TAMPA, Fla. — International regulators have left the door open to relaxing a cap on satellite transmission power in non-geostationary orbit as soon as 2027, NGSO operators say, even as their geostationary peers assert any change has been blocked until at least four years later.
A proposal to review Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) limits affecting how strong NGSO signals should be to avoid disrupting satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GSO) was one of the most divisive issues at WRC-23, a quadrennial event for updating global spectrum rules that wrapped up Dec. 15 in Dubai.
After weeks of intense treaty-level talks that pitted NGSO newcomers seeking greater power and capacity against more established GSO players concerned about increased interference, a compromise was reached: Technical EPFD studies can advance without regulatory consequences.
For some, this means regulatory proposals for updating EPFD limits cannot be put up for debate until the next time the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union holds a WRC (World Radiocommunication Conference), in 2031.
However, SpaceX and the Alliance for Satellite Broadband, a group Amazon created to lobby for updating EPFD rules set up more than a decade ago, see things differently.
“The plenary text uses the term ‘regulatory consequences’ and the results of the studies will be presented to WRC-27,” a spokesperson for the Alliance for Satellite Broadband said via email.
“In other words, there are paths to study and potentially revise epfd limits at WRC-27.”
The spokesperson did not detail what these paths could be.
Amazon operates two prototypes for a proposed NGSO broadband constellation of more than 3,200 satellites that the company plans to start deploying next year.
There are currently more than 5,000 broadband satellites in SpaceX’s NGSO Starlink constellation — easily the world’s largest by number.
In a letter seen by SpaceNews that…
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