The FCC needs "data-agnostic" earth exploration satellite service rules and an easier approval process for technically identical satellites to bring EESS in line with the rules for other satellite services, Spire Global representatives told FCC officials, per a docket 18-313 filing Friday. It urged "a holistic review" of license conditions "to restore certainty, consistency, and predictability among similarly-situated licensees." Spire also urged the agency to approve its pending request to use the 400 MHz band in the U.S. for mobile satellite service. The filing recapped meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington.
The C-band accelerated clearing Phase II certification framework "is long overdue," with multiple satellite operators having wrapped up all their relocation obligations, Eutelsat representatives told FCC International and Wireless bureaus and Office of General Counsel staffers, per a filing forthcoming in docket 18-122. Further delay raises the risk of harmful interference to incumbent C-band satellite services when Verizon begins rolling out terrestrial operations in the band, it said. It urged the Wireless Bureau to verify that ubiquitous earth station filtering is in place before terrestrial transmissions start. A Phase II validation would provide confidence those earth stations will operate properly after the launch of terrestrial service. Eutelsat also urged the bureau to set up compliance obligations and an oversight process to ensure the service to incumbent C-band earth station operators not covered by a validated certification is protected before any terrestrial licensee starts service.
SpaceX's application for review seeking to have the authorization for Amazon's Kuiper be amended to include conditions on second-generation Starlinks (see 2302240027) raises arguments the FCC already addressed and rejected in the Kuiper orbital debris modification order, Amazon told the International Bureau Wednesday. The application gives no reason "to reverse those well-founded conclusions," it said. Kuiper and SpaceX aren't similarly situated in relevant ways, it said. The object-years condition imposed on SpaceX reflected the thousands of satellites it has in orbit, while Kuiper "has no comparable number," it said. The second-gen licensing was in tranches to monitor operational issues given SpaceX's "unprecedentedly large request," while Kuiper is a tenth the size and in line with previous FCC authorizations where there was no such limit, it said.
Space Norway asked the FCC for a one-year extension of the 50% milestone deadline in its U.S. market access authorization, granted in 2017 (see 1711030063). In an International Bureau application Wednesday, it said its Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission constellation ran into unavoidable production-related delays, with manufacturer Northrop Grumman shifting resources from SN's two satellites to its C-band satellite contracts with Intelsat and SES. Northrop Grumman then ran into supply chain and COVID-19 pandemic problems, causing further delays, SN said. It's requesting the milestone date be moved to Nov. 3, 2024. It said the earliest it could launch is November this year, but a 2024 launch is more likely.
The penultimate launch for OneWeb's to complete its constellation's global footprint should come Thursday, with 40 of its first-generation satellites scheduled to go up from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket, it said this week. The 40 would bring the total number of OneWeb satellites in orbit to 582.
Capella Space seeks FCC OK to launch and operate its Acadia-1 and Acadia-2 low earth orbit satellites to provide earth exploration satellite service. The Acadias are its next generation of satellites, following its Capella satellites, seven of which have been deployed, it said in an International Bureau application Tuesday. Capella plans to launch Acadia-1 and -2 in Q2 and Q3 of this year.
To show its second-generation satellite constellation would meet ITU power limits, SpaceX arbitrarily shrank the exclusion zones protecting geostationary satellites, Dish Network told the FCC International Bureau this week. It said it came to that conclusion after analyzing the equivalent power flux density data files provided by SpaceX. It said SpaceX's exclusion zones violate ITU rules and go against the company's own representations to the FCC. Rather than making a noncompliant submission to the ITU, the FCC shouldn't forward the files, Dish said. Either that or forward them but advise the ITU that the exclusion zone is inaccurate, it said. Dish said the FCC also should ask SpaceX to produce documentation about its exclusion zone decision because it "may prove what is already apparent -- that this was a trial-and-error exercise aimed at picking the exclusion zone angle that attempts to display compliance ... based on a fallacy." SpaceX didn't comment Wednesday.
AST SpaceMobile and defense communications company Fairwinds Technologies are partnering on ways to market AST's planned direct-to-device satellite service to the military market, the satellite operator said Monday.
Viasat's planned buy of Inmarsat likely won't hurt broadband inflight connectivity competition in the U.K., its Competition & Markets Authority said in a provisional finding last week. The European Commission is also investigating the deal's potential competitive effects (see 2302130038).
Viasat, Ligado and Skylo Technologies are entering the direct-to-handset service provider marketplace, with Viasat announcing Thursday a nonbinding memorandum of understanding among the three to offer service via Ligado's SkyTerra satellite network. Viasat said it and Ligado have offered a variety of mobile satellite services over SkyTerra for years, and the MOU agreement adds Skylo technology, sales and services. It said the three plan to launch commercial services this year, including smartphone messaging, wearable connectivity and IoT services across market segments including consumer smartphone, automotive and defense applications. Skylo announced this week it and Intelsat were partnering with Deutsche Telekom on a hybrid terrestrial/satellite IoT service offering to be commercially available starting in Q2.