Supplemental coverage from space service will provide a huge backstop to terrestrial networks' coverage, especially when disasters and emergencies strike terrestrial networks. But SCS also will carry significant challenges for pinpointing callers' locations, speakers said Tuesday at an FCBA CLE.
The FCC Space Bureau signed off on two of Planet Labs' proposed Tanager satellites with some of the conditions SpaceX sought. SpaceX has urged the agency to put similar conditions on numerous operators as were imposed on its second-generation constellation (see 2301180049). In an order in Monday's Daily Digest, the bureau said some second-generation analogous conditions tailored for the specific conditions presented in the Tanager application are "appropriate." It said Planet Labs must report any loss of control of a Tanager satellite at altitudes above 350 km. The bureau also conditioned the Tanager approval on Planet Labs coordinating with NASA and the National Science Foundation. The bureau said it was deferring decisions on the third and fourth Tanager satellites pending Planet Labs submitting additional orbital debris mitigation information.
SES' O3b is asking the FCC for 26 additional months to meet milestones for making operational its Ka-band satellites authorized in the agency's U.S. market access order. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Monday, O3b said the COVID-19 pandemic initially delayed its mPower satellites. Next, performance deficiencies were discovered in 2023 in the first four mPowers. It said design updates addressing those issues delayed manufacture of later mPowers. It asked that its milestone deadline for having 50% of the mPowers in the U.S. market access application be operational move from June 7, 2024, to Aug. 7, 2026. It also asked that the milestone deadline for the remaining 50% be moved from June 7, 2027, to Aug. 7, 2029.
The FCC Wireline Bureau made several Rural Digital Opportunity Fund census block groups eligible for other funding programs following letters from Charter and Altice notifying the commission that each company was surrendering some winning bids (see 2405010080). The bureau said in a public notice Friday in docket 19-126 that the carriers "will be subject to penalties" for their defaulted bids.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Monday asked for comments June 12, replies July 12, on rules for implementing multilingual wireless emergency alerts. The FCC proposes requiring that providers support template alert messages, “which the Bureau translated into the thirteen most commonly spoken languages in the United States aside from English, and American Sign Language,” the notice said: “The Bureau also seeks comment on whether the templates and their translations are accurate and will be effective at encouraging the public to take protective action during emergencies; whether templates addressing other types of emergencies should be supported; whether ‘form-fillable’ elements can be added to the templates, allowing alert originators to customize the templates with information specific to each emergency; and whether additional languages should be supported.” Comments can be filed in dockets 15-91 and 15-94.
Dish Wireless spoke with FCC Wireline Bureau staff on the company’s amended petition seeking eligible telecom carrier status in Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina and in the District of Columbia (see 404080037). “DISH clarified that it is a facilities-based wireless provider offering 5G voice and broadband services in markets throughout the country,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 09-917: “DISH has successfully tested this capability and is working toward launching at scale" and "as soon as possible ... will offer a combination of services (including Lifeline service) using its own facilities in portions of each state where the network is suitable and resale of its network partners to provide coverage in the remaining areas of the state.”
The FCC wants comments by May 28, replies by June 7, in docket 03-123 on Telecom Relay Services Fund compensation formulas, funding requirements and contribution factors from July 1 through June 30 that Rolka Loube Associates proposed, a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau public notice Friday said.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau classified a group of bad actors as a consumer communications information services threat (C-CIST) for "persistently facilitating robocall campaigns, aimed at defrauding and harming consumers," a news release Monday said (see 2308010075). In an enforcement advisory, the bureau classified Royal Tiger as a C-CIST for "impersonating government agencies, banks, and utilities." The entity, which included a group of individuals and entities based in India, the U.K., the United Arab Emirates and the U.S., received FCC warnings beginning in 2021. The first of its kind classification will allow the bureau to "formally name threat actors that are repeatedly using U.S. communications networks to perpetuate the most harmful, illegal schemes against consumers." It will also give industry stakeholders information to enhance their know-your-customer and know-your-upstream-provider processes.
Opening the 2 GHz band and the 1.6/2.4 GHz band to more satellite operators won't happen without a fight from incumbent satellite operators in those bands. SpaceX is pushing for such openings (see 2403270002). EchoStar and Globalstar argued against amending the rules governing those bands in comments posted Monday. The FCC Space Bureau in March rejected SpaceX requests to operate in the bands but put on public notice SpaceX petitions about amending the rules governing the bands.
Firefly Aerospace anticipates a November launch for its BGM1 lunar lander, which plans to deliver commercial, scientific and government payloads to the moon's surface as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, the company said in an FCC Space Bureau application Friday. Firefly said it expects the lander to reach the moon about six weeks later, by year's end.