The C-Band Alliance was founded by satellite operators to advocate for a band-clearing plan that would have them privately auction part of the band, receive the proceeds and jointly clear the spectrum, Intelsat emailed us Wednesday. The FCC opted instead for a public spectrum auction that treats each satellite operator individually, and with Intelsat using more than 60% of the band in the continental U.S., "it would logically follow that we stand to gain more," the company said. SES is seeking as part of Intelsat's bankruptcy up to $1.8 billion in damages for violating the CBA agreement (see 2007140029).
Technology mandates can stifle innovation and often are ineffective at addressing GPS service disruptions, the GPS Innovation Alliance commented to the National Institute for Standards and Technology. Only "vigorous enforcement" can keep illegal GPS jammers out of the hands of those wanting to use the technology for bad behavior, GPSIA said Monday. NIST is probing use of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services. The GPS industry supports exploring solutions to ways GPS signals can be threatened, though those solutions done in concert with the federal government require big development over time and the federal government needs to ensure its resources continue to be principally focused on maintaining and improving the existing system, GPSIA said. Global Navigation Satellite System signals are "obviously vulnerable" to jamming, ionospheric delay, poor satellite visibility in locations such as tunnels and parking garages, and the risk of errors in the signals themselves, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said. It advocated standards and practices for validating, authenticating and verifying PNT signals. It said to prevent signal spoofing, consideration should be given to authenticating the civilian GPS signal, and authenticated ground-based PNT should be available to supplement and back up satellite-based GPS.
A draft approval of Amazon's Kuiper 3,236-satellite non-geostationary orbit constellation (see 1907050053) is circulating among the FCC commissioners, Chairman Ajit Pai tweeted Friday. An FCC official told us Monday there are no remarkable conditions placed on Kuiper different from what other NGSO providers have received. We were told approval could be unanimous since it doesn't appear to be controversial, but the item also doesn't appear to be fast-tracked for the August agenda.
Ford is backing Swarm's ask for U.S. market access for a planned UHF non-voice non-geostationary satellite constellation (see 2003020002). Approval will help ensure global coverage of connected vehicles, Ford told FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a letter Thursday. The carmaker wrote in 2019 urging OK of Swarm's VHF NVNG constellation.
The FCC needs to update the standard for when a non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) fixed satellite service (FSS) modification application would be considered as part of a subsequent processing round and the criteria for modifications that presumptively warrant updated spectrum sharing, Amazon's Kuiper said in a petition for rulemaking Friday. Rules give little guidance to NGSO FSS licensees and applicants about when modifications will require consideration as part of a subsequent processing round or affect spectrum sharing. It said the current approach could lead to "perverse results," such as an applicant filing speculative applications for satellites it never plans to launch to avoid losing the spectrum sharing rights and processing round status that would come with a modification seeking to increase the number of satellites. The company said rules should presume such modifications as changes in apogee or perigee by more than 10 kilometers in altitude, changes in orbital inclination of more than two degrees or changes that materially increase the number of or length of in-line interference events would be considered in a subsequent processing round.
Whatever way the FCC goes on whether C-band earth station lump sum payments include integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) replacement costs, the commission needs to not alter C-band satellite operators' accelerated relocation obligations, SES said in a docket 18-122 posting Thursday. The commission must be clear that when an earth station operator opts out of the satellite-driven transition, the satellite operator's obligations end with coordination to help the earth station in transitioning the services it receives, SES said. It said if the FCC decides IRD upgrades are excluded from MVPD lump sum payments and the earth station operator opts for C-band service that requires tech upgrades, the IRD costs should be covered by the relocation coordinator unless the programmer making the tech choices or the satellite operator does.
ViaSat removed speed caps for and doubled its minimum committed internet speed to its business aviation Ka-band service plans, it said Wednesday.
The plan for bankrupt OneWeb to be bought by a consortium of the U.K. secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy and Bharti Global is "almost a best-case scenario" for the company, giving it "a second lease on life and the possibility of achieving longer-term success," Quilty Analytics' Chris Quilty wrote Wednesday. He said OneWeb's rescue, expected to be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan within days, means SpaceX won't inherit priority rights in the Ku band, and Bharti's strong distribution presence in India and Africa could complicate SpaceX making inroads into those markets. He said Telesat could have a tougher time funding its own low earth orbit satellite ambitions due to perceptions it's facing more competition.
The most-recent version of NASA's debris assessment software confirms what SpaceX's proprietary software showed: moving 2,824 proposed SpaceX satellites to a lower orbit (see 2004200003) would result in collision risk metrics many times lower than the FCC's benchmark, the company said in an International Bureau posting Tuesday.
July 16 is the deadline for corrections on the inclusion or omission of any fixed satellite service earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band on the FCC's list of incumbent earth stations for the C-band transition, said an International Bureau notice in Tuesday's Daily Digest. It said it won't accept new applications to register, modify or amend, or filings from licensees seeking to add antennas to a registration or change an earth station location.