(Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ahead of its cellular Starlink launch, SpaceX is again trying to secure access to the radio spectrum Globalstar currently uses to power satellite messaging on Apple iPhones.
On Wednesday, SpaceX filed a new application with the Federal Communications Commission for access to the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz bands.
It comes more than a year after the FCC shot down the company’s previous request. At the time, the agency said the bands were “not available” for a new mobile satellite player, forcing SpaceX to go through an FCC rulemaking process. The decision gave a win to Globalstar, which has warned that sharing access to the 1.6/2.4GHz spectrum with a cellular Starlink system could cause communication interference.
But the regulatory environment has since changed. Brendan Carr has been promoted from commissioner to chairman. He's a supporter of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, which might give the company an opening to gain access to the spectrum. Carr has also talked up the need for the US to cement its leadership in satellite services, citing the threat of China.
In its application, SpaceX argues that the FCC rejected its previous request “in error, given the Commission continues to evaluate applications for new systems in the bands filed both before and after SpaceX’s application was dismissed.”
Globalstar filed its own plans with the FCC to launch a next-generation constellation to help bolster Apple’s satellite messaging.
“Granting SpaceX’s application would serve the public interest by making more intensive and efficient use of this chronically underused satellite spectrum in the United States at a time when Americans increasingly demand always-on, robust mobile connectivity,” SpaceX added.
A team of researchers recently found that the cellular Starlink service appears to offer real-world download speeds at around 4Mbps. (Past tests have shown the speeds reaching 17Mbps.) Currently, the system is restricted to text messaging. To offer more robust features, such as video calls and data downloads, it’s possible SpaceX needs more spectrum.
In the application, SpaceX also requests permission to use the 1.5/1.6GHz bands that satellite companies Inmarsat and Ligado Networks have access to. SpaceX argues the spectrum is underused and that SpaceX can prevent interference while sharing the radio bands.
“SpaceX can swiftly make productive use of the co-primary 1.5/1.6 GHz and 1.6/2.4 GHz MSS [mobile satellite service] bands to craft a compelling array of offerings to address the connectivity needs of Americans wherever they are and whatever they are doing," it said.
However, Globalstar is lobbying the FCC and urging Carr to take the inference concerns seriously. "There is no public interest justification for undermining the spectrum environment upon which Globalstar has relied," the company said in the meeting with Carr earlier this year.