The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules requiring satellite operators in low-Earth orbit to dispose of their satellites within five years of completing their missions. The new rules shorten the decades-old 25-year guideline for deorbiting satellites post-mission, taking an important step in a new era for space safety and orbital debris policy. The FCC […]
The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V launch of the SES-20 and SES-21 mission has been delayed due to potential impacts from Hurricane Ian. Both satellites are integrated to the launch vehicle and safely secured within the Vehicle Integration Facility at Launch Complex-41. Pending range approval, the next launch attempt is scheduled for October 4th […]
A month ago the FCC ruled that SpaceX’s Starlink broadband service was not entitled to receive some $900 million from its rural broadband subsidy scheme (RDOF). Now SpaceX (and its Starlink Services subsidiary) is appealing that ruling which it claims is “flawed as a matter of law and policy”. The appeal document was filed on […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has published proposed tough draft obligations on current and future operators of low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites. The FCC has issued its draft order requiring LEO operators to safely deorbit their satellites within five years of their mission ending. This order, if adopted, would be a dramatic new requirement. The […]
Broadband usage patterns of participants in the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program are significantly exceeding those of the broader connected population, according to initial results contained in the 2Q 2022 OVBI (OpenVault Broadband Insights) report. The report was issued today by OpenVault, a market-leading source of SaaS-based revenue and network improvement solutions and data-driven insights for […]
The FCC has issued the results of its recent 5G spectrum auction (No. 108) revealing that, as expected, T-Mobile took the majority of 2.5 GHz licences on offer. Out of the total $428 million bid in the auction, T-Mobile paid $303.4 million to secure its capacity. The next in line bidder was PTI Pacifica, and […]
The latest FCC auction for 5G spectrum, ended after 73 bidding rounds and generating $427.7 million in overall bids – which is widely less than expected. Pre-auction estimates had, from some experts, been predicted to reach $3 billion. The auction (No. 108) covered the 2.5 GHz band and involved 7872 licences out of the 8017 […]
SpaceX continues to populate its mega-constellation of orbiting broadband craft continues. Its mission 4-23 Falcon 9 rocket took off on Aigust 27th from Landing Complex 40 from Cape Canaveral, Florida carrying 54 satellites weighing a combined 16 tonnes – the heaviest payload ever launched. Following launch the booster rocket landed flawlessly on to the ‘A […]
Brendan Carr, an FCC Commissioner, has come out with a strongly worded statement saying that the FCC was wrong to reverse its former granting of Elon Musk’s $886 million infrastructure award. The cash reflected SpaceX’s bid for part of the FCC’s massive $20.4 billion rural broadband subsidy scheme. Musk’s bid stated SpaceX would provide broadband […]
Elon Musk had, by now, hoped to be using the SpaceX Starship rocket to launch its Starlink satellites in significantly larger batches that the current 50 or so per flight. But various regulations have kept the Starship demo flights firmly on the ground. The delay in testing and launching Starships is impacting Musk’s plan to […]