FCC outlines proposed smallsat licensing rules

Under newly proposed rules, smallsat operators will be able to choose a licensing path — for authorization as a domestic operator or for U.S. market access as a foreign operator — for $30,000 instead of the $472,000 fee required today for satellites in non-geosynchronous orbits. 

FCC to introduce new simplified licensing regulations for smallsats

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event here, said the regulations will make licensing small satellites cheaper and faster in order to better match cost and pace at which smallsat operators often function. 

U.S. Chamber Hosts FCC Chairman Pai for Smallsat Discussion

Small Satellite Integration: Implications for Encryption, Interference, and Deorbit Assurance

Please join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Procurement and Space Industry Council and the SmallSat Alliance on Tuesday, July 9, 2019, from 9…

Rival plan to C-Band Alliance calls for spectrum auction, fiber switchover for satellite broadcasters

Charter, ACA Connects and the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) on July 1 filed a counterplan with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, urging the commission to open 370 megahertz of satellite C-band spectrum through an auction.

Contact lost with three Starlink satellites, other 57 healthy

Three of the 60 satellites SpaceX launched last month to begin its broadband megaconstellation have lost contact with ground control teams, a SpaceX spokesperson said June 28. 

FCC dismisses studies of potential 5G interference with satellite weather observations

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission defended the use of spectrum for 5G wireless services while a key senator called for a hearing on potential interference such services could have with space-based weather observations.

Little legal recourse for astronomers concerned about Starlink

Despite complaints by individual astronomers and astronomical organizations, legal experts say there is little they can do under existing federal law and regulations to halt the deployment of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.

FCC asks for more input on C-band

The request, issued May 3, suggests it is increasingly unlikely that the agency will make a decision in the first half of the year as satellite operators had previously expected.

FCC OKs lower orbit for some Starlink satellites

U.S. telecom regulators approved a request from SpaceX to lower the orbit of nearly 1,600 proposed broadband satellites.

Commerce Dept. sends White House 13 space-focused spectrum recommendations

The U.S. Commerce Department on March 26 sent a report to the White House declaring sufficient access to radio frequency spectrum critical for a healthy domestic space industry, but avoided weighing in on contested spectrum issues within the space and telecommunications industries.

FCC: we won’t rush C-band decision

Federal Communications Commission officials urged patience with the repurposing process for satellite C-band spectrum, saying regulators are more concerned about getting it right than rushing the process.

Lawmakers urge FCC to postpone March 14 spectrum auction

Leaders of the House Science Committee and three House Appropriations subcommittees are calling on the FCC to delay the auction of 5G radio frequency spectrum scheduled for March 14 due to concern about interference with space-based weather sensors.

5G trumps weather in spectrum debate

Less than a week before a Federal Communications Commission auction of radio frequency spectrum for 5G, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai clearly expressed impatience with the weather community’s ongoing concerns about interference and requests to modify the U.S. government’s position.

Shutdown’s toll mounts for NASA and companies

A partial government shutdown now nearly five weeks old is affecting a growing number of space companies and organizations as well as the agencies themselves shuttered by the lapse in funding.

Op-ed | NewSpace must be regulated

Move fast and break things, the mantra of Silicon Valley startups, has now spread to the space sector with Swarm Technologies going as far as breaking the law.

Swarm, after FCC blunder, hires satellite regulatory veteran Kalpak Gude

In an interview, Gude said he is not Swarm’s mandated compliance director, but will be helping Swarm navigate through the global regulatory landscape as its general counsel and head of regulatory affairs.