SpaceX should have to give the FCC information about how it will comply with its existing interference condition to make sure any changes to the system don't harm direct broadcast satellite (DBS) operations in the 12 GHz band, as part of its pending request to update technology in its first-generation constellation (see 2302160009), Dish Network petitioned the International Bureau Monday. Dish said the agency also should confirm the interference condition bars situations where earth stations are subject to significant power contributions from multiple satellites. It said SpaceX's plans to use narrower beams will likely mean cases where a DBS dish will be exposed to significant impacts from multiple satellite beams. SpaceX didn't comment Tuesday.

The supplemental coverage from space (SCS) NPRM approved last month (see 2303160009) seems designed to facilitate satellite having a broader role in consumer connectivity than just emergency communications and messaging, Sheppard Mullins' Drew Svor and Emily Dalessio blogged Friday. They said the FCC's "traditional, siloed approach to licensing" and its ability to move quickly on SCS applications might be challenged by big numbers of applications from satellite and mobile network operators.

SES has completed about 94% of the C-band accelerated clearing's Phase III satellite transitions, it said Monday in docket 18-122. It said its installers have completed installation of blue bandpass filters at approximately 82% of the incumbent earth stations locations associated with SES satellites. It said nearly 100% of the antennas associated with its Phase II transition schedule have been installed. It said with C-band replacement satellites SES-18 and -19 having been launched in March (see 2303160064), it will have met its satellite deployment milestone of four C-band satellites deployed once SES-18 starts operations. Eutelsat reiterated that its C-band clearing work is complete (see 2301130020) and said all continental U.S. transmissions within the 3700-4000 MHz band segment have been discontinued.

Dish Network and EchoStar's opposition to SpaceX's use of the 2 GHz band for supplemental coverage from space (see 2303150048) ignores Dish's pledge years ago to provide mobile satellite service in the 2000-2020 MHz and 2180-2200 MHz bands, though it did nothing, SpaceX told the FCC International Bureau last week. "Rather than deploying service, DISH deploys petitions," it said, saying Dish is upending FCC policy "by demanding that satellite operators show how they can protect terrestrial service -- in a satellite spectrum band." Dish didn't comment.

OneWeb agreed to some DOJ national security and law enforcement conditions for the pending modification of its U.S. market access grant (see 2101130002), per an FCC International Bureau filing Friday. Among the conditions, it won't provide or allow access to records or domestic communications infrastructure to a foreign government or entity without prior written U.S. government consent.

Current FCC space licensing, regulatory fee and spectrum management regimes often don't work well with many novel space activities, Venable space lawyer Laura Stefani blogged Thursday. The agency is working on new policies, but it's unclear if it "will do enough, fast enough, to provide regulatory relief and certainty," she said. Congress also needs to clearly define different agencies' roles in regulating the space industry, especially as conservative judges "are looking for clear, specific delegations of statutory authority to uphold major agency actions," she said.

AST SpaceMobile expects to launch five of its Block 1 BlueBird satellites in Q1 2024, with launches of its next-generation Block 2 satellites to start later that year, executives said in a call with analysts Friday as the company announced its Q4 2022 financial results. Chief Financial Officer Sean Wallace said the company ended the year with about $239 million in cash on hand, and that, plus its ability to raise funds, should cover its needs for the next 12 months, including the Block 1 satellites. The Block 2 satellites should have improved RF capabilities, executives said. Asked about the FCC's proceeding on supplemental coverage from space (see 2303160009), CEO and founder Abel Avellan said it was "very, very encouraging" for AST's plans because such a direct-to-handset service framework could encourage partnerships between space operators and terrestrial carriers. He said he expects other nations to do similarly. Asked about Germany’s BNetzA requirement that AST SpaceMobile shut off operations when its satellite is within radio visibility of the country (see 2301110032), AST said it hasn't filed for regulatory approval in Germany.

The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) launched its Operational Watch Center, staffed with analysts who monitor data feeds and produce reports on cyberthreats that could affect the space industry, it said Thursday. ISAC, comprised of private and public sector members and focused on protection of U.S. infrastructure, came from a Bill Clinton presidential directive.

Kepler and Spire continue to urge FCC support for a small-satellite mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum allocation in the 2020-2025 MHz band. In an RM-11869 filing Thursday, they recapped a meeting with International Bureau staffers in which they said having 1 MHz for downlink and 4 MHz for uplink would help in alleviating spectrum bottlenecks faced by emerging MSS operators. The two petitioned for the allocation in 2020 (see 2012220049).

Since the FCC gave SpaceX a partial waiver letting it start operations before receiving a necessary ITU finding, Amazon's planned Kuiper constellation should receive the same treatment, Amazon told the International Bureau Wednesday. In an application for an amendment of its pending modification, Amazon said "uncertainty and delay" in the ITU process could threaten Kuiper deployment, so the commission should allow Kuiper to begin before receiving the usually needed equivalent power flux density findings from the ITU. It said it would take "all reasonable steps to eliminate any harmful interference" to geostationary orbit systems in frequency bands subject to ITU EPFD limits.