FCC overhauls its licensing process
Faced with the on-going launch of thousands to millions of new satellites as well as several new commercial space stations and recoverable capsules of all sizes, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced last week a major overhaul of its licensing process, designed ostensibly to speed approvals and reduce red tape.
You can read the full report here [pdf]. Some of the changes are simple but extremely practical. For example, the FCC has adopted a single form for providing the basic information about each company that can be submitted with each new application. In the past the company had to submit its company information repeatedly, in great detail, requiring many company man-hours to write and many FCC man-hours to review. Now the company and FCC do this once, and then apply it to all future applications.
Similarly, the overhaul standardizes the application forms in an attempt to speed the process. And it allows single applications to apply across larger groups of satellites, reducing the number of applications required.
The overhaul also reviewed the regulations, and eliminated a lot of out-of-date rules that no longer applied.
Will this work? Your guess is as good as mine. Much of the changes read like typical bureaucratic jargon, rearranging the offices and renaming the procedures to make them seem more effective. For example, instead of “traditional licensing process” it is now replaced with a “licensing assembly line.” My heart be still!
In other areas this overhaul continues the mission creep of the commission. The FCC’s statutory powers, which was established merely to assign electromagnetic spectrum to different users, did not include the right to regulate how satellites are decommissioned. Yet, the commission is taking this issue on nonetheless. The new rules address the issue of space junk by requiring companies to provide plans for de-orbiting their satellites or space stations when they are retired. While certainly necessary with the numbers being launched, such requirements could hinder new projects if imposed too stringently or obsessively.
At the same time, this particular rule appears more rational than that attempted by the FCC under Biden. Then, the FCC tried to do this as well, but much more aggressively by outlining in detail how and when all satellites must be de-orbited. The Trump FCC is instead leaving these details to the company, letting them decide the specifics. It is hard to say just now how this more laissez-faire approach will work, for good or ill.
In general, the FCC’s aims appear to be laudable, to eliminate or reduce government interference in the private sector. At the same time, it continues to expand subtly that government interference, though doing it gently.
As I said whether this will work to the benefit of the space industry remains unknown.
