Benton Institute for Broadband & Society - Satellite

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr

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Fri, 04/26/2024

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Daily Digest 4/25/2024

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Thu, 04/25/2024

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Press Release

Level of Government

Federal

https://potsandpansbyccg.com/2024/04/10/the-future-of-the-last-mile/

The Future of the Last Mile

zwalker@benton.org — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 15:18:08 +0000

What does future demand for broadband speed and usage mean for last mile technologies? The fastest broadband technology today is fiber, and the most common fiber technology is passive optical network (PON), which brings broadband to local clusters of customers. The original PON technology deployed in the early 2000s was BPON, which had the capability to deliver 622 megabits of speed to share in a cluster of 32 homes. The industry has pivoted in the last few years to XGS-PON, which can deliver 10 gigabits of bandwidth to a neighborhood cluster of homes. XGS-PON is a great upgrade, but it is not going to satisfy broadband needs in 25 years when demand is at least 12 to 15 times greater than today. Something that cable executives all know but don’t want to say out loud is that cable networks will not be able to keep up with expected future demand over 25 years. A few cable companies have already acknowledged this reality. Altice announced a transition to fiber years ago but doesn’t seem to have the financial strength to complete the upgrades. Cox has quietly started to upgrade its largest markets to fiber. All big cable companies are using fiber for expansion. By 25 years from now, all cable companies will have made the transition to fiber. There is no possibility for wireless technology to keep up with the increased demand that will be expected in 25 years. Unless satellite technology finds a way to get a lot faster, it won’t be a technology of choice except for folks in remote areas. Mobile data is always going to be vital, but there will be major pressure on wireless companies to finally deliver on the promises of 5G to keep up with future demand for speed and bandwidth.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

What does future demand for broadband speed and usage mean for last mile technologies?

Source:

CCG Consulting

Author:

Doug Dawson

Send date:

Thu, 04/11/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 4/10/2024

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Publish Date:

Wed, 04/10/2024

Coverage Type:

Wireless Telecommunications

Wireless Internet

Network management

The Black Market That Delivers Elon Musk’s Starlink to U.S. Foes

benton — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 11:26:26 +0000

On battlefields from Ukraine to Sudan, Starlink provides immediate and largely secure access to the internet. Besides solving the age-old problem of effective communications between troops and their commanders, Starlink provides a way to control drones and other advanced technologies that have become a critical part of modern warfare. The proliferation of the easy-to-activate hardware has thrust SpaceX into the messy geopolitics of war. The company has the ability to limit Starlink access by “geofencing,” making the service unavailable in specific countries and locations, as well as through the power to deactivate individual devices. Russia and China don’t allow the use of Starlink technology because it could undermine state control of information, and due to general suspicions of U.S. technology. Musk has said on X that to the best of his knowledge, no terminals had been sold directly or indirectly to Russia, and that the terminals wouldn’t work inside Russia.

Benton Content:

https://www.wsj.com/business/telecom/starlink-musk-ukraine-russia-sudan-satellit…

Teaser:

The satellite-internet devices are helping Russian fighters in Ukraine and paramilitary forces in Sudan; SpaceX hasn’t shut them off

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Wed, 04/10/2024

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Daily Digest 4/9/2024

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Publish Date:

Wed, 04/10/2024

Coverage Type:

Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/03/starlink-mobile-plans-hit-snag-as-fc…

Stories from Abroad

Starlink mobile plans hit snag as FCC dismisses SpaceX spectrum application

benton — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 22:32:32 +0000

Starlink's mobile ambitions were dealt at least a temporary blow when the Federal Communications Commission dismissed SpaceX's application to use several spectrum bands for mobile service. SpaceX is seeking approval to use up to 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites with spectrum in the 1.6 GHz, 2 GHz, and 2.4 GHz bands. SpaceX could still end up getting what it wants but will have to go through new rulemaking processes in which the FCC will evaluate whether the spectrum bands can handle the system without affecting existing users. In the dismissal, the FCC said the SpaceX requests "do not substantially comply with Commission requirements established in rulemaking proceedings which determined that the 1.6/2.4 GHz and 2 GHz bands are not available for additional MSS [mobile-satellite service] applications."

