Satellite

SpaceX has launched 60 little satellites, the first of thousands that founder Elon Musk plans to put in orbit for global internet coverage. Musk said that all 60 flat-panel satellites were deployed and were online a few hundred miles above Earth. Musk says 12 launches of 60 satellites each will provide high-speed internet coverage throughout the US. Twenty-four launches will serve most of the populated world, and 30 launches the entire world. That will be 1,800 satellites in total, with more planned after that.

Americans increasingly are moving away from cable and satellite pay-TV services and opting to stream online video offerings, data from National Telecommunication and Information Administration’s latest Internet Use Survey show. While most households still subscribe to cable or satellite television services, the survey shows the proportion of Internet users watching videos online has grown from 45 percent in 2013 to 70 percent in 2017.

SpaceX’s plans are set to jump forward May 16 with a launch of 60 internet-beaming satellites. But don’t count out solar-powered, high-altitude drones — or giant balloons. Advances in solar-cell and battery technology have made those technologies more feasible. In April, Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank said it would partner with Simi Valley drone maker AeroVironment Inc to build a drone capable of flying to the stratosphere, hovering around an area for months and serving as a floating cell tower to beam internet to users on Earth.

The Trump Administration’s swift-moving plan to promote 5G networks is running into resistance from the weather-forecasting community. The dispute centers around ultrahigh radio frequencies that the Federal Communications Commission recently auctioned off for use in the country’s next-generation wireless networks.

SpaceX, Elon Musk’s space company, is planning to launch 60 of its own satellites in a single launch expected May 15, the first of more than 4,000 spacecraft planned for the Starlink network. If successful, the flight will make SpaceX the frontrunner in a tight race to be the first operator of an internet satellite network, as SpaceX is the only competitor with its own rockets. SpaceX is one of several, including OneWeb, Telesat and even Amazon, that are investing in plans to launch thousands of satellites that aim to deliver internet connections to customers below.

Two areas that I see as evolving and critical to the continued success of the satellite industry – spectrum access and public advocacy. The spectrum challenges we face are not limited to the satellite sector, and we have to think bigger in our interconnected spectrum economy. That’s why in October, President Trump directed the Secretary of Commerce, working through NTIA, to develop and implement a comprehensive, balanced and forward-looking National Spectrum Strategy.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved SpaceX’s request to fly a large swath of its internet-beaming satellites at a lower orbit than originally planned. The approval was a major regulatory hurdle the company needed to clear in order to start launching its first operational satellites from Florida in May 2019.  Under SpaceX’s original agreement with the FCC, the company had permission to launch 4,425 Starlink satellites into orbits that ranged between 1,110 to 1,325 kilometers up.

DirecTV owner AT&T and DISH Network both dodged giving specific breakdowns to House Judiciary Committee leaders about how many subscribers rely on a satellite law involving the importation of broadcast signals, which expires Dec. 31, 2019. The key justification in private responses: “competitively sensitive.” Lawmakers want this data as they debate whether to reauthorize the expiring satellite law, known as STELAR. “The total number of DISH and DirecTV subscribers that currently receive one or more stations through a distant signal license … are approximately 870,000,” DISH wrote.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2019:

At the Federal Communications Commission’s May meeting, we will take action to advance the goal of security.