With the FCC Space Bureau not seeking additional information about SpaceX's pending application to provide direct-to-device connectivity (see 2302080001), and with no one raising credible claims it's incomplete or procedurally deficient, it's time to put the application on public notice, company representatives told the four regular commissioners' offices, according to a bureau filing last week. SpaceX urged that its application be put on public notice within the 60-day time frame laid out in the FCC's satellite streamlined processing rules.
Viasat and Skylo Technologies are partnering on a mobile supplemental coverage from space network. Viasat said Thursday their infrastructure agreement will use its geostationary L-band constellation and Skylo satellite technology based on the 3rd Generation Partnership Project's Release 17. Initial deployments will start in North America in early 2024. The direct-to-device service will support smartphone services and is also targeting potential IoT, automotive and defense applications, said Viasat.
EchoStar's Jupiter 3 satellite deployed its solar arrays and antennas and is testing satellite communications with ground equipment, the final step before starting broadband service, the company said Thursday. CEO Hamid Akhavan said Jupiter 3 will double the capacity of the company's satellite fleet.
AST SpaceMobile remains on schedule for a Q1 launch of its first five mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) satellites, CEO Abel Avellan said Tuesday in a call with analysts as the company announced Q3 results. He said it's in talks with "multiple strategic partners" about funding the manufacturing, launch and operation of additional BlueBird satellites beyond those five. Asked about the end of the Iridium/Qualcomm SCS partnership (see 2311090077), Avellan said it was unsurprising as SCS offerings that work on currently available smartphones -- such as AST's planned service -- make those that require new chips -- such as through Qualcomm -- less relevant.
Financier BIU hasn't proven that the withdrawal of the Spectrum Five petition seeking revocation of the Intelsat 30 and Intelsat 31 licenses for license term violations (see 2304130048) was due to fraud, the FCC Enforcement Bureau ordered this week in docket 20-399 as it dismissed and denied BIU's request to reinstate the petition. The order says BIU's reconsideration request came more than two weeks after the statutory deadline for seeking reconsideration. The bureau said the question of whether Spectrum Five had the authority to withdraw its petition "is solely a matter between BIU and Spectrum Five and is justiciable, if at all, in a court of competent jurisdiction and not by the Commission."
Calling it "unlikely" that its mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service could cause interference with terrestrial mobile operations in populated areas, SpaceX said it nonetheless can modify its network coverage "in near real-time" and cease operations of all satellites over geographic areas, including those adjacent to T-Mobile's coverage area. In a docket 23-135 response Wednesday to SCS service questions posed by the Space Bureau (see 2311090019), SpaceX said it would "minimize the impact of any cessation of services on adjacent areas by re-planning the network around the restricted area while maintaining service outside of populated areas." It said its cross-border transmissions will be below power levels needed to close a link, so a smartphone can't connect to the SCS network outside of T-Mobile's service area.
The Secure World Foundation on Tuesday released a statement urging nations to commit to not conducting destructive anti-satellite (ASAT) testing. Among the 26 signatories from nine nations were satcom operators Amazon’s Kuiper, Iridium and Eutelsat. The statement notes 37 nations that so far have committed not to conduct destructive ASAT testing and "encourage[s] additional countries to make similar declarations." "With each additional country to make this commitment, the world gets closer to a widely-accepted international norm that responsible space actors do not deliberately create long-lived debris that threatens the long-term sustainability of space activities," the statement reads. The U.S. made an ASAT commitment in 2022 (see 2204190057).
To reduce the risk of satellite collisions in space, satellite operators should look at relevant risk-mitigation approaches in design and procurement and should design and operate those satellites such that they're trackable by space situational awareness systems, the Global Satellite Operators Association said Monday as it released its space sustainability code of conduct. Its recommendations also included real-time data sharing with other operators and government agencies, designing satellites to minimize debris, choosing satellite materials that minimize brightness and reflectivity, and taking all reasonable steps to avoid light reflection from the satellite in the direction of astronomical observatories.
Iridum's mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) deal with chipmaker Qualcomm (see 2301050061) is dead, the satellite operator said Thursday. Iridium said Qualcomm opted to terminate the SCS agreement effective Dec. 3 after a lack of Android smartphone makers adopting the Iridium-enabled direct to device capability technology. Iriidum said it will talk with other chipmakers, smartphone OEMs and smartphone operating system developers with which it had previously been collaborating.
The FCC Space Bureau wants more detail from SpaceX about how it can shut off its mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service in the event it causes harmful interference. In a letter to SpaceX this week regarding its pending modification of its second-generation satellite system authorization to allow SCS service (see 2302080001), the bureau asked (docket 23-135) how ceasing the service might potentially affect service to adjacent unserved or underserved areas. It also asked for clarification about why there is a notable difference in power levels in its U.S. and German ITU filings.