Benton Content:

https://www.fcc.gov/document/spacex-gen2-mss-application-dismissed-unacceptable-…

https://www.fcc.gov/document/comment-sought-spacex-2-ghz-mss-petition-rulemaking

https://www.fcc.gov/document/comment-sought-spacex-1624-ghz-mss-petition-rulemak…

Teaser:

SpaceX application tossed but firm will get another shot in spectrum rulemaking.

Source:

Ars Technica

Author:

Jon Brodkin

Send date:

Thu, 03/28/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/27/2024

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Publish Date:

Wed, 03/27/2024

Coverage Type:

Wireless Telecommunications

Spectrum

Elon Musk’s Starlink Terminals Are Falling Into the Wrong Hands

benton — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:46:03 +0000

SpaceX’s Starlink touts its high-speed internet as “available almost anywhere on Earth.” In the real world, its reach extends to countries where Elon Musk’s satellite-enabled service has no agreement to operate, including territories ruled by repressive regimes. There are wide-spanning examples of Starlink kits being traded and activated illegally. How they are smuggled and the sheer availability of Starlink on the black market suggests that its misuse is a systemic global problem, raising questions about the company’s control of a system with clear national security dimensions.

Benton Content:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-03-25/elon-musk-s-spacex-sees-starl…

Teaser:

Starlink’s effectiveness as a communications tool makes the satellite internet service a target for a growing black-market trade worldwide.

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Tue, 03/26/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/25/2024

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Tue, 03/26/2024

Coverage Type:

Government & Communications

Censorship

https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2024/3/sens-cruz-and-rosen-bill-will-unleash-ame…

Stories from Abroad

Lawmakers Introduce the Bipartisan Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act

Grace Tepper — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 03:30:55 +0000

U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act. This legislation would:

Require the FCC to create rules to streamline procedures for granting initial licenses, renewals, and modifications for both geostationary satellite orbits (GSOs) and non-geostationary satellite orbits (NGSOs);
Establish a 1-year shot clock for the FCC to grant or deny license applications for GSOs and NGSOs;
Establish a 1-year shot clock for the FCC to grant or deny earth station license applications;
Establish a 180-day shot clock for the FCC to grant or deny a renewal of (1) GSO and NGSO licenses, (2) grants of market access, or (3) earth stations;
Allow the FCC to authorize emergency licenses for 180 days if needed for national security or defense purposes;
Establish a 30-day shot clock for the FCC to put an application out for public notice or notify the applicant if their application is incomplete; and,
Require the FCC to update its rules for interference protection and spectrum sharing every two years.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

Senators introduce the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act.

Source:

Senate Commerce Committee

Send date:

Fri, 03/22/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/21/2024

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Publish Date:

Thu, 03/21/2024

Coverage Type:

Press Release

Internet/Broadband

Competition/Antitrust

Level of Government

Federal

https://www.milkenreview.org/articles/telecom-regulation

Telecom Regulation: Stuck in the 90's

Grace Tepper — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 12:24:19 +0000

Elon Musk recently blasted the federal government’s decision to deny a nearly billion-dollar subsidy for rural connectivity that had been previously awarded to his satellite broadband company, Starlink. No matter what you think about him, Musk’s outburst points to an uncomfortable reality: new technologies are rendering America’s policy for promoting and subsidizing broadband telecommunications outdated and counterproductive. Both 5G fixed-wireless and low-earth orbit (LEO) telecom satellite technologies are widening access to broadband, upending debates over whether the broadband market is sufficiently competitive. Most notably, LEO satellite broadband service is available pretty much everywhere, challenging the conventional wisdom that some geographic areas are inherently expensive to serve and eliminating the primary justification for nearly all government broadband infrastructure subsidies. These technological achievements represent a victory for champions of “facilities-based” competition — a market structure in which competition arises from providers each operating their own infrastructure. Yet rather than celebrating this milestone, Washington is not merely working to preserve the status quo, but expanding market interventions designed for the telecom industry of the 1990s. To ensure connectivity to all Americans while promoting innovation, it is time to truly reshape broadband policy.

[Scott Wallsten is a senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute, as well as TPI’s president.]

Benton Content:

Teaser:

To ensure connectivity to all Americans while promoting innovation, it is time to truly reshape broadband policy.

