Letting blanket-licensed earth stations receive in the 17 GHz band doesn't need to wait for the outcome of the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference, especially when satellites already are transmitting in the band, Hughes representatives told FCC International Bureau staffers, per docket 20-330 Tuesday. Hughes said blanket-licensed fixed satellite service earth stations and earth stations in motion can operate in the band under the same technical limits that govern geostationary fixed satellite service downlinks, and the 17 GHz band is unsuitable for 5G.

SpaceX's commitment it won't use more than one satellite beam from a satellite in the same frequency in the same or overlapping areas at a time (see 2104160002) is necessary and inadequate, Dish Network said in FCC docket 20-443 Tuesday. It said SpaceX hasn't addressed whether just one satellite "is enough to do harm" through exceeding equivalent power flux density limits. It said any grant of SpaceX's pending license modification should be subject to any FCC findings about determining EPFD limit compliance. SpaceX didn't comment.

Oppositions to Satellite Industry Association (SIA), Iridium and SpaceX petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's Part 25 satellite rules order, adopted 5-0 in November (see 2011180043), are due May 6, replies 10 days later, says Wednesday's Federal Register. In a meeting with International Bureau staff, satellite industry representatives said the order's requirement that earth station operators must re-coordinate with upper microwave flexible-use service if buildout of a station takes more than year "will create great uncertainty, potential delays, and unnecessarily increased costs." They said the requirement is procedurally flawed, since nothing like it was proposed in the NPRM. At the meeting were representatives of SIA, SpaceX, Spire, SES, ABS, EchoStar, Lynk, Amazon, Intelsat, AST & Science, Planet, AWS, Boeing, Telesat and Inmarsat, said a docket 18-314 ex parte post.

SiriusXM’s digital audio radio service satellite SXM-8 is scheduled for a June 1 launch, the company said in an FCC International Bureau special temporary authority application Monday seeking OK for in-orbit testing after launch. It also asked permission for testing of SXM-8's use of the WCS C- and D-block spectrum. SiriusXM is buying that spectrum from AT&T (see 2104070003). SXM-7, launched successfully aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December, had damage during in-orbit testing that resulted in the "failure of certain payloads,” the company reported in February (see 2102020020).

Any approval of SpaceX's pending license modification should be conditioned on SpaceX being responsible for avoiding collisions with Kepler satellites or those of other previously authorized systems, Kepler said in an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. It said SpaceX should be required to avoid causing harmful interference to previously authorized systems, including by having to optimize its satellite selection to avoid in-line interference events between SpaceX and Kepler spacecraft in the Ku band. Kepler said the FCC should make clear Kepler has home spectrum priority over all other 2016 processing round participants in the Ku band, including SpaceX and OneWeb. Some suggest conditions as SpaceX approval is seen looming (see 2104130001). Viasat said SpaceX's criticisms of Viasat's National Environmental Policy Act petition (see 2103120006) highlight the need to review possible environmental impacts of SpaceX's pending license mod. It said SpaceX has conceded or not challenged such possible effects as light pollution and ozone depletion.

Orbcomm's requested stay of an FCC International Bureau declaratory ruling (see 2104120063 is aimed at confusing foreign regulators and thus delaying dozens of pending Swarm applications for market access around the world, Swarm said in an opposition posted Monday. In a reply posted Monday to a Swarm filing last week (see 2104150001), Orbcomm said that rather than trying to delay resolution, its application for review documented its efforts to resolve issues with Swarm and offered steps the FCC should take to ensure good-faith negotiations among affected parties. It said Swarm's argument Orbcomm should be admonished for seeking a stay isn't appropriate because the past case Swarm cited didn't address the issue of declaratory rulings.

Amazon contracted for nine United Launch Alliance launches for its Kuiper low earth orbit broadband satellite constellation, ULA said Monday. The launches, on ULA Atlas V rockets, will be from the Cape Canaveral, it said.

Differential drag could be an effective collision avoidance technique for satellites, though its efficacy in causing orbit changes depends on such things as the operating altitude and space weather conditions, Planet Labs said in a 10-page cubesat study filed Friday in docket 18-313. It said at 400 km, differential drag is comparable to a low-thrust propulsion system. At 500 km, it is less effective, though it can still produce position changes.

The conditions suggested by satellite operators and others on SpaceX's pending license modification (see 2104130001) are "last-ditch efforts to impose counterproductive provisions meant to hobble a competitor," the company said in an FCC International Bureau filing Thursday. It said the proposed conditions "would ... effectively undermine a potential grant of the modification itself." Listing various conditions to which it already agreed, SpaceX also suggested three more: that it not operate under its modified authorization of above 580 km, that it file semiannual updates on the success rate of its satellites, and that it operate its Ku-band user terminal downlinks and gateway downlinks in the 19.7-20.2 GHz band without using more than one satellite beam from any of its satellites in the same frequency in the same or overlapping areas at a time. SpaceX also submitted more than six pages of rebuttals and critiques of conditions suggested by others. SpaceX "seeks a limitless and exclusive access to" low earth orbit, said John Janka, Viasat chief officer-global government affairs and regulatory, in a statement. "The rest of the industry joins in calling for common-sense conditions that are consistent with the law, longstanding Commission policy, and safe and shared use of space around the world."

Charging a regulatory fee to foreign-flagged non-geostationary orbit constellations with U.S. market access that communicate with five or fewer U.S.-licensed earth stations for downlinking non-U.S. data would make U.S. earth station operators more competitive. That's per a docket 20-105 post Friday recapping Amazon discussions with aides to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington.