TAMPA, Fla. — A proposal to review satellite transmission power limits risks curtailing investments and innovation in geostationary orbit (GEO) where space companies such as Viasat operate, an executive for the operator warned.
The move to review Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) limits, affecting how powerful non-geostationary (NGSO) satellite signals should be to avoid disrupting GEO spacecraft, is up for debate at the four-week WRC-23 conference that kicked off Nov. 20 in Dubai to update global spectrum rules.
If the proposal is adopted at WRC-23, the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union would study EPFD limits, potentially leading to proposed regulatory changes that would be up for debate at the next conference in 2027.
NGSO players including SpaceX and Amazon argue that updating EPFD rules established over a decade ago would support innovation in orbits outside of GEO.
Amazon also recently formed the Alliance for Satellite Broadband with several think tanks to push for EPFD changes, saying the rules are holding back NGSO innovation.
However, GEO operators counter that the rules have already achieved the right balance between protecting their interests and supporting NGSO newcomers.
“If successful, the attempt by a few to change the rules so they can generate more interference would foreclose innovation by others,” Viasat global chief of government affairs and regulatory officer John Janka told SpaceNews via email, “including deployment of higher throughput satellites and much smaller and lower cost antennas.”
Janka argued that even just considering changing rules would disrupt a stable regulatory regime that has supported growing investment in satellite networks and technologies in recent years.
“The moment you put that regime into question, you undermine the investment environment,” he said.
According to Janka, putting EPFD rules into question would particularly harm startups to the…
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