NTIA Unveils Space Launch Frequency Coordination Portal
The FCC has prioritized streamlining space communications and broadband satellite launch applications. NTIA has as well. The NTIA’s Space Launch Frequency Coordination Portal began operating on March 24 and the agency announced that launch yesterday. The portal will streamline federal reviews of spectrum requests by commercial space launch providers.
“Efficient, innovative spectrum management is essential to both our national security and economic prosperity. But for too long, the federal government has been bogged down by slow, outdated technologies,” said NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth. She said the “launch of the Space Launch Frequency Coordination Portal is the first step in the modernization of our systems that will position the United States for leadership in spectrum innovation and space for years to come.”
The portal replaces a manual system that was previously run through e-mail and had been criticized by industry for lacking transparency and moving slowly, according to NTIA. The portal is a web application designed to streamline spectrum requests for commercial space launch providers.
First, a provider must obtain a non-exclusive nationwide FCC license and register each launch site and station. Then, the provider will initiate a request through the portal that will be coordinated among federal agencies. The portal will require users to authenticate via Login.gov to ensure secure access.
The agencies will make comments for each request, and the portal will provide a transparent view of where requests are in the federal spectrum approval process. NTIA plans to use the portal to coordinate space launch requests as the FCC continues to finalize these elements of its licensing framework.
The portal satisfies a congressional mandate that directs the FCC, in coordination with NTIA, to increase the automation of spectrum coordination processes and increase the speed by which launch applications occur.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
