Convergencia Research, Consultoría especializada en Latinoamérica y Caribe
Monday, October 25, 2021

Starlink deployment breaks the status quo in 12 GHz band

US regulator will soon issue a decision on the use of that portion of the spectrum. The satellite firm claims exclusivity in its use, to the detriment of current licensees with MVDDS technology. But it's not the only fight by Elon Musk's company for the space business

Some of the regulatory fights faced by Starlink began the countdown at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US regulator. The agency is expected to issue a resolution this week to resolve the discussion over the use of the 12 GHz band, in which Starlink and a group of broadband Internet operators led by Dish and RS Access are at odds. In addition, the FCC has just resolved a controversy in favor of Boeing and against the interests of the firm led by Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, a background fight is looming on the horizon with Kuiper Systems, the Blue Origin satellite venture that has not yet taken off.

Fight for 12 GHz band. In what could be one of the most relevant conflicts, the FCC asked Starlink, Dish and RS Access to present new opinions regarding the use of the 12 GHz band. This portion of the spectrum is licensed and in the hands of terrestrial operators, who use it to transmit multi-channel Internet and 5G in the modality known as Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS).

Starlink also uses this band for the transmission from its satellites to the reception dishes of its customers. At first, the MVDDS looked sideways at Starlink's plans and believed that there would be no problems in sharing the band and so they made it known to the FCC with a document sent last January.

Starlink itself did not ask for exclusivity on that band. But its rapid deployment this year turned things different and the parties changed their minds. Starlink began to ask for exclusivity and the MVDDS went on the defensive, to demand that the FCC not innovate in the matter. Starlink claims that it has priority because its service grants Internet access to populations that otherwise do not have connectivity offers.

The contradictory positions of the actors in this conflict led to the FCC's proposal to generate a new round of opinions to reach a conclusion. According to the specialized media that follow the issue, the FCC would be very close to issuing a decision that would not be the final one either, since Dish warned that it would resort to federal justice if it considers that its interests have been harmed in the FCC procedure.

Boeing takes off. Meanwhile, last week the FCC resolved a dispute in favor of Boeing and against Starlink. Last Thursday it included in the list of matters discussed the request for authorization from Boeing to create a constellation of 147 LEO satellites for broadband Internet transmission.

Boeing first submitted its request to the FCC in 2017 for its constellation to provide fast broadband Internet service to resident consumers, government users and professionals in the US, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

In 2019, SpaceX asked the FCC to reject that request on the grounds that there was a "clear risk of malicious interference with other systems" or "ensuring that Boeing's operations were different", meaning that it did not create problems for other operators. .

Bezos on the horizon. The same problem, that of possible interference between services, faces Starlink with Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' space venture, which has its satellite division in Kuiper Systems together with Amazon.

When last July, the FCC agreed that Starlink would lower the orbit of 2,824 satellites to be deployed, Kuiper claimed that this decision will cause interference with other satellite companies with superior LEO artifacts. Starlink's response was that while its deployment is already up and running in beta and is nearing its final deployment, Kuiper is just a project that has yet to take off.

Just in case, the FCC asked in its July resolution that Starlink coordinate with Kuiper the analysis of inter-satellite interference. Something complex to do while Kuiper is not in space. The plan that Jeff Bezos and Amazon announced is to create a network of 3,000 LEO satellites starting in 2022, although there is no indication that construction of the artifacts has begun.

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