SpaceX Competitors Flood FCC With Complaints About Starlink Monopoly

The regulator’s recent approval for SpaceX to boost the signal strength of its Starlink satellites for space calls was the last straw for its competitors. SpaceX’s rivals have been flooding the FCC with complaints, claiming that the regulator is making the wrong decisions by following the company’s lead. They believe that if the situation does not change, the Starlink satellite network, once deployed at full capacity, will become a public safety hazard.

The core of the concerns from SpaceX competitors EchoStar, Viasat, Globalstar and others is that expanding the Starlink constellation to tens of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, as well as expanding the radio spectrum to increase data rates, will create a “serious threat to competition and innovation.” These actions are seen as anticompetitive for the entire satellite industry.

On Monday, Globalstar, Viasat, EchoStar, a HughesNet subsidiary, and Iridium called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reject part of SpaceX’s proposed upgrades that would operate nearly 30,000 Starlink satellites and expand the radio spectrum they can access. Viasat, an American company, says SpaceX’s plan could literally squeeze out its competitors.

«This dramatic expansion of SpaceX’s operational authority will give it even more power and incentive to deny other operators access to limited orbital resources and spectrum through competitive bidding,” the company said in a 40-page filing with the FCC. “The Commission must recognize SpaceX’s bids for what they are — a serious threat to competition and innovation that must be resisted, not encouraged.”

EchoStar expressed similar concerns, saying SpaceX’s proposal would also roll back certain regulatory protections for all participants in the satellite industry. The changes would give Elon Musk’s company “an unfair, quick-fix competitive advantage” that could cause interference for satellite TV operators.

Globalstar, Apple’s partner in building a satellite network for the company, has called on the FCC to deny SpaceX access to the 1429-2690 MHz radio bands outside the United States. SpaceX wants the band to provide Starlink cellular service for mobile phones. Globalstar currently has the right to use the same spectrum in the United States. However, SpaceX is pushing the FCC to open up these radio bands for public access, despite Globalstar’s concerns that it will interfere with its own satellite network.

In a letter to the FCC on Monday, Globalstar warned that allowing SpaceX access to these radio bands internationally could create chaos in the radio spectrum for low-Earth satellites. The company also said it could undermine its “growing commercial potential” as it prepares to launch a new satellite constellation to power the iPhone’s future communications capabilities.

Image source: T-Mobile

«“More generally, this action will hinder the multi-year planning and investment required to deploy and grow successful satellite networks,” the company wrote in a statement. “SpaceX, meanwhile, cannot provide any legitimate public benefit justification for this fundamental change to the Big LEO MSS licensing system in the United States.”

Amazon’s Project Kuiper and Eutelsat also spoke out against expanding Starlink’s capabilities. In response to this opposition, SpaceX received letters of support from customers in rural and remote areas of the United States, where terrestrial cellular service does not exist and probably never will. They said they could not imagine their lives and work without the Starlink space networks, which have begun to improve their social and economic lives.