US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressed displeasure that SpaceX controls more than two-thirds of all satellites in Earth orbit. In her opinion, the time has come for new players to enter the market and compete with Starlink, which is becoming a monopolist.
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During Rosenworcel’s speech at the US Chamber of Commerce World Aerospace Summit, she was asked what she thought about promoting competition in the satellite industry, given tensions between Starlink and its competitors, including Verizon, which also intends to provide services connecting unmodified cell phones to satellites. The official said that developed competition promises economic benefits: low prices and increased innovation, and “space should not be an exception.”
She next touched on SpaceX, although she did not name the companies directly. “We have one player that now has two-thirds of the satellites in space and a very large share of Internet traffic. And as I see it, monopolies are not beneficial for our economy, so we need to attract many more participants in the space industry and many more companies that can form constellations [of satellites] and innovate in space,” said Jessica Rosenworcel. To support other players, the FCC last year opened the Space Bureau, which will provide assistance: new companies are not always familiar with the agency’s operating procedures, and the new structure will conduct explanatory work.
The Amazon Kuiper system is seeking to compete with Starlink, which expects to deploy its constellation of low-orbit satellites, but this work will begin only in the fourth quarter, while Elon Musk’s company has already sent more than 7,000 Starlink devices – they make up more than two-thirds of all active satellites in orbit, and next year his company will account for more than 90% of all space traffic. Another potential competitor is the startup AST SpaceMobile, in which AT&T, Verizon and Google have invested – it is focused exclusively on mobile communications, but beta testing of the company’s devices starts only in December. And Starlink, with the support of T-Mobile, will offer the first cellular services this fall.