Yesterday, TechFreedom submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on their Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to “overhaul and modernize the Commission’s space and earth station licensing process.” In recent years, the Commission has done much to streamline the licensing processes in reaction to the deluge of new satellite applications; nevertheless, fundamental changes are still required to FCC rules.

“The FCC should approach regulatory reform of its satellite rules with ‘permissionless innovation,’” said James E. Dunstan, TechFreedom’s Senior Counsel. “We applaud the Commission’s stated strategy, which is consistent with core American values of innovation and entrepreneurship. Obviously, ‘permissionless innovation’ doesn’t mean having a space regime entirely devoid of regulation, but rather imposing the fewest and least burdensome rules necessary to achieve the FCC’s statutory and policy goals for outer space operations.”

“Beware of the FCC’s limited statutory authority in this area,” warned Dunstan. “We remind the FCC that its statutory authority in regard to outer space regulation is limited, especially when it comes to innovative space activities that don’t provide direct communications services to Earth. Because any decision rendered in this proceeding will not receive Chevron deference on appeal, it’s vital that for each regulatory change adopted, the Commission establishes clear statutory authority. Regulations that squarely impact spectrum and interference are wholly within the FCC’s statutory authority,  but regulations that impact space operations beyond that lie on less firm statutory footing.”

“The NPRM’s proposed changes to processing rounds raise substantial concerns,” Dunstan concluded. “While moving quickly to update and revise outdated rules is necessary, the NPRM appears to jump the gun on suggesting an annual processing round for NGSO systems. This runs counter to the stated goal of increasing processing speed by automatically introducing a significant amount of time into the licensing process. Processing rounds provide critical rights to licensees, and implementing a system that both protects licensees and requires them to deploy rapidly is a careful balancing act that the NPRM fumbles. Similarly, changes to the surety bond rules shouldn’t monetarily penalize larger constellations that are more spectrally efficient and operate at lower altitudes reducing potential orbital debris problems.”

###

Find these comments on our website, and share them on Twitter and Bluesky. We can be reached for comment at media@techfreedom.org. Read our related work, including:

About TechFreedom: TechFreedom is a nonprofit, nonpartisan technology policy think tank. We work to chart a path forward for policymakers towards a bright future where technology enhances freedom, and freedom enhances technology.

</>