Within the new space-based communications period, the Federal Communications Fee is taking a recent have a look at satellite tv for pc spectrum energy transmission ranges that haven’t been up to date in a number of many years.
Specifically, the brand new FCC continuing appears on the Ku- and Ka- band satellite tv for pc spectrum ranges at 10.7-12.7 GHz, 17.3-18.6 GHz and 19.7-20.2 GHz. All 4 Commissioners authorized the transfer.
“The facility limits developed within the Nineties hamper satellite tv for pc broadband by degrading sign high quality, decreasing protection, limiting capability, and making it tougher to share spectrum with different satellite tv for pc techniques,” stated FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. “Again then, high-speed satellite tv for pc broadband was thought-about the stuff of science fiction and the flexibility to share between satellite tv for pc techniques was primitive. Quick ahead to right this moment, and breakthrough advances allow environment friendly spectrum use and sharing, making satellite tv for pc broadband an actual aggressive possibility.”
In a launch, the FCC stated that the continuing is geared toward enabling “better and extra intensive use” of satellite tv for pc spectrum for house actions in america.
“Outdated energy restrictions adopted many years in the past characterize the best limitation on trendy industrial satellite tv for pc capabilities,” the company stated. Within the proposed continuing, the FCC stated particularly that the spectrum-sharing regime within the Ka- and Ku- bands between geostationary and non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite tv for pc techniques “represents the one most constraining regulatory requirement on NGSO satellite tv for pc techniques presently deploying at breakneck pace.”
The present dominant power in LEO satellites is Starlink, owned by Trump administration ally Elon Musk. SpaceX filed a request with the FCC in late 2024, asking for a rulemaking that may rethink the sharing regime between NGSO and geostationary (GSO) satellite tv for pc techniques and arguing that the present guidelines are based mostly on inefficient, “flawed and outdated assumptions”.
The FCC added in its continuing that a part of its rationale on the replace is as a result of “GSO and NGSO satellites are serving to bridge the digital divide.”
On a associated observe, the FCC stated that it has processed 85 house station and 904 earth station functions for the reason that Trump administration took over on January 20.
AST SpaceMobile agrees to coordinate with NSF
In associated information on non-terrestrial networks, fledgling LEO-based mobile connectivity service supplier AST SpaceMobile just lately introduced that it had come to an settlement with the Nationwide Science Basis and the broader astronomy group to mitigate impacts from its large-array satellites on ground-based astronomy observations.
That features actions corresponding to decreasing satellite tv for pc brightness and offering” correct, real-time satellite tv for pc positioning knowledge to observatories,” the corporate stated in a launch.
AST’s BlueWalker 3 satellite tv for pc, which is certainly one of six satellites that the corporate presently has in orbit, spans 693 sq. ft in dimension and at occasions, is reportedly the brightest object within the sky, elevating issues from astronomers about visible interference from AST’s present and future fleet.
“We acknowledge the significance of preserving the evening sky for scientific analysis,” stated Abel Avellan, Founder, Chairman and CEO of AST SpaceMobile. “This settlement highlights our ongoing dedication to accountable stewardship of house and energetic cooperation with the worldwide scientific group and ensures that our mission to get rid of connectivity gaps and make broadband accessible to all doesn’t come on the expense of scientific discovery.”
