Tariff classification rulings

Telesat wants to rejigger its low earth orbit construction plans (see 2204200005), moving 110 satellites from Phase 1 deployment to Phase 2. In an FCC International Bureau application last week, it said the reduction in Phase 1 satellites, to 188, reflects its reducing the number of orbital planes used in its plans. Phase 2 would still see a total constellation size of 1,671 satellites, it said.

The FCC Wireline Bureau, Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics are ready to authorize Connect America Fund Phase II auction support for Viasat's winning bid in Oregon, said a public notice listed in Wednesday's Daily Digest. Viasat has until 6 p.m. EDT June 29 to submit a letter of credit and bankruptcy code opinion letter. The bureaus granted Viasat a waiver of auction rules requiring eligible telecom carrier certification for the census blocks where it received designation but found the company's bids where it has yet to receive designation in default.

Little scientific attention is being paid to how the growing cadence of rocket launches and space debris reentries is affecting the climate and atmospheric ozone, but public interest will grow as the space industry grows in prominence, said Aerospace Corp.'s Center for Space Policy and Strategy Wednesday. Basing policy decisions on the assumption such activities have little global impact "is no longer appropriate," and policymakers are going to want a comprehensive review of environmental consequences of spaceflight, it said. Space industry stakeholders should organize and fund that kind of assessment before there's unwarranted regulation, it said.

OneWeb and SpaceX reached a coordination agreement allowing their first-generation non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service systems to coexist and their proposed second-gen systems to also coexist while protecting the first-gen systems, they told the FCC International Bureau Tuesday. That coordination should supersede any default rules and make moot any further conditions on their system authorizations, they said. Citing the coordination agreement, the two urged the agency to "quickly approve" their pending second-gen applications.

SpaceX's arguments in its petition to deny Viasat's purchase of Inmarsat (see 2206130026) are baseless and previously refuted, Viasat emailed us Monday. "There is nothing new here," it said. "We continue to believe that the transaction will serve the public interest and remain confident that the FCC will reach that same conclusion after reviewing the complete record." Viasat said it expects the deal to close in the second half of the year, subject to Viasat shareholder approval on June 21 and regulatory clearances.

Hughes successfully demonstrated 5G satellite backhaul capabilities with its Jupiter System ground platform, it said Tuesday. It said it tested connecting 5G smartphones to the internet using its Jupiter System infrastructure, including a very small aperture gateway and high throughput satellite.

SpaceX's response to claims it's urging people to use Starlink terminals as ersatz earth stations in motion, without FCC OK (see 2206090054), is weak sauce as the company continues to urge such activity, or at the least not discourage it, Dish Network said in docket 20-443 Monday. SpaceX actually deactivating ESIM operations "will go a long way" toward addressing concerns, Dish said. SpaceX didn't comment.

Viasat's planned $7.3 billion purchase of Inmarsat (see 2111080038) got challenges from SpaceX and Amazon's Kuiper, in docket 22-153 filings Monday. Citing what it said was Viasat's "ongoing willful and unlawful operation" of earth stations in the Ka band without FCC approval, SpaceX urged the FCC to deny approving the transaction. The FCC "can no longer allow this issue to linger unresolved as Viasat continues to apply for more licenses and even entire satellite systems while blatantly flouting conditions the Commission placed on Viasat’s existing licenses," it said. SpaceX filed a complaint with the FCC Enforcement Bureau a year ago about the earth stations being used to provide mass market residential and in-flight Wi-Fi services without first getting coordination agreements from non-geostationary fixed satellite service operators that have priority protection. The deal violates agency rules against holding multiple dormant satellite authorizations in the same frequency band, given Viasat's authorization for its as-yet unbuilt V-band system and a modification application for that system pending, while Inmarsat has a pending application to operate V-band satellites, Kuiper said. It said any approval should be conditioned on one of the applicants surrendering or withdrawing a V-band license or application. Viasat didn't comment.

SpaceX's proposed Boca Chica Launch Site in Texas for its Starship rocket will need to take dozens of mitigation actions for its potential environmental impacts, said an FAA environmental assessment Monday. SpaceX's license application is pending. The agency said those mitigation steps include more advanced notice of launches to reduce local road closings, ongoing wildlife and vegetation monitoring, and coordination with state or federal agencies about removal of launch debris from environmentally sensitive habitats.

Marine vessel operations continue to suffer from bad satellite broadband due to attrition, bankruptcies and consolidation, Royal Caribbean told the FCC International Bureau Friday, urging it to approve SpaceX's pending application for a blanket license for second-generation earth stations in motion. It said SpaceX offers "a true next generation solution for our vessels that meets the rigorous technical and operational requirements commensurate with our growth plans."