The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware signed off on Ligado's debtor-in-possession financing plan to keep it afloat during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to an order issued Wednesday (docket 25-10006). The financing plan had faced opposition from Viasat's Inmarsat (see 2501290075).

Any NPRM that looks at new power limits on non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites should consider how the space industry and the assumptions underlying the original NGSO/geostationary orbit spectrum-sharing framework have changed, Amazon's Kuiper said. In a filing posted Monday, Kuiper recapped a meeting with FCC Space Bureau staffers where it presented four pages of suggested questions and topics for such an NPRM. It said the commission should ask about the level of protection GSO systems reasonably require and if the current equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits are the right ones for that level of protection. The FCC also should ask if the current EPFD limits overly restrict NGSO operations, Kuiper said. It should seek input on a new NGSO/GSO spectrum-sharing framework and on the best methodology for protecting GSO operations that use adaptive coding and modulation. SpaceX has petitioned for higher EPFD limits (see 2408120018).

AST SpaceMobile received FCC signoff to test its supplemental coverage from space service. A pair of FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approvals received in January cover use of AT&T's lower 700 MHz and 850 MHz band spectrum, and of Verizon's 850 MHz spectrum with the satellite operator's BlueBird low earth orbit satellites. The approvals "represent a pivotal moment for AST SpaceMobile as we advance toward delivering seamless space-based cellular broadband connectivity,” Global Head-Regulatory Affairs Vikram Raval said Friday.

SES' purchase of Intelsat is a good opportunity to open up the upper C band to other satellite operators, according to SpaceX. In a docket 18-122 filing posted Friday, SpaceX said it wasn't opposing SES/Intelsat or suggesting the two -- which control more than 90% of the 4-4.2 GHz band -- lose that spectrum. But letting in more operators would put "this critical mid-band spectrum ... to its highest and best use," SpaceX said. It said the same software-defined satellites that SES and Intelsat say they will employ to use the upper C band more efficiently also should let SES share the band with other satellite systems after the purchase. An upper C-band sharing framework could have operators coordinate with one another, adding that the 20 MHz guard band at 3.98-4 GHz could also be used for mobile satellite service.

As of the end of 2024, the C-band relocation payment clearinghouse (RPC) has finished reviewing lump sum and non-lump sum claims and satellite operator claims, and it has moved to claims reconciliation, the RPC said in a docket 18-122 status report posted Friday. It said it reviewed $83.8 million worth of claims in Q4, and that reconciliation work will result in determinations of what adjustments might be needed to amounts reimbursed to satellite operators. Once reconciliation is done, the RPC will start work on the final accounting and audit, with the goal of finishing its C-band work by June.

Plummeting prices are a challenge for geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite operators, but they ultimately could be a boon by opening markets and otherwise increasing demand, Eutelsat Vice President-Pricing and Analytics Mark Kirley said. During a Global Satellite Operators Association event Thursday, he and other GSO executives said price competition from SpaceX's non-geostationary orbit Starlink system is hitting some markets and applications harder than others. "It's a tough time for [GSO] satellite operators," said Glenn Katz, Telesat chief commercial officer.

SiriusXM's SXM-9 satellite has wrapped up in-orbit testing and is fully operational, the company and satellite maker Maxar said Wednesday. Launched Dec. 5, SXM-9 will help provide coverage of North America, they said. Bridget Neville, SiriusXM's general manager-signal distribution engineering, said SXM-9 going into service and the expected launches of SXM-10, 11 and 12 "will strengthen the health of our satellite fleet for decades to come." SXM-10 is expected to launch later this year (see 2407190034).

Viasat subsidiary Inmarsat is objecting to Ligado's proposed debtor-in-possession financing plan to keep it afloat during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The $115 million in financing from secured lenders comes with $110 million in fees -- a "highly objectionable" provision, Inmarsat told the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in its objection Wednesday (docket 25-10006). Inmarsat said that with no official committee of unsecured rectors in the case, it must "fill the [role] of estate watchdog and ensure some adversarial process is effectuated to ensure that any DIP Financing is in the estate’s best interest." Ligado is suing Inmarsat in conjunction with its bankruptcy, claiming that Inmarsat failed to hold up its end of a deal regarding use of the L band (see 2501100001).

The European Space Agency and Viasat are exploring a joint direct-to-device (D2D) service, ESA said Tuesday. Under the partnership agreement, Viasat would develop "a partner-funded satellite constellation" to provide smartphone and IoT connectivity, it said. Viasat is "fully committed to the development of D2D space capabilities" that combine existing geostationary assets and a new low earth orbit satellite constellation "that meets the needs of users in Europe and across the world," CEO Mark Dankberg said. "We will be deploying our expertise alongside a host of European partner companies in this important work."

Mobile operators may be unsure about dedicating large amounts of unimpaired terrestrial spectrum for direct-to-device service on a multi-region basis, or even near cities, Summit Ridge Group's Armand Musey and consultant Tim Farrar wrote in a white paper Monday. They said using terrestrial spectrum for D2D will spur patchwork coverage and restricted spectrum access across a limited number of countries. While use of mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum provides wider coverage, access for new entrants to MSS spectrum comes with its own challenges from incumbent use in some allocations, they said. Moreover, spectrum sharing would be disruptive to those MSS incumbent users. D2D devices like smartphones, with their small, omnidirectional antennas, might necessitate what is essentially band splitting to avoid operating in the same bands in the same geography with one another, they said. But further band splitting becomes impractical as the number of D2D-connected devices grows, and incumbent spectrum gets more heavily used, they said. The three primary MSS bands possibly available to new D2D providers -- L, 2 GHz and big low earth orbit -- are licensed to existing satellite operators that serve millions of MSS devices globally, they said. Commercial agreements between D2D providers and MSS operators are the best way of guaranteeing that critical applications are protected. The report was commissioned by Globalstar, which has an MSS partnership with Apple for provision of D2D service to iPhones.