Source:

Milken Institute Review

Author:

Scott Wallsten

Send date:

Thu, 03/21/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/20/2024

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Thu, 03/21/2024

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Chairwoman Rosenworcel's Remarks to Satellite Industry Association 25th Anniversary Dinner

zwalker@benton.org — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 20:18:09 +0000

On March 18, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel delivered remarks at the 25th annual Satellite Industry Association Leadership Dinner. In her remarks, Rosenworcel highlighted recent efforts by the FCC Space Bureau, as well as the Commission's recent vote to create a spectrum framework for supplemental coverage from space. "It is one small and meaningful step toward the Single Network Future," she added. "In the Single Network Future, we will connect everyone, everywhere. But to do it we can’t limit ourselves to using only one technology. We are going to need it all—fiber networks, licensed terrestrial wireless systems, next-generation unlicensed wireless technology, and satellite broadband, seamlessly interacting in a way that is invisible to the user. To be clear, this vision does not work without satellites. The way I see it, satellites may be in our skies, but they are the anchor tenant in our communications future."

Benton Content:

https://www.fcc.gov/document/rosenworcel-remarks-satellite-industry-association-…

Teaser:

FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel delivers remarks at the 25th annual Satellite Industry Association Leadership Dinner.

Source:

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel

Author:

Send date:

Wed, 03/20/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/19/2024

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Publish Date:

Tue, 03/19/2024

Coverage Type:

Speech

https://potsandpansbyccg.com/2024/03/13/is-there-enough-bead-funding/

Is There Enough BEAD Funding?

zwalker@benton.org — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 20:09:47 +0000

There is a tendency to think of high-cost areas—places where it’s expensive to build fiber—as only being in remote places with tough terrain. We’re going to see a lot of other cases of high cost locations that I think are going to surprise State Broadband Grant offices. There are many reasons that drive up the cost of building a landline network. Some places are high-cost by definition. I know of a small town in Arizona that is fifty miles away from the nearest other people. Building fiber to this town means building middle-mile backhaul, which in this case is through tough terrain and faces the extra burden of aging poles. The condition of poles can be a huge cost driver anywhere. I’ve worked with several rural communities where more than 90 percent of poles need major work to add fiber. The issue that is going to blindside a lot of grant offices is housing density, measured by the number of residences per mile of road. Another major issue to consider is the degree to which inflation and BEAD grant rules are driving up the cost of construction. BEAD rules can easily add up to 30% to the cost of building a rural network due to factors like prevailing wages, letters of credit, and environmental studies. Finally, I think broadband offices are relying too heavily on using fixed wireless as the solution for high cost areas. There are places where fixed wireless is a good solution, but plenty of others where it is not.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

State Broadband Offices may be in for a big surprise about high cost areas

Source:

CCG Consulting

Author:

Doug Dawson

Send date:

Thu, 03/14/2024

Daily Digest:

Daily Digest 3/13/2024

DD Publish Status:

Not Available

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Publish Date:

Wed, 03/13/2024

Coverage Type:

Digital Equity/Digital Inclusion

Digital Divide

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

Federal Broadband Programs

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Level of Government

State

Marginalized Populations

Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Wireless Telecommunications

Wireless Internet

Partial Grant of SpaceX Gen2 Application to Allow E-Band Operations

zwalker@benton.org — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 20:40:41 +0000

In this Order and Authorization, we grant in part, with conditions, and defer in part the amended application of Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) to construct, deploy, and operate a constellation of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites, to be known as its “secondgeneration” Starlink constellation (Gen2 Starlink), to provide fixed-satellite service (FSS). Specifically, our grant here is limited to authorizing SpaceX to conduct communications in the 71.0-76.0 GHz (spaceto-Earth) and 81.0-86.0 GHz (Earth-to-space) frequency bands (collectively, E-band), with the 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites that the Commission previously authorized in the first partial grant of this application. This Order does not authorize SpaceX to construct, deploy, or operate any additional satellites beyond those authorized to date. Grant of this portion of SpaceX’s request will serve the public interest by allowing SpaceX to utilize the full capacity of its more advanced Gen2 Starlink satellites, which will improve the broadband service that SpaceX is bringing to U.S. customers, including those in unserved and underserved areas of the country. We continue to defer consideration of the remainder of SpaceX’s request, including SpaceX’s ongoing use of emergency beacons, which is the subject of a second amendment to SpaceX’s application, as well as the remaining 22,488 satellites SpaceX proposed in its application.

Benton Content:

https://www.fcc.gov/document/partial-grant-spacex-gen2-application-allow-e-band-…

Teaser:

Partial grant and partial deferral of SpaceX Gen2 application to allow E-band operations

Source: