FCC Approval of 7,500 More Starlinks Expected to Offer Big Boost to D2D Capabilities
The FCC's approval of SpaceX launching an additional 7,500 of its second-generation satellites opens the door for the company to enhance direct-to-device connectivity and also points to the Space Bureau's efforts to speed up its approvals process, according to SpaceX and space policy experts. A previous block of 7,500 second-generation satellites was approved in 2022 (see 2212010052).
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FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the approval, announced Friday, "is a game-changer for enabling next-generation services." The FCC "has given SpaceX the green light to deliver unprecedented satellite broadband capabilities, strengthen competition, and help ensure that no community is left behind."
Ookla analyst Mike Dano wrote that while the approval will make it easier for SpaceX to offer supplemental coverage from space in the U.S. using terrestrial spectrum bands, the company is promising D2D connectivity in Mexico but hasn't announced a mobile network operator partner there.
"2026 ought to be a big year for Starlink," Dano said, noting that SpaceX indicated in its most recent company report that its cumulative network capacity recently passed 600 Tbps. That ought to expand as Starlink launches its third-generation satellites, which supposedly will provide 10 times the downlink and 24 times the uplink capacity of the company’s second-generation ones, he said.
SpaceX has heavily pushed for changes to the U.S.'s equivalent power flux density caps on non-geostationary orbit satellites (see 2411040054). The FCC's approval of the second-generation satellites includes a waiver of the agency's EPFD limits for operations inside the U.S.
SpaceX Vice President of Satellite Policy David Goldman wrote on social media Saturday that the FCC Space Bureau processed the application "in less than half the time of previous licenses, even with delays from the government shut down. Faster processing = faster results for Americans." Goldman also applauded the approval's "really creative thinking" and the way it leads "a global charge to eliminate outdated [EPFD] limits that unnecessarily reduce the power of next-generation satellite systems like Starlink." Updating EPFD rules would "protect legacy competing services while connecting more Americans with faster speeds, even before new hardware is launched."
In addition, the FCC approval lets SpaceX lower the satellites currently operating at 525, 530 and 535 kilometers to the orbital shells at 480, 485 and 475 km, respectively, while also allowing the company to orbit at altitudes of 340-360 km.
Satellite and spectrum consultant Tim Farrar wrote on social media that the EPFD waiver, combined with lower altitudes, means that Starlink's peak capacity per square mile could go up four- or fivefold. "So wave goodbye to suggestions that Starlink will run out of capacity at hub airports," he said.
The approval deferred action on SpaceX's request to do mobile satellite service operations outside the U.S. in additional frequencies in the 1429-2690 MHz band and to operate in the 20.2-21.2 GHz and 30-31 GHz bands.
The company originally requested FCC approval for 29,988 second-generation satellites; Friday's approval deferred action on the remaining 14,988.