Paperwork Reduction Act comments regarding satellite digital audio broadcasting service licensees' public broadcasting requirements are due Jan. 8, per a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The agency said it was seeking input on issues such as whether the licensees' information collection -- including advertising practice disclosures and public file maintenance -- was needed and if the information has public utility.

The global maritime cellular airtime data market -- an estimated $330 million annually in 2022 -- likely will dip this year due to the growing popularity of low earth orbit, very-small-aperture terminal satellite services, Valour Consultancy blogged Wednesday. It said the coming years should bring a rebound as more vessels adopt hybrid connectivity.

The time may be coming for commercial space operators regulated by the FAA to have to contribute to the agency's income, Transportation Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg said Wednesday at an FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) meeting. Asked about the likelihood of increased congressional funding for FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Trottenberg said the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act put a lot of money into some forms of infrastructure but not as much on aviation items including FAA staffing and equipment. She said the DOT appropriations process for FY 2024 also looks contentious. Even if the FAA gets more resources, that ramp-up in resources almost surely still won't be enough to match the pace of commercial space activity. Michael O'Donnell, deputy associate administrator-commercial space transportation, said the FAA has licensed and overseen 104 launches so far this year, with the number on track to hit 120 by year's end. Last year saw 84 launches, he said. COMSTAC members and DOT officials went back and forth for several minutes regarding the speed of FAA activity. Virginia Commercial Space Flight CEO Ted Mercer said there's no industry disagreement that FAA's priority is safety, but there is some about how the agency goes about that. He criticized FAA activity around Rocket Lab's Electron rocket failure earlier this year as misguided because while it represented a mission failure, it posed no danger to humans. "Safety organizations tend to be conservative by their nature," Trottenberg said, but noted the agency recognizes it needs to move faster -- if not at the speed of industry. Michael Price, FAA lead compliance specialist-Airport Compliance Division, said the FAA is considering a policy change that would give launch and re-entry vehicles and unmanned aircraft systems greater access to federally funded airports. The FAA has drafted a policy statement that updates the definition of "aeronautical activity" for federally funded airports to include UAS and rockets, Price said. The change gives launch and UAS operators greater ability to try to provide access to the public on reasonable terms, he said. He said the policy statement's publication in the Federal Register is imminent, followed by a 30-day comment period.

The FCC Space Bureau has signed off on a six-year license for PlanetiQ's proposed low earth orbit Gnomes-4 satellite for radio occultation services (see 2209220005), per a grant Monday.

Pointing to international regulators looking to the FCC for leadership on how to address mobile supplemental coverage from space, Lynk representatives urged that the agency move expeditiously on its SCS proceeding. In a meeting with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel recapped in docket 23-65, posted Tuesday, Lynk said that could lead to a global framework involving tests involving scope and power and conditions requiring approval from other users of the terrestrial spectrum. Lynk said Tuesday it would partner with mobile operator bmobile Solomon Islands to provide direct-to-device service in the South Pacific nation, starting with a beta test this year and then full service across the Solomon Islands in 2024. In meetings with aides to Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington, SpaceX pushed for approval of its pending SCS applications, per a docket 23-135 filing posted Tuesday.

SpaceX's Starlink "has achieved breakeven cash flow," CEO Elon Musk posted Thursday on X, formerly Twitter. He said Starlink satellites make up the majority of all active satellites.

Viasat will cut about 800 positions -- roughly 10% of its workforce -- as part of its integration of Inmarsat, it said Thursday. The move will save it about $100 million annually starting in fiscal year 2025, it said, and be "spread across the business in terms of geographies and divisions." Viasat closed on its $7.3 billion purchase of Inmarsat in May (see 2305310003).

The economics of mega constellations providing mobile supplemental coverage from space remains to be seen, and it's not likely significant amounts of mobile traffic will be carried over satellite, Globalstar CEO Paul Jacobs said during an analyst call Thursday as the company announced Q3 results. He said he expected SCS to supplement terrestrial network coverage and to provide coverage in particularly rural areas where terrestrial networks don't reach. Globalstar is particularly focused on satellite opportunities involving terrestrial private networks, reflecting its licensing deal with XCom Labs, said Jacobs, who also is XCom CEO (see 2308290003).

Expect to see guidance from the FCC Space Bureau in coming weeks regarding satellite application timelines and on earth station applications, bureau staff said Wednesday as it put on an open house regarding its transparency initiative. That will be followed in 2024 by guidance on special temporary authority applications and on the ITU, they said. Bureau Chief Julie Kearney told us afterward an overhaul of the ICFS system to improve usability should roll out sometime next year at the latest. Commissioners approved the transparency initiative in September (see 2309210055) and the agency last month issued guidance on satellite license processes, terms and costs (see 2310230062). Kearney said the initiative's aim is to reduce the administrative burden on applicants and agency staffers and speed up application processing. Kearney said applications before the agency are growing both in number and complexity, seeing close to double the number of satellite applications this year as in 2019, with earth station applications twice what they were in 2017. As part of the transparency initiative, the bureau has put together a basic 101 about satellite license processes, timelines and costs regarding the satellite license process, a Part 25 license and market access checklist, and a primer on smallsat and small satellite licensing. Bureau Chief Technologist Whitney Lohmeyer said also in the works are guidance about orbital debris issues, which should come next year, and resources around the coordination process. The event also saw Merissa Velez, chief-Satellite Programs and Policy Division, and Franco Hinojosa, chief-Earth Station Licensing Division, fielding a variety of what bureau staffers said were commonly asked questions: how soon should an application be filed for going on a rideshare mission (if the launch is scheduled, as soon as possible, because processing times can vary, depending on issues like coordination, Velez said) and why earth station licenses are needed if one already has a terminal equipment authorization. (The authorization covers operation of the device; the license allows use of it to communicate, Hinojosa said.)

Planet Labs is seeking FCC Space Bureau sign-off on plans to expand its Pelican and Flock earth-imaging constellations. In a bureau application Tuesday, it requested authorization to deploy 10 first-generation Pelicans instead of the already-authorized seven, to increase the total number of Flock satellites from 544 to 744, and to operate Pelicans at 350 km nominal altitude instead of 325 km. It said the addition of Pelicans would give it more time to develop and verify its next-generation satellite bus design and ease the transition for its high-resolution customers from the SkySat to Pelican satellites as some SkySats approach end of life due to a stronger than expected solar cycle. It said the additional Flocks would help provide continuity of service for customers of the constellation's medium-resolution imaging data.