FCC mulls more Ku-band to non-GEO satellite operators to enhance broadband speed

The Federal Communications Fee is contemplating opening up extra Ku-band spectrum to Starlink and different non-geostationary satellite tv for pc (NGSO) operators to enhance broadband speeds.

The U.S. regulator stated August 3 it would invite feedback on a proposal to unencumber 17 GHz frequencies because it permitted a similar move for satellites in increased geostationary orbits (GEO).

The FCC’s Discover of Proposed Rule Making will search feedback beneath a 90-day remark interval that begins from when it’s printed within the Federal Register.

If permitted, NGSO operators would get entry to frequencies within the 17.3-17.7 GHz band for satellite tv for pc providers offered to mounted factors on Earth, corresponding to to a stationary residential antenna.

Frequencies within the 17.7-17.8 GHz band could be made out there for NGSO operators to transmit alerts from mounted websites on Earth again to their satellites.

Starlink-owner SpaceX has instructed the FCC that “well timed entry to the 17 GHz band is vital to allow satellite tv for pc operators to fulfill the rising demand of American customers for next-generation broadband connectivity wherever they’re.”

The spectrum already allotted to NGSO operators for fixed-satellite providers is restricted, SpaceX stated, as a result of it should be shared amongst different NGSO operators by means of coordination agreements.

In accordance with SpaceX, this presents “a possible bottleneck” that might cut back the power of NGSO operators to supply high-capacity and low-latency “broadband providers to underserved and unserved People.”

OneWeb, Amazon’s Undertaking Kuiper, SES, and firms behind different current and proposed NGSO constellations are supporting the FCC’s proposal.

Nonetheless, U.S. telco AT&T, which owns satellite tv for pc broadcaster DirecTV, warns that neither the FCC nor worldwide authorities have studied the technical feasibility of NGSO operations within the 17.3-17.7 GHz band.

The telco has urged the FCC to attend till technical research present they might not trigger dangerous interference to incumbent providers within the band.

Hughes Community Programs, a GEO satellite tv for pc broadband supplier, asserts that NGSO operators ought to solely get entry to the spectrum on a “secondary foundation,” if in any respect. GEO Spatial World