FCC Hears Pushes for Sunsetting NGSO Protections

Citing critics of its advocacy for sunsetting interference protections for earlier processing round satellite systems, SpaceX told the FCC International Bureau Monday in docket 21-456 those critics should come up with their own alternatives for encouraging coordination. It urged the FCC to release a Further NPRM focusing on routes for balancing between protecting existing systems and encouraging competition; that way the agency and sunsetting critics can weigh that idea against alternatives. New America's Open Technology Institute, recapping meetings with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks and bureau staff (see here and here), told the agency it's important to have a good faith coordination requirement among all non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service operators regardless of processing round; otherwise early round operators lack an incentive to coordinate with later-round competitors. OTI said a sunset period that's not much longer than the buildout period, such as six years, would be a good way to fight spectrum hoarding.