ESIM Access to Parts of Ku, Ka Bands Sees Satellite Support
Satellite operators largely agree with opening parts of the Ku and Ka bands to earth stations in motion communications with geostationary orbit (GSO) fixed satellite service (FSS) satellites, in FCC docket 17-95 replies posted Thursday. Expanding frequencies available to geostationary…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
ESIM networks will allow for more intensive spectrum use, SES/O3b and Intelsat said. Many agree that concerns about downlinks interfering with protected passive scientific observations at 10.6-11.7 GHz and 18.6-18.8 GHz are off base. ViaSat said they're already protected by FCC rules and that ESIMs in those bands would be in receive mode only anyway. Boeing said operators won't be launching additional GSO FSS satellites to increase capacity because of limits on satellite spacing. It said ESIMs have sufficient interference protections from fixed service networks. Iridium urged disregarding any "out-of-left-field request" to let FSS ESIMs in the 19.4-19.6 band as beyond the scope of the NPRM while there's no justification for swerving from agency precedent that the band be limited to non-GSO mobile satellite service feeder downlinks.