Iridium Continues FCC Lobbying Over Regulatory Fees Phase-in

Phasing in regulatory fees tied to creation of the FCC's Space Bureau will mitigate some of the "rate shock" that could affect satellite operators, particularly smaller organizations, Iridium representatives told the office of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-85. Iridium also lobbied that the agency adopt an alternative methodology that would base fees for satellite constellations on "units" of individual geostationary satellites and groupings of non-geostationaries, with both operating and authorized satellite systems paying regulatory fees. Iridium said that its units approach recognizes the extent to which larger systems impose greater costs on the bureau. Iridium has advocated similarly with several of the regular commissioners' offices.