This week, SpaceX released validation that if 5G networks use the Ku-band, it could interfere with Starlink broadband services. The news comes as DISH Network and RA Access attempt to use the band. SpaceNews reported analysis by Savis, a third-party engineering consultant, showing Starlink would be unusable for most Americans if 5G high-power mobile service is allowed to operate with 12 GHz band frequencies across the United States.
Starlink uses the 12 GHz spectrum to connect its satellites in non-geostationary orbits (NGSO) to user terminals, reported SpaceNews. According to SpaceX senior director of satellite policy David Goldman, the company may have initially “underestimated the likelihood of interference and potential harm to Starlink services” prior to the report by Savis.
DISH Network and RS Access are seeking permission from the FCC to use 12 GHz licenses to provide terrestrial 5G services. The companies claim their plans can coexist with other users of the band, only disrupting one percent of terminals connecting to satellites in NGSO.
“SpaceX’s latest submission [to the FCC] follows the company’s familiar pattern: making exaggerated claims in service of trapping 500 MHz of 5G-ready spectrum,” DISH executive vice president for external and legislative affairs Jeff Blum said.
SpaceX claims the interference studies DISH and RS Access reference are inaccurate and based on incorrect assumptions about its network. Goldman wrote to the FCC that “only a third party could truly analyze” how the proposed network would interfere with NGSO satellites.
NGSO broadband operator OneWeb also uses the 12 GHz band to connect user terminals and submitted a study to the FCC in July. OneWeb’s study showed how using the spectrum for terrestrial 5G would severely disrupt NGSO broadband across the country. DirecTV, owned by AT&T, says its customers will also face “major disruption” if the FCC approves the plan.
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