Celebrating space month at the FCC, the Commissioners yesterday voted on several items to facilitate launching more types of satellites into space, to provide broadband connectivity.
While drinking Tang to mark the occasion, the Commissioners in particular approved requests by four companies — Space X, Telesat Canada, Kepler and LeoSat MA — to access the American market.
The companies propose to deploy satellites to deliver broadband to rural areas or for uses like space-based data backhaul, precision ag, GPS navigation or IoT.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said during the vote: “We used to focus on improving speeds for copper, then fiber and then LTE. Now, we’re talking about 5G.” The large-band constellations in low-earth orbit being discussed, he said, can cover “corners of the country that don’t have many broadband choices. As we move towards 5G, satellite, fiber, cable, fixed wireless, and a range of other offerings are all going to compete for your broadband dollars.” He emphasized the FCC, “is not picking winners and losers” in the competition to provide more broadband, but rather letting the marketplace determine the success of the companies. Comments? Email us.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
November 16, 2018
