Satellite

Building on our progress last week modernizing our wireless infrastructure rules so that they are 5G ready, the Federal Communications Commission in April will continue to move full steam ahead in making spectrum available for next-generation 5G networks. At our April meeting, the Commission will vote on a public notice seeking input on auction procedures for the 28 GHz and 24 GHz bands. And under the draft that I have presented my colleagues, the 28 GHz auction would commence on November 14.

[Commentary] In Feb 2018, the Federal Communications Commission released its most recent Broadband Deployment Report, which bases its analysis on 2016 data delivered by all Internet providers. At first glance, improvements in broadband coverage are noticeable; a national summary of the accompanying map indicates that over 95 percent of all Americans now have access to the official broadband threshold (25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream). The intuitive “fixed” technologies (DSL, Cable, Fiber) made up over 95% of all 25/3 entries in the 2014 and 2015 records.

Companies like OneWeb and Elon Musk’s Starlink have been moving forward on ambitious plans to make internet available to every person on earth, which is a noble goal considering an estimated 4.3 billion people don’t have internet access. The problem is that there’s a natural incentive for a private satellite company to engage in “spectrum warehousing,” or highballing the amount of satellites it asks the government to allow it to shoot up. The company’s request may get approved on paper, but the companies may drag their feet sending up those satellites, or never send them up at all.

The face-off, between the Justice Department and AT&T over the company’s $85 billion agreement to buy media giant Time Warner, has broad ramifications for media, technology and other industries as well as for the government’s powers to deter large-scale corporate consolidation.

Would the combination of AT&T and Time Warner hurt consumers or help them? 

The Trump administration wants to spend $20 billion on a range of risky but potentially “transformative” infrastructure projects, such as satellite networks to provide rural broadband, new launchpads for private rockets, and “augmented reality” technologies to visualize and manage urban traffic congestion. The administration “is already prepared with ideas” for “surgically-targeted” projects, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told senators as part of a broad, multiagency push for momentum on a 10-year, $200 billion infrastructure proposal facing head winds on Capitol Hill.

satellite internet has been the service of last resort for people who live in places where cable and telco broadband can’t reach. But that may begin to change as a next wave of satellite technology begins entering orbit over the earth over the next few years. The “last alternative” role of satellite service may not last forever, though. Changes are afoot in the industry. These new satellites, called Low Earth Orbit or LEOs, will be smaller and lighter and could soon cost less than $1 million each.

I want to thank the satellite industry for your contributions to our economy and quality of life, which sometimes go underappreciated. I want to express my appreciation for all that you do when disaster strikes. We now stand at a moment of tremendous promise for your industry—and ultimately for
American consumers, who stand to benefit from your efforts. I want the FCC to help you, and with you the public, seize the opportunities that are in front of you. My top priority as Chairman of the FCC is closing the digital divide. I’ve often said that in order

Earlier in 2018, a space startup from Silicon Valley launched four of its first prototype communications satellites on top of an Indian rocket. Except the Federal Communications Commission says that the company didn’t have authorization to send up those spacecraft from the US government. The four satellites reportedly belong to a fledgling company called Swarm Technologies, which was started by former Google and NASA JPL engineer Sara Spangelo in 2016.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the March Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday March 22, 2018: