(Photo illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
SpaceX's Starlink network for cell phones is generating radio interference, according to a competing company that's urging US regulators to intervene.
On Friday, Omnispace—which is also trying to bring satellite connectivity to phones—told the FCC that SpaceX’s ongoing tests for its cellular Starlink service are interfering with Omnispace's own satellite activities.
"SpaceX’s operations violate the terms of its experimental authorization and must cease," Omnispace told the FCC in a 43-page regulatory filing.
In addition, the company claims to possess "empirical evidence" that the cellular Starlink satellites are generating additional radio noise, reports SpaceNews. “You see the noise floor on our satellites increase to the degree that services cannot be provided,” Omnispace VP George Giagtzoglo reportedly said during the International Telecoms Week conference.
(Credit: Omnispace)The filing also includes a presentation that claims to show how the first cellular Starlink satellites launched in orbit can cause radio interference to Omnispace's single “Omni-F2" medium Earth orbit satellite despite being over 17,000 kilometers apart.
"Study finds significant in-band (1990-1995 MHz) interference risk,” the presentation says. “Omnispace has confirmed a single Starlink DTC satellite creates unacceptable interference levels into its F2 satellite on multiple occasions – future operations of hundreds or thousands of Starlink satellites will render the band unusable by other MSS operators over large portions of the globe."
(Credit: Omnispace)The interference claims could threaten the cellular Starlink service, which is slated to launch later this year for T-Mobile subscribers. SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, possibly because it's still analyzing the Omnispace presentation. But in its own FCC filing on Friday, SpaceX pushed back on the allegations, saying that Omnispace refuses to coordinate its satellite operations with SpaceX.
"I am writing to follow up on our multiple requests to coordinate operations over the past six months. We are surprised by Omnispace’s unwillingness to respond to our requests," SpaceX VP for Satellite Policy David Goldman wrote to the FCC.
Omnispace's presentation notes: “Repeated requests by SpaceX to 'coordinate' have no legal basis. [T]herefore operational systems like Omnispace that are compliant with the ITU RR [International Telecommunication Union Radio Regulations] do not have an obligation to coordinate.”
The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in Omnispace’s filing, the company says it met with FCC officials last week "to document the harmful interference SpaceX continues to cause to Omnispace’s operations." Th
This is not the first time SpaceX and Omnispace have clashed in FCC regulatory filings.