FCC Modernizes Satellite Spectrum Sharing Rules to Boost Broadband

The Federal Communications Commission voted to modernize its satellite spectrum-sharing rules. This is a major step toward enhancing the satellite broadband experience for millions of Americans by enabling faster speeds, lower costs, and greater reliability. This change could also unlock more than $2 billion in economic benefits for the American people and up to seven-fold more capacity for space-based broadband services. The Report and Order replaces the Equivalent Power Flux Density framework with modern, performance-based GSO protection criteria that take account of the improved spectrum sharing possibilities that modern satellite technology has brought, including through use of adaptive coding and modulation. The new sharing regime builds on the Commission’s time-tested framework for good-faith coordination to allow NGSO and GSO operators to bargain for appropriate interference protections through voluntary, private agreements.