Pointing to possible further limits on C-band capacity in the U.S., Eutelsat is seeking U.S. market access for its Brazil-licensed Eutelsat 65 West A geostationary orbit satellite as an alternate way of serving U.S. customers. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Thursday, Eutelsat said it wants to make use of the satellite -- launched in 2016 -- to receive uplinks in the 6725-7025 MHz band from U.S. earth stations and to downlink those transmissions in the 4500-4800 MHz band to a single earth station in Pittsburgh. The FCC commissioners in February approved an upper C-band notice of inquiry looking at ways of freeing up spectrum there for new services (see 2502270042).

Regulatory fees assessed on all authorized satellites and earth stations, not just operational ones, help better distribute the fee burden to everyone benefiting from FCC Space Bureau employee resources, the Satellite Industry Association said. In docket 24-85 comments posted Wednesday, SIA said this would also mean lower per-station and per-satellite fees. The group backs assessing satellite regulatory fees based on how much a particular type of operator likely benefits from "full-time employee resources" and constellation size. But it opposes alternative approaches that use a subjective analysis of a system's design and operations, it said. If the FCC takes a fee approach that looks at the number of authorized satellites in a fleet, it must use consistent methodology across satellite operators for what constitutes an authorized satellite, SIA added.

SpaceX's opposition to Globalstar's C-3 constellation plans (see 2503070006) is baseless, Globalstar told the FCC in a letter Tuesday. The agency's March 2024 denial of SpaceX operating in Globalstar's licensed big low earth orbit mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum didn't set a new big LEO rulemaking as a precondition to FCC consideration and grant of C-3, Globalstar said. Instead, it said, the 2024 denial sets up a rulemaking precondition for applications for additional non-geostationary orbit MSS systems from other parties. C-3 doesn't represent an additional NGSO MSS system, but a next-generation deployment request from the longtime operator and exclusive MSS licensee in this spectrum, Globalstar said.

With SES and Intelsat hoping to close the former's purchase of the latter by June, the companies met with FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz to discuss the deal's rationale and benefits. In a docket 24-267 filing Tuesday, they recapped a meeting with Schwarz where they said that building scale is necessary to compete in the satcom marketplace.

The FCC Space Bureau has signed off on SpaceX's first-generation Starlinks using parts of the 137-138 MHz unlink and 148-150.05 MHz downlink bands during launch, in early operations and in mobile satellite service, said a notice in Friday's Daily Digest. It said no more than 150 of SpaceX's Starlinks or Swarm satellites can operate in the bands simultaneously.

Some of the launch spectrum streamlining that Congress seeks can be achieved by consolidating in one place post-license site and station registration, per-launch coordination, and final launch registration, said SpaceX, Blue Origin and Firefly Aerospace. In a docket 13-115 filing Friday, the launch providers said information today is scattered across the universal licensing system and the frequency coordination system. Consolidating coordination data "would provide a one-stop-shop for launch coordination." They also urged a five- to 10-day window before launch for launch service providers to be required to submit per-launch coordination details, rather than a longer requirement of submitting 60 or even 30 days before launch. They said the shorter window would align with current coordination practices among launch service providers.

Looming Chinese competition in the global maritime distress and safety service (GMDSS) equipment universe is making the need to allow use of such equipment other than Inmarsat's more urgent, according to Iridium. In a filing Tuesday recapping a meeting with FCC Wireline Bureau staff, Iridium said the agency's Part 80 rules, governing maritime radio use, should be amended so they apply to all recognized GMDSS providers, including itself. With China's BeiDou satellite radio navigation system recognized by the International Maritime Organization as a GMDSS provider, U.S. GMDSS leadership is in jeopardy, Iridium said. In addition, other GMDSS providers will enter. Iridium said its provision of GMDSS today under a Part 80 waiver "puts [it] on a weaker footing" for international coordination. The Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services petitioned in 2016 for a Part 80 rules update.

Globalstar is urging FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz to approve its proposed C-3 constellation (see 2502280001). In a filing Tuesday recapping a meeting with Schwarz, Globalstar said SpaceX -- which has argued there first should be a rulemaking proceeding regarding the big low earth orbit band (see 2410020029) -- has never offered technical explanations of how it could operate on a co-frequency basis in the 1.6/2.4 GHz bands without interfering with Globalstar's mobile satellite service (MSS) offerings. Globalstar said the big LEO MSS licensing status quo "has been an extraordinary success, based on the regulatory and investment certainty ... and there is no justification for modifying this framework."

Non-geostationary orbit satellite operators Kineis and Myriota are urging the FCC to incorporate a satellite system's mass into determining the regulatory fees that a satellite operator is charged. In a docket 24-85 filing posted Friday, Kineis recapped meetings with staffers from the four FCC commissioners' offices. Kineis told them that its system parameters are similar to the small satellite category envisioned in the space regulatory fee alternatives proceeding (see 2502260017), but those parameters are also very different from virtually all systems other than Myriota's. Kineis said that while other countries often look at frequency use in determining regulatory fees, Kineis' frequency use in the U.S. is much less than many small satellite systems. While the fee alternatives Further NPRM would have it pay close to $145,000 annually in regulatory fees, Kineis said paying two to three times the small satellite regulatory fee -- which would be $25,000 to $35,000 -- would be appropriate for its network. The number of satellites in a constellation doesn't directly correlate with its regulatory burden and complexity, and it's necessary to factor in the total mass of satellites because it's a proxy for characteristics that implicate complexity and regulatory burden, like greater frequency use and larger potential for orbital debris, Kineis said. Recapping meetings with the office of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and the Space Bureau, Myriota also backed incorporating system mass into regulatory fees.

SpaceX's plans to increase from 50 Falcon 9 launches annually from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to as many as 120 shouldn't have major effects on airspace and maritime activities in the region, the FAA said Friday in a draft environmental assessment. SpaceX is also proposing to build and operate a Falcon 9 landing zone there, the agency said. Its assessment said it didn't expect big cumulative effects on air quality from the proposed operations. If it turns out there are significant noise issues from the proposed operations, "then appropriate mitigations would be developed, where practicable to minimize or avoid impacts."