FCC approves new spectrum rules to give new constellations more capacity
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday approved new spectrum rules proposed by SpaceX that will increase the capacity of all the new low-Earth-orbit constellations by as much as seven times.
The commission introduced the new rules earlier this month before approving them at a Thursday meeting. The revamp targets the Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) rules, which were developed in the late 1990s and limited the amount of energy satellite systems could transmit to and from ground equipment. The regulations were also designed to prevent radio signal interference between higher-orbiting geostationary satellites and lower-orbiting systems. But during the vote, Carr said the decades-old existing rules were “holding back” newer satellite internet offerings.
“Modern satellite designs make it far easier to share spectrum than what yesterday’s regulations assumed. We can do a lot better,” he said. Carr touted the 7x increase when the commission found the revamped rules could enable “eight satellites to provide service simultaneously in a given geographic area and frequency band, instead of being effectively limited to one satellite under current EPFD limits.”
The FCC was sold on this change after SpaceX conducted its own tests in orbit, using Starlink satellites, to demonstrate it could work. The rule change will benefit all the new constellations, which is why Amazon’s Leo constellation supported the change as well.
The speed in which the FCC acted on this matter must also be noted. It did not bother with long studies of its own. It quickly reviews SpaceX’s work, realized it made sense, and scheduled the vote at its very next meeting. This constrasts starkly with the FCC during the Biden administration, which routinely slow-walked or even opposed such suggestions.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) yesterday approved new spectrum rules proposed by SpaceX that will increase the capacity of all the new low-Earth-orbit constellations by as much as seven times.
The commission introduced the new rules earlier this month before approving them at a Thursday meeting. The revamp targets the Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) rules, which were developed in the late 1990s and limited the amount of energy satellite systems could transmit to and from ground equipment. The regulations were also designed to prevent radio signal interference between higher-orbiting geostationary satellites and lower-orbiting systems. But during the vote, Carr said the decades-old existing rules were “holding back” newer satellite internet offerings.
“Modern satellite designs make it far easier to share spectrum than what yesterday’s regulations assumed. We can do a lot better,” he said. Carr touted the 7x increase when the commission found the revamped rules could enable “eight satellites to provide service simultaneously in a given geographic area and frequency band, instead of being effectively limited to one satellite under current EPFD limits.”
The FCC was sold on this change after SpaceX conducted its own tests in orbit, using Starlink satellites, to demonstrate it could work. The rule change will benefit all the new constellations, which is why Amazon’s Leo constellation supported the change as well.
The speed in which the FCC acted on this matter must also be noted. It did not bother with long studies of its own. It quickly reviews SpaceX’s work, realized it made sense, and scheduled the vote at its very next meeting. This constrasts starkly with the FCC during the Biden administration, which routinely slow-walked or even opposed such suggestions.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
But isn’t the Trump administration supposed to be “anti-science?” I guess it isn’t actually opposed to the kind of science where one runs experiments against a hypothesis and then makes policy based on the results, just the kind of “science” based on political ideology.
And once more SpaceX plows fresh ground for an entire industry it pretty much invented. One more way, besides launching satellites for all of its would-be competitors.