SpaceX's pending request to provide mobile satellite service in the 1610-1617.775 MHz, 2483.5-2500 MHz and 2020-2025 MHz bands (see 2209070003) "is a tremendous opportunity to serve a public benefit" by expanding service and helping close the digital divide, Kepler told the FCC International Bureau last week. Kepler, which also is seeking OK to use the 2020-2025 MHz bands for MSS, said operations in the band in coming years will be critical for meeting rising demand for MSS offerings such as IoT applications.

Assembly of a pair of prototype Amazon Kuiper satellites should be done by year's end, and then head to United Launch Alliance for launch, Amazon Senior Vice President-Devices and Services Dave Limp said Thursday in a Washington Post webinar. The company announced it was setting up a 172,000-square-foot satellite production facility in Kirkland, Washington -- a sign, Limp said, it's moving into Kuiper's manufacturing phase. He said Kuiper ultimately will need to turn out at least one to three satellites daily. He said Kuiper remains on track to have at least half its 3,236-satellite constellation in orbit and operational by July 2026. He said Kuiper plans to test some means of reducing light reflectivity on its prototypes, but didn't elaborate. Asked about competition with SpaceX's Starlink, which already has more than 3,000 satellites in orbit, Limp pointed to hundreds of millions of potential subscribers globally to satellite-delivered broadband who currently are unserved or underserved. "There will be plenty of room for two constellations," he said. He said a potential Kuiper advantage is its receiver dish costs, which will be lower than Starlink's. He said Amazon currently has cost of its dishes at less than $400 each. He said Kuiper's integration with Amazon's AWS cloud business will also allow for lower latency and more security. Asked about antitrust worries as the company enters internet provision, Limp said he has talked to dozens of members of Congress and they are strongly supportive of Kuiper. He said the billions of dollars in capital spending necessitates a big company like Amazon being involved. Lawmakers representing rural areas "know how important broadband is for their constituents," he said. "I think there is going to be a lot of support for this."

SES/O3b's non-geostationary orbit spectrum sharing proposal -- giving earlier-round systems more spectrum during in-line interference events -- satisfies FCC objectives of a clearly defined sharing standard, everyone incentivized to coordinate, and new entrants having guaranteed spectrum access, they said in docket 21-456 Thursday. Recapping a meeting with International Bureau Chief Tom Sullivan, SES/O3b said other proposals "are fatally flawed." They said a focus on performance degradation requires detailed data about each system's operating parameters and isn't suitable for being put into a rule. Either a performance degradation or interference-to-noise metric approach leaves at least one party not incentivized to coordinate, they said.

Comments are due Dec. 27, replies Jan. 24, on the FCC"s proposal to allow non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service downlinks the 17.3-17.8 GHz band and the technical rules to prevent interference in the band, per a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register. The FCC adopted the 17 GHz NPRM in August (see 2208040055).

There's general agreement in FCC docket 21-456 on some non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) spectrum sharing issues, but the incomplete record on others necessitates a further notice to get clarity, SpaceX said Monday. Those items needing clarification include the correct interference protection criteria for earlier-round NGSO systems, whether those protections should have a sunset and if good-faith coordination rules should require sharing proprietary technical information, it said, adding it discussed the items with aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington.

No judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit backed Dish Network's petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc of its decision upholding FCC approval of a license modification to SpaceX's Starlink system (see 2210120061), per twin orders (here and here) Monday denying the petition (docket 21-1123).

Astranis plans to start providing satellite-delivered high-speed connectivity to Alaska in early 2023 with its Arcturus satellite, it said Wednesday in an FCC International Bureau application seeking approval for launch and operation of the geostationary orbit fixed satellite service satellite. It said the Ka-band satellite is to launch late this year. Pacific Dataport will be the exclusive distributor of Arcturus' broadband capacity and services, it said. The FCC already has granted partial U.S. market access to the Bermuda-flagged Arcturus, but Astranis has decided an FCC license "would be more appropriate," the company said.

The Satellite Industry Association recommends the National Space Council make regulatory changes to the U.S.' commercial remote sensing rules and its export control regime for RF remote sensing satellites and data. In a white paper Wednesday, SIA said commercial remote sensing rules should change to reflect emerging applications such as RF remote sensing and the use of hyperspectral and short-waved infrared remote sensing. It said the "Fundamental Goal" for language in the national security policy directive adopted in 2003 should be updated to include economic leadership and commercial space innovation. In a separate paper, the industry group said there should be an interagency review of existing International Trafficking in Arms Regulations rules and "a more pragmatic policy and licensing approach" to ITAR rather than the assumption all RF remote sensing satellite products for all users and use cases fall under the State Department rules. It said an alternative could be putting RF remote sensing with other space systems without ITAR controls.

Thirty-six OneWeb satellites are slated for launch Saturday from India's Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the company said Tuesday. The company's 14th launch will bring the low earth orbit constellation to 462 satellites, more than 70% of what is needed for global coverage, it said. OneWeb said it remains on track to activate global coverage next year.

Citing supply chain challenges, Hughes asked the FCC for a one-year extension of the milestone date required in its license for launching and operating the EchoStar XXIV satellite. In an International Bureau application Monday, Hughes said the broadband satellite requires custom components and facilities "that have been severely impacted by supply chain disruptions and other restrictions caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, and production-related delays associated with the development, production, and testing of the components of the satellite." It asked that the milestone deadline be moved to March 20, 2024.