DISH, SpaceX Spar Over FCC Broadband Money

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DISH Network and SpaceX are fighting over FCC broadband funding.

DISH recently told the FCC that SpaceX shouldn’t get the $885.51 million over 10 years it was recently awarded from the agency’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). It fears interference in the 12 GHz band from SpaceX’s planned Starlink satellite/terrestrial combo broadband service, reports Ars Technica.  

SpaceX called DISH’s arguments this week “spurious,” and a “baseless attempt” to block funding that would “delay what matters most — connecting unserved Americans.”

Though SpaceX was tentatively awarded the more than $885 million, it still needs final agency approval. It’s one of many companies that smaller broadband providers and their trade associations asked the FCC to conduct due diligence on. They want the Commission to prove that RDOF awardees can really deploy the systems they say they can on paper, Inside Towers reported. 

If SpaceX gets the money, it’s required to deploy broadband to nearly 643,000 homes and businesses in 35 states. The funding would partially support SpaceX’s expenses for building and deploying its network throughout the country, not just those specific areas, according to the account.

As part of its approval of T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, the telecoms told the Commission they’d help DISH become a fourth national broadband provider, Inside Towers noted. Satellite TV provider DISH didn’t bid in the RDOF auction, but plans to build a 5G network and employ its 12 GHz licenses.

Objecting to potential interference, DISH claims SpaceX could use other spectrum for its service. DISH claimed it paid for a study that showed SpaceX transmissions “could imperil” DISH transmissions on the band, reports Ars Technica.

SpaceX disputed the power limit parameters used in the study.

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