year due to cord-cutting continuing to erode its direct-to-home service. Telesat also is seeing notable declines in its maritime connectivity business with customers increasingly seeking low earth orbit (LEO) service and many of them migrating to SpaceX's Starlink, he added. "If anything, the transition to LEO is happening a little faster than even we expected," Goldberg said, which validates Telesat's investment in its Lightspeed LEO constellation. The company said it posted revenue of roughly $520 million for 2023, and expects 2024 revenue of $402 million to $417 million. Goldberg said Telesat is hiring aggressively as it develops Lightspeed. The company ended 2023 with nearly 500 employees, with 35% of them working on Lightspeed, he said. Head count at 2024's end will near 740 with about half working on Lightspeed. The first Lightspeeds are to launch in June 2026, and offer full global coverage and service by the end of 2027, he said.