FCC Votes to Establish Space Bureau & Office of International Affairs

The Federal Communications Commission released an Order adopting the plan to establish a Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs. The planned reorganization will better support the needs of the growing satellite industry, promote long-term technical capacity at the FCC, and help the agency navigate 21st century global communications policy. As part of this plan, the agency will be eliminating the current International Bureau and incorporating that team into the new bureau and office. This action is the latest initiative in the FCC’s Space Innovation agenda. As part of this agenda, the FCC has taken action to speed up regulatory review processes, increase the size of the FCC’s satellite division by 38 percent, create new opportunities for competition in the delivery of satellite broadband services, and modernize spectrum policy to better meet the needs of the next generation Space Age. The FCC will next seek Congressional and other approvals for the planned reorganization and make formal notice in the Federal Register.