(Credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX can start using additional radio frequencies to bolster data capacity for Starlink, according to a new FCC ruling.
On Friday, the US regulator approved a SpaceX proposal to use “E-band” spectrum for the company’s second-generation Starlink network, in addition to the Ka and Ku-band spectrum.
The decision allows the company to tap the “71.0-76.0GHz (space-to-Earth) and 81.0-86.0GHz (Earth-to-space) frequency bands” for 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites, which the FCC also cleared back in December 2022.
At the time, the FCC deferred on whether it would let SpaceX use E-band spectrum, saying it had “not yet adopted band-specific service rules for these frequencies.” But on Friday, the US regulator authorized the company to use the additional spectrum, explaining it “will benefit consumers by expanding the capacity of its Gen2 Starlink system.”
SpaceX plans on using the E-band spectrum to bolster communications between the orbiting Starlink satellites and the company’s “gateway” ground stations, which are connected to fiber networks.
(Credit: Starlink.com)“Up to 32 satellites can transmit to a single gateway at once, for a maximum number of 64 co-frequency beams transmitting to the same earth station at any one time,” the FCC’s order notes. The agency also found that SpaceX’s use of the E-band spectrum should “present no new or increased frequency conflicts with other satellite operations.”
Back in February 2023, SpaceX tweeted that it planned on using the radio frequencies for backhaul purposes, which promises to help the second-generation satellites “provide ~4x more capacity per satellite than earlier iterations.”
In the same month, the FCC also granted SpaceX special temporary authority to test the E-band spectrum over second-gen Starlink satellites for up to 60 days. "SpaceX will use the E-band spectrum to communicate with gateway earth stations located throughout the US and around the world," the company's application said at the time.
The company also noted that the E-Band access would help Starlink "meet rapidly growing demand from consumers for high-speed, low-latency broadband service that can exceed existing Ka-band gateway capacity."
In July, the FCC then granted the company another 60 day extension to test using the E-band spectrum. "SpaceX has operated these gateway links pursuant to STA (special temporary authority) for months and has received no complaints from any authorized spectrum user," the company said.
Despite Friday's full approval, the FCC order requires SpaceX to harness the E-band spectrum with various conditions in place. For example, the US regulator notes: "SpaceX may need to modify its operations in the event that additional FSS operators seek to operate in these frequency bands to the extent necessary to ensure the protection of adjacent band services.”
Editor's note: This story has been updated with more details about SpaceX's Starlink system using the E-band spectrum.