US Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Changes
Speaking to the National Space Symposium, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross recounted a meeting with CEOs in the US space industry, stating, “I heard the same comments over and over—the current licensing processes take too long, are unpredictable, and provide no...
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Swimming with the Sharks: The 3.7-4.2 GHz Proceeding
The FCC recently released the final text of its Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band. A draft was issued last month and the FCC considered the matter at its Open Meeting on July 12th. At the Open Meeting, all...
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Summary of Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band
Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - GN Docket No. 18-122 Today the FCC approved an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band. The document proposes expanded terrestrial use of the band and seeks comment on...
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Europe’s New General Data Protection Regulation
The European Union has adopted massive changes to its data protection policy with the new General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679; “Regulation” or “GDPR”) which will be enforced beginning 25 May 2018. The obligations assigned by the new regulation...
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FCC Freeze in C-Band
Late yesterday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a public notice announcing a freeze, effective as of April 19, 2018, on the filing of new or modification applications for fixed-satellite service (FSS) earth station licenses, receive-only earth station registrations, and fixed microwave licenses in the 3.7-4.2 GHz frequency band, the downlink portion of the C-band. Read More
NPRM on Streamlining Licensing Procedures for Small Satellites
Last week, the FCC released the text of a draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) ahead of its April meeting that seeks comments on a streamlined licensing process for small satellites (“smallsats”) (IB Docket 18-86; DOC-349939A1.pdf; citations herein to paragraph numbers). The draft NPRM asks for input on characteristics defining smallsats, details of the new streamlined procedure, and possible frequency allocation changes. The draft NPRM proposes no more than 10 satellites be included in a single smallsat license application and whether a limit should be imposed on the number of applications that can be filed by a single entity. (¶27) No satellite could exceed 180kg mass, and all satellites must be larger than 10cm3 to ensure that they are trackable. Read More