FCC Issues NGSO FSS Rules Update NPRM
The FCC could make more spectrum available in the 17.8-18.3 GHz band for fixed satellite service (FSS) systems on a secondary basis, said a proposal approved unanimously and earlier set for a vote at Thursday's commissioners' meeting (see 1612140067 and…
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1612150048) and then OK'ed instead on circulation. In an NPRM adopted Wednesday and released Thursday on proposed updates to Part 2 and Part 25 rules to accommodate the boom in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation plans (see 1610210055), it said it also is considering more flexibility in the 18.3-18.6 GHz, 18.8-19.4 GHz, 19.6-20.2 GHz and 29.3-29.5 GHz bands, though they would be subject to terrestrial coordination. The NPRM also proposes rationalizing agency rules with international power limits on NGSO FSS operations in parts of the 17.8-20.2 GHz and 27.5-30 GHz bands and amending satellite milestone and geographic coverage rules. And the agency said it wanted comment on different criteria for spectrum sharing among NGSO FSS systems. The agency said the proposed updates to NGSO FSS rules were prompted by the proposed Boeing (see 1607110043) and OneWeb (see 1604290016) constellations highlighting a need for updating rules instituted more than a decade ago. It said allowing secondary FSS use in the 17.8-20.2 GHz band and new FSS operations in the 19.3-19.4 GHz, 19.6-19.7 GHz, and 29.3-29.5 GHz bands would codify existing practices and formally allow OneWeb's proposed spectrum use. The agency said rules allow spectrum sharing by letting NGSO FSS systems operate throughout its authorized band except during in-line events -- when the topocentric angle between the satellites is less than 10 degrees -- but it wanted comment on whether the separation-angle trigger should be increased or decreased. It wants comment on possible adoption of effective isotropic radiated power density limits for NGSO FSS uplink transmissions. And it proposed changing the six-year milestone obligation for NGSO systems so having 75 percent of an authorized constellation launched and in operation would be sufficient to meet the requirement. Comments are due 45 days after Federal Register publication.