Satellite

SpaceX operates the world’s most powerful satellite-internet system near Earth. It still hasn’t reached Taiwan. The island democracy is racing to ensure that its government, military and people could stay online in the event of an invasion or blockade by China.

It’s clear we need more resiliency in our broadband policy. If nothing else, the hurricanes ravaging the U.S. Southeast have shown us that. In the last few weeks, pervasive wireless and wireline communication outages have left people that are already struggling in the wake of disaster completely cut off from resources, important news updates, and loved ones.

Elon Musk’s fast-growing satellite business Starlink could be poised to gain billions of dollars more in federal contracts and subsidies under a Donald Trump presidency, industry experts say, in a reflection of the world’s richest individual’s deepening financial stake in Washington politics. Trump has cast himself as a space patron, pledging to unleash funds for national-security installations in orbit and slash red tape for Musk.

Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel its October 2024 Porker of the Month for her decision to block funding for Starlink to deploy satellite internet service in hard-to-reach areas of the country. The FCC approved and then revoked SpaceX Starlink’s $885.5 million competitive award under the Rural Development Opportunity Fund (RDOF).

SpaceX is seeking approval for changes to Starlink that the company says will enable gigabit-per-second broadband service.

The Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA), the public agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital equity in Maine, announced the launch of the Working Internet ASAP (WIA) Program to connect the hardest-to-reach places across the state. This program is one way that MCA is fulfilling the commitment to provide all people in Maine with an option to connect to the internet by the end of 2024.

SpaceX has used its position as the world’s primary rocket launcher to push rival satellite operators to share wireless airwaves, showing how the company can flex its power in one area to benefit another part of its business.

The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to reaffirm its revocation of an award authorizing Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s Starlink to receive broadband deployment subsidies through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).  The Committee seeks information from the FCC to ensure that the Commission followed established processes and is not improperly using the regulatory process for political purposes.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed revised spectrum sharing rules for non-geostationary orbit, fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) systems. This proposal would seek to clarify certain methodology details from the 2023 Report and Order that previously updated the FCC’s rules governing coordination and protection requirements among NGSO FSS systems approved through different processing rounds.

DirecTV agreed to buy Dish from owner EchoStar for a nominal $1, plus the assumption of roughly $9.8 billion in debt. That merger depends on an agreement with bondholders to write off about $1.6 billion of the Dish obligations as well as approval from multiple federal regulators. Merging Dish with DirecTV would bolster both brands’ profits as their customer bases erode. The deal would create the largest U.S.