As part of its efforts to streamline the space application review process (see 2212210054), the FCC could allow operators to make minor modifications without needing prior FCC review, which would reduce the number of applications the staff needs to review, SpaceX said Tuesday in docket 22-411. Meeting with Space Bureau Chief Julie Kearney, the company also urged standardized information collection, use of self-certifications and checkboxes instead of legal narratives, letting operators submit a single modification application for a common change across multiple earth station licenses, and automatic renewals of special temporary authorities while an underlying application is being processed. SpaceX also backed use of shot clocks when processing earth station and satellite applications.

SpaceX/T-Mobile plans for supplemental coverage from space (SCS) using the PCS G Block (see 2302080001) are facing multiple interference criticisms. SpaceX and T-Mobile claim deployments in the PCS G Block won't interfere with adjacent channel terrestrial mobile service but don't substantiate that, AT&T said Tuesday in docket 23-135, urging the FCC not to authorize the SCS deployment until non-interference is proven. Dish Network said SpaceX is trying "to prematurely shoehorn" a SCS service into rules not designed for that, raising interference risks for G Block and adjacent band services. It said SpaceX still hasn't addressed such fundamental questions as how SpaceX transmissions won't compound T-Mobile terrestrial transmissions, raising the potential that they overwhelm adjacent band filters, and what's the timeline for launch of SpaceX Starlinks with a new antenna. Omnispace said T-Mobile's arguments about interference overlook the fact SpaceX satellites use higher power and antenna gain than T-Mobile terrestrial base stations. It said approval must await the companies addressing interference risks from SpaceX's SCS G Block downlinks into existing S-band mobile satellite service operators' uplinks.

Low earth orbit (LEO) should fall under the National Environmental Policy Act's scope, said Michael Runnels, California State University business law assistant professor, in a Journal of Air Law and Commerce article last week. He urged changes to federal law to include the orbital environment under NEPA's scope, which in turn would give the FCC clear Congressional authorization to regulate orbital debris. He said the FCC not substantively enforcing NEPA in LEO creates a "regulatory void" that could lead to more orbital debris. Needing changes are Title 42, regarding public health, and Title 47, on the structure and duties of the FCC, he said.

Before the FCC sets a degraded throughput threshold for protecting satellite systems authorized in different processing rounds, there should be more technical analysis to avoid limiting efficient use of spectrum, Kepler said Tuesday in docket 21-456. It said defining a maximum number of non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite systems in a particular frequency band "may induce a first-come, first-served approach" that might exclude the potential for subsequent rounds. Commissioners voted 4-0 at their April meeting to adopt an order and Further NPRM on spectrum sharing procedures for systems approved in different processing rounds (see 22304200039).

Any FCC waiver letting Amazon's Kuiper start operations before a needed ITU finding (see 2303300001) should be predicated on the company sharing equivalent power flux density (EPFD) output files produced by the ITUs compliance software, SES/O3b told the Space Bureau Monday. Kuiper committed to making available input data for ITU evaluation of EPFD compliance, but both input and output files are needed to confirm EPFD compliance, they said. Amazon is trying "to cherry pick conditions for itself" by arguing it should be subject to only some of the conditions the FCC placed on SpaceX's second-generation Starlink constellation, SpaceX said .

With the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector having received answers to questions it had about Eutelsat's proposed takeover of OneWeb, the Committee resumed its review of the deal, it told the FCC Space Bureau Monday. It said the 120-day review period is scheduled to end Aug. 14. Eutelsat/OneWeb was announced in July (see 2207250041).

Citing unavoidable factors, including weather, for the 12-day delay of the ViaSat-3 launch, Viasat asked the FCC Space Bureau for a one-month extension of its milestone deadline to June 30. In an application posted Thursday, Viasat said it made "significant progress" in on-station deployment of the Ka-band geostationary orbit satellite, but the process isn't complete and it hasn't started commercial operations. ViaSat-3 launched at the end of April (see 2305010013).

Amazon's Kuiper and Iridium reached a coordination agreement for use of the 19.3-19.7 GHz and 29.1-29.5 GHz bands, which was a condition on deployment of the Kuiper constellation, the companies told the FCC Space Bureau this week.

All the C-band clearing actions necessary to satisfy the Phase II relocation deadline are done, Telesat said Thursday in docket 18-122, filing its accelerated relocation certification. Thursday was the first day C-band satellite operators could file their Phase II certifications under procedures the FCC Wireless Bureau issued last month (see 2305150039). Telesat's initial plan had been to do both Phase I and Phase II ahead of the Phase I December 2021 deadline, but more Phase II clearance work that was identified delayed that timing, the company said in an accompanying update to its transition plan.

Viasat has closed on its Inmarsat purchase, it said Wednesday. The $7.3 billion deal was announced in late 2021 (see 2111080038). It said New Viasat's corporate headquarters will continue to be in Carlsbad, California, with its international business headquarters to be in London.