SpaceX’s Competitors Join Forces To Oppose Starlink Upgrade For Improved Polar Coverage

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WccfTech By Ramish Zafar 2/13/2021

Space Exploration Technologies Corp.'s (SpaceX) subsidiary SpaceX LLC's bid to alter its Starlink satellite internet constellation's parameters through a modification request submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received renewed criticism from its competitors, who have joined Amazon.com LLC's subsidiary Kuiper Systems LLC in opposing the request.

Now, as the FCC moves into the second stage of deciding the fate of Starlink user terminals, SpaceX's competitors for the 12GHz band - namely RS Access LLC backed by billionaire Michael Dell and Dish Network Corporation - have teamed up with Amazon by reiterating earlier claims that the third modification raises questions for their usage of the 12GHz band.

SpaceX Silent As Competitors Team Up Following FCC's 12GHz Band Preliminary Ruling

Right now Starlink's two main battles at the FCC involve the aforementioned modification and the 12GHz spectrum used by the service's consumer terminals. SpaceX's operating model for the network has three separate points, as users connect to the terminals, which connect to the satellites which then connect to Earth stations. The terminals use the 12.2-12.7GHz band for user downlink from the satellites, and providers including RS Access have argued that satellite service providers should be stripped of this access.

More: https://wccftech.com/spacexs-competitors-join-forces-to-oppose-starlink-upgrade-for-improved-polar-coverage/