Advanced Television

FCC to revise satellite rules

February 15, 2022

By Chris Forrester

The FCC is to make major changes to how it registers the licensing of satellites.

The plans come from bipartisan proposals, currently in draft form, from the US House Energy and Commerce Committee and the release of a pair of Bills which should improve how the FCC handles the registration of new satellite proposals.

The proposals are contained within the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act and Secure Space Act, which will likely gain cross-party support, and cover foreign ownership rules, licensing itself and how satellite spectrum is handled and shared.

The Bills proposers say: “We must streamline our regulatory processes to usher in a new era of American innovation and investment in this growing sector, particularly as our economic competitors like China race to dominate this industry, and must ensure our laws and regulations fully protect the public.”

FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel welcomed the draft legislation, commenting: “While the FCC staff has done tremendous work in reviewing applications and simultaneously updating our rules from orbital debris to commercial space launch communications, the truth is that the laws were written to address a different satellite ecosystem.”

Categories: Articles, Policy, Regulation, Satellite

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