Dish Urges FCC to Reconsider SpaceX's RDOF Funding

On April 12, Dish Network sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Secretary Marlene Dortch urging the Commission to reconsider its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) award to SpaceX's Starlink. Dish said, "SpaceX cannot credibly claim that it will be able to fulfill its obligations under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction rules." The company included four studies in the letter that it states show SpaceX would violate the conditions for using the 12 GHz band for RDOF. The letter concludes, "SpaceX can have no confidence that it can use the 12 GHz band to fulfill its RDOF obligations, and the Commission should deny its petition for designation as an eligible telecommunications carrier to the extent it is based on the 12 GHz band."