OneWeb wants FCC permission to operate Kymeta u8 user terminals under a blanket license to communicate with its non-geostationary orbit satellite system in the 10.7-12.7 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz bands, it said in a blanket license application posted Wednesday. It said the terminals would be deployed as fixed terminals, vehicle-mounted earth stations and earth stations on vessels.

The nearly $260 million Telesat will receive for the second phase of its accelerated C-band clearing in the U.S. should come by October, the satellite operator said Wednesday. It said it had already received its first-phase accelerated clearing payments of $84.8 million. The FCC Wireless Bureau last week validated accelerated clearing of the lower C band by Telesat, Eutelsat and Embratel (see 2306300038).

The FCC at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference should back the proposed future agenda item for WRC-27 on study and update of equivalent power flux density limits and of aggregate interference limits, Amazon Kuiper representatives told Office of International Affairs staffers, per a docket 16-185 filing Monday. It said the current geostationary satellite network rules are "outdated."

As part of space launch services company Firefly Aerospace's buy from M&Y Space of Spaceflight, M&Y Space and Spaceflight seek transfer of Spaceflight's sister company, Spaceflight Federal, to Spacerlight. According to an application Friday with the FCC Space Bureau, Spaceflight Federal, an M&Y Space subsidiary, holds a variety of agency licenses, authorizations and pending applications. The companies said FCC approval would result in control of Spaceflight Federal moving from M&Y to Spaceflight, with Firefly in turn controlling Spaceflight. FCC consent would let Firefly use Spaceflight Federal licenses to combine Firefly launch and spacecraft vehicles with Spaceflight's on-orbit experience, per the application. Firefly's Spaceflight acquisition was announced last month.

Intelsat's seventh Galaxy replacement satellite is targeted to launch in early Q3 of this year as part of the C-band clearing process, the company told the FCC in a docket 18-122 filing posted Monday. In its update of its C-band clearing progress, Intelsat said it has completed all Phase II satellite grooming and customer service transition activities, all technology upgrades associated with the customer transitions and all Phase II filter installations.

The six orders placed in the first half of 2023 for geostationary orbit communications satellites are on par with numbers for recent years, Quilty Space Director-Research Caleb Henry tweeted Friday. What's different is the growth in demand for small GEOs, with five of the six being under 500 kg, he said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau validated accelerated clearing of the lower C band by Telesat, Eutelsat and Embratel, per three bureau orders Friday. The validation triggers the relocation payment clearinghouse notifying the licensees of the 3.7-4 GHz band about the validation, with the licensees then having 60 days to pay their portion of the Phase II accelerated relocation payments to the clearinghouse, which will then divide the money among the satellite operators.

The U.S. government is increasingly, and worryingly, dependent on SpaceX for launch missions to the International Space Station, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Thursday at a George Washington University/Aerospace Corp. space event. He said government purchases of launch services need to be spread among multiple providers, and those providers should have customers beyond the government, if the end goal is competition on cost and innovation, he said. He said NASA's Space Launch System wasn't designed by the agency but by politicians interested in money going to particular states and Congressional districts.

Noting cheaper launches and lower capital costs opening the door to more satellite operators offering IoT services, ABI Research said Wednesday satellite IoT connections are expected to jump from 10.4 million in 2022 to 27 million in 2030. It said satellite IoT connection revenue is likely to grow from $2.2 billion last year to $7.8 billion in 2030.

OneWeb expanded its connectivity services to regions above 35 degrees north, giving it more coverage of Europe and most of the U.S., it said Wednesday. It said the expansion also enhances its connectivity across Canada and in more maritime regions. OneWeb had been delivering wholesale connectivity at 50 degrees north. It anticipates offering global service by year's end.