The FCC should ensure that any changes to space technology licensing, as proposed in an NPRM on the agency's October meeting agenda (see 2510070038), maintain "a transparent and predictable sharing environment," CTIA told Commissioner Anna Gomez, Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz and aides to Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty. In an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 25-306, the group said updates must not "inadvertently undermine the rights of terrestrial license holders in shared bands ... where a mutual operational understanding is critical to enable network deployments, prevent confusion, and ultimately speed implementation" of modernization efforts. The FCC should also clarify its meaning of "blanket licensing" and keep existing limits for out-of-band emissions, CTIA said.

SpaceX "is pretty much Earth's space program," given how it will carry roughly 90% of the world's payload mass to space this year, CEO Elon Musk wrote Monday on social media. He also congratulated SpaceX on hitting the milestone of 10,000 Starlink satellites launched to date. SpaceX "now has several times more satellites in orbit than all others combined."

Astranis is urging the FCC not to drop its 2-degree spacing requirement for geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites. In a docket 25-306 filing posted Monday, Astranis also advocated that the space modernization NPRM on the FCC's October agenda (see 2510070038) keep the buildout milestones for GSOs and the existing station-keeping limits.

Data applications should surpass video services as the chief revenue stream for satellite communications operators by 2033, Novaspace said last week. Data's share of total service revenue is likely to rise from 21% last year to 55% by 2034, it said. That rebalancing of the satellite communications marketplace is being driven by non-geostationary orbit constellations, falling capacity prices and surging demand across data segments, it said. Novaspace projected that satcom revenue will increase from $101 billion in 2024 to $122 billion by 2034, with growth coming from data services, which are expected to triple to $67 billion over the next decade.

Figuring out ways to gauge the reliability of low earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband and its compliance with connectivity program requirements remains a work in progress, state broadband officials said Thursday during an Ookla virtual panel. David Bresnahan, the Maine Connectivity Authority's senior manager of grants and programs, said the state is awaiting official BEAD guidance on compliance. However, he said, it will be using randomized speed testing and other performance metrics, and third-party verification will be needed.

Space investment in Q3 hit a record $3.5 billion, venture capital firm Seraphim Space said Friday. It reported investment over the past 12 months of $10.4 billion, just shy of the all-time high, $10.9 billion, set in Q2 2021. The investment marks "a robust rebound" from the dip in 2022 and represents a broad base of activity, rather than a few particularly big fundraising rounds, it said. Most of the investment activity is in the U.S., but there's also growth in China driven by a few high-value transactions, the firm noted.

More than 43,000 satellites should launch by 2035, averaging 12 satellites a day, and that surge should drive a $665 billion satellite manufacturing and launch services market, Novaspace said Tuesday. The size of the market will be largely fueled by mega constellations, defense demand and rapid launch technology innovation. Five mega constellations will account for 66% of all satellites launched between 2025 and 2034, Novaspace added.

The second flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket should be later this month or in early November, with a mission of sending a NASA satellite into orbit around Mars, Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said Friday at a tech conference in Italy. The company is also working on a hydrogen-powered lunar lander for a moon mission "in a few years," as well as conducting R&D to make solar cells from lunar material, he said. Bezos predicted that solar-powered data centers would be built and operated in space within 10 to 20 years.

With U.S. Bankruptcy Court having entered a formal order approving Ligado's comprehensive Chapter 11 organization plan, the company emailed us this week that it and AST SpaceMobile will next file applications with regulators in the coming weeks about AST leasing Ligado's L-band spectrum. Once those applications are approved, Ligado would emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, it said.

Northrop Grumman's Space Logistics subsidiary is seeking FCC approval for telemetry and commanding operations for its MRV-1 robotic spacecraft when it conducts satellite servicing missions in and around geostationary orbit. In an FCC Space Bureau application Tuesday, Space Logistics said MRV-1 is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2026. MRV-1 will attach propulsion augmentation mission-extension pods onto client satellites, lengthening the fuel life of those satellites, the company said.