The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved SpaceX\u2019s request to deploy an additional 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, a move that expands regulatory clearance for the company\u2019s low-Earth-orbit broadband network as it seeks to enhance global internet coverage.<\/p>\n
The decision brings the total number of authorized Gen2 Starlink satellites to 15,000, roughly half of the nearly 30,000 spacecraft SpaceX has ultimately proposed. The FCC also cleared SpaceX to upgrade the satellites, operate across five frequency bands, and waived earlier conditions that limited overlapping coverage and capacity enhancements.<\/p>\n
According to the FCC, the newly approved satellites are expected to support direct-to-cell connectivity outside the United States and provide supplemental coverage domestically, enabling next-generation mobile services and internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis FCC authorization is a game-changer for enabling next-generation services,\u201d FCC Chair Brendan Carr said. \u201cBy authorizing 15,000 new and advanced satellites, the FCC has given SpaceX the green light to deliver unprecedented satellite broadband capabilities, strengthen competition, and help ensure that no community is left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regulator said it was approving the expansion despite the Gen2 upgrade satellites not yet being fully tested in orbit, while deferring a decision on the remaining 14,988 satellites sought by SpaceX, including those proposed for operations above 600 kilometers in altitude.<\/p>\n
Under the authorization, SpaceX must deploy and operate at least half of the approved Gen2 satellites by Dec. 1, 2028, with the remainder to be launched by December 2031. The FCC also set a deadline of late November 2027 for SpaceX to complete deployment of 7,500 first-generation Starlink satellites.<\/p>\n
The approval comes as SpaceX continues to adjust its constellation architecture. Starlink said last week it plans to lower satellites currently orbiting at about 550 kilometers to 480 kilometers during 2026, citing space-safety considerations. In December, the company disclosed that one satellite experienced an on-orbit anomaly that produced a small amount of debris and disrupted communications.<\/p>\n
SpaceX, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is the world\u2019s largest satellite operator, with about 9,400 Starlink satellites currently in orbit providing broadband services to consumers, governments and enterprises. Former FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has previously called for greater competition in satellite broadband, noting in 2024 that Starlink then accounted for nearly two-thirds of all active satellites.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved SpaceX\u2019s request to deploy an additional 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, a move that expands regulatory clearance for the company\u2019s low-Earth-orbit broadband network as it seeks to enhance global internet coverage. The decision brings the total number of authorized Gen2 Starlink satellites to 15,000, roughly half of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6005,277,1720,20,316,440,5841],"class_list":["post-19971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-brendan-carr","tag-fcc","tag-federal-communications-commission","tag-satellite","tag-spacex","tag-starlink","tag-united-states"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}