T-Mobile, Starlink under threat over cellular
August 24, 2023
Washington DC-based Omnispace, which wants to operate a global 5G satellite-to-cell phone service, has written to the FCC complaining that a rival system from T-Mobile and Starlink will “constantly” interfere with its own plans.
SpaceX is currently looking to combine its Starlink low Earth orbiting satellites with T-Mobile’s terrestrial wireless network and expanding space-terrestrial services across the US.
Omnispace, which already owns and operates global non-geostationary satellite infrastructure and is developing its own hybrid ground/space network to provide 5G and IoT services. It claims that SpaceX’s satellites will create “harmful interference” with Omnispace’s receive antenna system.
SpaceX responded by saying that any such interference would be transient, but Omnispace argues that interference will be “constant,” and accuses SpaceX of making “elementary errors” in its calculations.
Omnispace further adds that SpaceX continues to ignore the analyses provided by Omnispace and erroneously accuses Omnispace of unrealistic and incorrect assumptions.
The Omnispace letter to the FCC states: “SpaceX has yet to provide any technical analysis addressing Omnispace’s detailed concerns that the SpaceX/T-Mobile request to provide SCS in the PCS G-block of 1910-1915 MHz/1990-1995 MHz will cause space-to-space interference to duly authorised and operational mobile-satellite service (MSS) systems like those of Omnispace because the US terrestrial uplink-downlink assignment conflicts with the global ITU MSS uplink-downlink allocation. As Omnispace explained in its comments and reply comments in the above-referenced proceedings, while idiosyncratic uplink and downlink allocations do not necessarily create problems for terrestrial infrastructure, these conflicts generate acute problems for satellite infrastructure where even a single distant transmitter operating at comparatively low power can cause system-disabling interference for sensitive satellite receivers since the vacuum of space provides the least-possible path loss.”
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