The FCC<\/b> rejected calls to change how it licenses MSS spectrum, dismissing a request by SpaceX <\/b>and other operators to enter certain spectrum bands. <\/p>\n
In an order issued Thursday, the FCC reaffirmed Globalstar<\/b> and Iridium<\/b>\u2019s exclusive operating rights in spectrum referred to as the \u201cBig LEO\u201d band, a swath of mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum for Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) operations. <\/p>\n
The ruling dismissed requests from SpaceX, Kepler Communications<\/b>, Sateliot<\/b>, and AST SpaceMobile<\/b> requesting market access in portions of MSS spectrum. It also dismisses a request from SpaceX to allow new entrants in the MSS band, and a request from Iridium<\/b> to revise the Big LEO plan. <\/p>\n
The decision reaffirms the FCC\u2019s approach to the \u201cBig LEO\u201d spectrum bands \u2014 that these bands are not available to license an additional MSS system. The FCC concluded that spectrum-sharing the Big LEO is impractical, and there were public interest reasons to maintain the regulatory regime. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe licensees, over the years, have developed substantial systems providing multiple types of services with a significant customer base. They have designed equipment to maximize operations relying on the current MSS regulatory and technical environment with the expectation of exclusive use of the spectrum,\u201d the order says. \u201cThe band plan provides for service continuity and the ability to replace systems over time. We find no policy or public interest reasons to overhaul the current licensing framework.\u201d <\/p>\n
SpaceX has filed multiple requests to enter parts of this band. The FCC previously rejected another request in 2024 to modify the Gen2 Starlink constellation application to introduce an MSS component<\/p>\n
Yet the ruling wasn\u2019t all bad news for SpaceX. In the case of Sateliot and AST SpaceMobile, the requests were dealing with 2 GHz spectrum, which is incumbent to EchoStar. The FCC rejected their requests to enter the band \u2014 upholding decisions that this band can only be used by one operator in the United States. <\/p>\n
Those licenses will be transferred to SpaceX with the spectrum sale between EchoStar and SpaceX announced in September. <\/p>\n
The ruling gives regulatory certainty to the spectrum behind two ongoing transactions \u2014 SpaceX\u2019s purchase of EchoStar spectrum including the 2 GHz band, and Amazon\u2019s purchase of Globalstar. <\/p>\n
The FCC\u2019s rationale also pointed to \u201csignificant\u201d harmful interference challenges to allowing additional uses in these bands, and not wanting to risk the \u201cinvestment, growth, and innovation afforded in the current Big LEO structure,\u201d the ruling said.<\/p>\n
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement that American consumers stand to be the \u201cwinners\u201d in direct-to-device (D2D) innovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FCC is laser-focused this year on making our rules as friendly as possible for investment and innovation in D2D services. We are taking important actions this week to give this exciting industry the clarity it needs to build satellite systems and invest in spectrum confidently,\u201d Carr said, also pointing to the FCC\u2019s approval of AST SpaceMobile\u2019s service earlier this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The FCC rejected calls to change how it licenses MSS spectrum, dismissing a request by SpaceX and other operators to enter certain spectrum bands. In an order issued Thursday, the FCC reaffirmed Globalstar and Iridium\u2019s exclusive operating rights in spectrum referred to as the \u201cBig LEO\u201d band, a swath of mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47084,"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":[],"class_list":["post-47083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47083"}],"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=47083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}