SpaceX is asking for the FCC to authorize spectrum access that could support a variety of U.S. space program missions involving its Starship rocket, including lunar landings. In an FCC Space Bureau filing posted Thursday, SpaceX said the Starship missions will include a long-duration orbital flight test, a propellant transfer flight test in orbit, an uncrewed lunar landing test and refueling operations in orbit, and a pair of lunar landings that include refueling operations in Earth orbit. As part of its application, SpaceX asked for FCC OK to operate in some spectrum bands on a nonconforming basis, such as space-to-space communications in the Ku band between Starship and SpaceX’s Starlink satellite system, and lunar surface communications in the 5.8 GHz band for close-range communications during extravehicular activities.
The 2,411 voice service providers warned in a recent FCC Enforcement Bureau order to correct their filings in the Robocall Mitigation Database (see 2412100061) have until Dec. 31 to show cause why they shouldn’t be removed from the database, the bureau said in a public notice released Tuesday. “Each Company must cure the deficiencies in its RMD certification and notify the Bureau that the deficiencies have been cured or file a response explaining why the Bureau should not remove the Company’s certification from the RMD,” said the PN. “Removal from the RMD would require all intermediate providers and voice service providers to stop accepting all traffic directly from the Company.”
The new Space Age, driven increasingly by commercial actors rather than superpowers, needs more competition and competitors, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday. "Our economy doesn’t benefit from monopolies," Rosenworcel told the audience at the SIA's DOD commercial satcom workshop in Crystal City, Virginia. Since space is "a challenging industry to enter," more effort is needed to ease the path for additional investors, innovators and competitors, she said. After her address, Rosenworcel declined to elaborate on her competition comments, but in the past she has said SpaceX poses a monopolistic threat (see 2409110014). Rosenworcel's address was largely a victory lap as she recapped space-related actions the FCC has undertaken during her administration. She said the agency "made real progress" on space-related priorities she laid out early in her term: revising rules, promoting innovation and protecting space sustainability. She said the Space Bureau creation signaled to other nations that they need to collaborate with the U.S. on space. Staffing the bureau and adding engineers and policy experts allowed the agency to be quicker and more nimble as a regulator, said Rosenworcel, noting it processed 74% more applications in 2023 than 2022.
T-Mobile has started soliciting beta test users for its supplemental coverage from space service, offered in partnership with SpaceX. "T-Mobile Starlink beta is coming soon," the wireless carrier said on its website. "Register now for a limited number of openings to beta-test satellite-powered messaging." The FCC Space Bureau gave a nod in November to T-Mobile and SpaceX commencing commercial operations (see 2411260043).
The FCC Wireline Bureau has granted the petitions of two carriers that sought to expand their Lifeline footprint, said an order in Tuesday’s Daily Digest. It granted requests for expanded designations as eligible telecommunications carriers from Conexon Connect for Florida and Scott County Telephone Cooperative in Tennessee and Virginia. The carriers were already designated as ETCs in their respective states in areas where they were authorized to receive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund support, but Tuesday’s order expands the areas in which they can participate in Lifeline. Conexon and SCTC’s petitions drew no opposition filings, the order said.
The Senate voted 83-12 Monday night to invoke cloture on the House-passed FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-5009) with language that would authorize the AWS-3 reauction to offset $3.08 billion in funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program (see 2412110067). The chamber hadn't scheduled a final vote on the measure as of Tuesday afternoon, but it's expected to happen Wednesday. Meanwhile, House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., hailed the chamber's passage Monday (see 2412160062) of the Promoting U.S. Wireless Leadership Act (HR-1377), an amended version of the Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act (HR-3293) and Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act (HR-3343). “Bureaucracy and red tape have stopped too many Americans from accessing high-speed broadband,” Rodgers said. “I am proud of the work" of House Commerce members “to advance bipartisan priorities to speed up broadband deployment and close America’s digital divide. I want to thank these members for their commitment to these bills that will promote innovation and support American technological leadership in years to come.”
Along with its pending request for a planned 258-satellite radionavigation satellite service (see 2307120002), Xona Space Systems is requesting that the FCC approve launch and operation of one of those satellites. In an FCC Space Bureau application posted Monday, Xona said the satellite would be the first of the 258 providing commercial RNSS capabilities. It is intended to validate the company's first production-class satellite and evaluate its Pulsar radionavigaiton service's performance.
The FCC’s Consolidated Data Base System’s public access search function will be discontinued Jan. 2, the Media Bureau said in a public notice in Monday’s Daily Digest. “The vast majority of all CDBS filed applications and associated attachments have been transferred to LMS [Licensing and Management System], and may be viewed using the LMS search function,” the PN said. “Persons seeking information regarding broadcast applications filed in either LMS or in CDBS should search LMS.”
Noting the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index data, NCTA CEO Michael Powell wrote Friday that broadband prices "continue to buck inflationary trends." Internet prices were down 1.6% in November, the fifth drop in six months, he said. Year-over-year broadband prices are down 0.7%, the biggest decrease since 2018, he said.
The FCC’s remaining extensions on the implementation of call authentication standards “remain necessary to avoid undue hardship for the limited number of providers that require them,” the Wireline Bureau said in a public notice announcing its annual evaluation of extensions. The extensions of Stir/Shaken standards apply to small voice service providers originating calls via satellite using North American Numbering Plan (NANP) numbers and providers that cannot obtain a service provider code token. Retaining the extensions “does not present a significant barrier to the Commission’s goal of full participation in STIR/SHAKEN,” the PN said. The Wireline Bureau’s annual evaluation of the extensions is required by the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act, the PN said.