In an April 4th public note the FCC’s recently appointed chair Brendan Carr listed a number of tasks on his desk for action, not least the FCC’s current ‘foreign ownership rules’. He said: “Over the years, those regulations have increased almost as quickly as interest in the Heard and McDonald Islands. But in many cases, […]

The massive Amazon-backed broadband-by-satellite system, Project Kuiper, is potentially going to miss its regulatory obligations according to reports. It seems that comments made at the recent Satellite 2025 show in Washington suggest that shortage of rocket launch availability will impact Kuiper’s availability. On March 11th, Kuiper updated the Federal Communications Commission with a small reduction […]

After nearly 15 years at the helm of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, Michael K. Powell has announced he will retire later this year. “Michael has been an unwavering champion for our industry,” commented Mark Greatrex, Chairman of the NCTA Board of Directors and President of Cox Communications. “He has been our most […]

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its note to interested parties that it is contemplating a new move as far as satellite C-band frequencies. This move is of key interest to SES and Intelsat. The FCC has issued a ‘Notice of Inquiry’ and confirming a meeting held on February 27th, and saying it […]

Kathy Grillo, SVP, public policy & government affairs at US telco Verizon, speaking on reports that the US government wanted to access more C-band spectrum for terrestrial use, said Verizon welcomed the news. “We are now years past the last auction of mid-band spectrum and we are far from where we need to be as […]

AST SpaceMobile has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted the company Special Temporary Authority (STA) authorising testing service in the US. This approval enables AST SpaceMobile’s first five commercial BlueBird satellites, operating in low Earth orbit today, with unmodified smartphones in AT&T and Verizon premium low-band wireless spectrum supporting voice, full data, […]

US President Donald Trump has signed an order that designates Commissioner Brendan Carr as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. In a Statement, Carr said: “I am deeply grateful to President Trump and honoured by his decision to designate me as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. I have had the privilege of working at […]

US satellite operator Viasat has filed a further objection to SpaceX’s plans to start using some of its satellites for Direct-to-Cellular services. The filing, ‘Petition for Reconsideration regarding SpaceX SCS Order’, was made on December 27th to the FCC. SCS refers to the FCC’s ‘Supplementary Coverage from Space’ guidelines. Amongst other statements, Viasat said: “More […]

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed the allocation of additional spectrum resources necessary for space launch communications needs. The Chairwoman has championed US leadership in space launch activities and making Commission processes simpler and more open to new entrants. These rules would add spectrum to support space launch activities and build upon Commission action in […]

Direct-to-Smartphone satellite communications have been approved – with some conditions – by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for SpaceX. This permission applies to US consumers using T-Mobile’s services. The approval was granted on November 26th and covers 7,500 of SpaceX’s Second generation Starlink satellites which will operate at lower orbits (Very Low Earth Orbits, VLEO), […]