SpaceX seeks FCC International Bureau OK for its first-generation broadband constellation to communicate with its user terminals specifically in the U.S. polar regions. In an IB application Monday, it said its request is for communications with user terminals solely at latitudes north of 53 degrees. It said such special temporary authority would let it accelerate deployment of its service to the polar regions before the Starlink constellation is sufficiently deployed to provide polar service at its already-authorized 25-degree minimum elevation angle. It said those operations at elevation angles of less than 25 degrees would be done on a non-interference basis.

SpaceX's planned expansion of its Starlink constellation falls short of various Communications Act and FCC rules requirements, not invented requirements as the company tries to portray them, Viasat told the International Bureau Monday. Those deficiencies include certification it would comply with applicable equivalent power flux density limits and providing an orbital debris mitigation plan that demonstrates an estimated per-satellite collision probability of less than 0.001, it said. The FCC should ignore SpaceX's claims about the alleged motivations of other parties in the proceeding, "as what really matters is whether a party’s arguments and evidence are valid," it said. SpaceX didn't comment.

Noting it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February, Intelsat asked the FCC to update the International Bureau filing system so the names for Intelsat entities holding FCC licenses quit being called "debtor-in-possession," in docket 21-375 Monday.

OneWeb doesn't deny the validity of Viasat arguments that OneWeb's proposed second-generation constellation should be subject of a rulemaking proceeding (see 2205040007) or try to refute Vaisat's specific technical analysis, Viasat told the FCC International Bureau last week. It said OneWeb also ignores that Viasat raised specific concerns regarding specific proposed OneWeb operations, it said. Amazon's Kuiper said there's a growing trend of licensees seeking to greatly expand their existing systems by adding a second generation, and the FCC should make sure such expansions don't hurt new entries and competition. The agency should make clear how its rules apply to such phased approaches, including the interference protection they are due and the burdens on operators so other operators can distinguish between satellites in those different generations. OneWeb didn't comment Monday.

Mangata expects to have Round B funding completed later this year, a trial network operational in late 2023, and full service launched in the first half of 2025, it told FCC International Bureau staffers, per an ex parte filing Friday. Launch, payload development and gateway development supplier contracts were signed this year, it said. It urged approval of its 2-year-old U.S. market access application for its planned 791-satellite non-geostationary orbit constellation (see 2005270010).

Given multichannel video and data distribution service interests' failure to actually show a terrestrial mobile service can operate in the 12 GHz band without interfering with authorized non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) services, or to propose rules for such a service, the FCC "should expeditiously remove the MVDDS encumbrance from the 12 GHz band" and end the proceeding, SpaceX said Friday in docket 20-443. It said studies submitted by both it and MVDDS interests show coexistence between MVDDS 5G and NGSO operations won't work.

The equivalent power flux density data files sent to various satcom operators contained an error, now corrected, and Viasat's complaints (see 2204260002) are "gamesmanship and attempts at 'gotcha' filings at the Commission," SpaceX told the International Bureau in a letter Tuesday. It said rather than "chasing windmills" at the FCC, operators that have issues with SpaceX data should contact the company first. Viasat didn't comment Wednesday.

Comments are due June 10, replies June 27, on Viasat's proposed buy of Inmarsat, the FCC International Bureau said in a docket 22-153 public notice Wednesday. The $7.3 billion deal, announced in November, isn't expected to face significant regulatory headwinds (see 2111080038).

The RF link is the most obvious area of satellite communications security vulnerability, but not the only one, said Tim Shroyer, Communications and Power Industries' Satcom & Antenna Technologies Division chief technology officer. Speaking Tuesday on a space security webinar, he said tracking, telemetry and control are generally well protected with encryption, but most other layers of satellite operations have vulnerabilities. Northern Sky Research President Brad Grady said jamming and RF security aren't new to the satellite sector, but the sophistication of jammers is growing as they move from targeting RF to cybersecurity and the physical layer. Integrasys CEO Alvaro Sanchez said more automation of monitoring processes can result in quicker responses to jamming and cyber events. Warning of satcom threats, the FBI's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in an alert earlier this spring said satcom operators should "significantly lower their threshold for reporting and sharing indications of malicious cyber activity."

Any technology-prescribing requirement for satellite propulsion would undermine innovation, and the FCC should focus on maneuverability outcomes instead of means, Planet Labs representatives told International Bureau representatives per a docket 18-313 ex parte post Monday. The agency should consider fleet size, aggregate mass and operating orbit when deciding whether to impose a maneuverability requirement, it said. Planet also opposed indemnification or performance bond requirements.