Satellite

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the November Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, 2020:

At our November open meeting, the Federal Communications Commission will be considering the following items:

In early March, just days before cities across the US shut down due to the pandemic, Elon Musk shared the latest details about his plan to build a satellite broadband service called Starlink. Musk described how a constellation of Starlink satellites will “blink” when they enter low-Earth orbit.

Commercial satellite Internet has only been around for about 20 years, and it was highly limited at first. Despite the technology’s weaknesses, such as low speeds and data limits, satellite offered a path to improved connectivity for rural markets that had no other options. The capacity of satellite Internet will significantly increase when HughesNet and Viasat launch new satellites in 2021.

The US is set to get another satellite broadband provider that uses a non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) approach. The Federal Communications Commission has approved market access to OneWeb, a NGSO satellite broadband operator that filed for bankruptcy earlier in 2020 but is back in action after receiving an investment from the British government. NGSO operators use constellations of satellites that orbit the earth at lower altitudes in comparison with traditional geostationary satellites.

Amazon's plan to spend more than $10 billion on a constellation of more than 3,200 low-Earth-orbit, internet-beaming satellites won Federal Communications Commission approval. But industry insiders are guessing about which customers the company plans to serve. Amazon told regulators its satellites could help bridge the digital divide by bringing high-speed broadband to areas that lack competitive internet service.

Welcome to the age of the satellite megaconstellation. Within the next few years, vast networks, containing hundreds or even thousands of spacecraft, could reshape the future of Earth’s orbital environment. Much of the attention on these strings of satellites has been placed on the prolific launches of SpaceX and OneWeb, but the focus is now turning to Amazon.

The Federal Communications Commission grants the request of Kuiper Systems LLC (Kuiper or Amazon) to deploy a non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) system to provide service using certain Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) and Mobile-Satellite Service (MSS) Ka-band frequencies with conditions adopted. We conclude that grant of Kuiper’s application would advance the public interest by
authorizing a system designed to increase the availability of high-speed broadband service to consumers, government, and businesses.

On May 5, Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai about the C-band auction, urging the FCC to institute a "Buy American" request to all satellite operators. On June 15, Chairman Pai wrote that the five eligible space station operators are required to file their Transition Plans for FCC review by June 19. These plans should provide detailed information on the specific aspects of the planned transitions for each operator, including plans to manufacture, procure, and launch new satellites.

On May 15, 2020, 32 senators wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to express their concerns with the Order announced by the FCC on April 20, 2020 granting Ligado's application to deploy a terrestrial nationwide network to provide 5G services.