Republicans and Democrats have teamed on two bipartisan bills that would help streamline the FCC's vetting of satellite-delivered broadband systems looking to provide competition to wired ISPs as well as reach uneconomical-to-wire areas.
Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Republican ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) have circulated drafts of two satellite-related bills that would "modernize" the FCC's satellite licensing rules with the aim of "promoting responsible space management, incentivizing investment and innovation, and advancing U.S. leadership in next-generation, satellite communications networks," all with an eye toward promoting broadband competition and national security.
"As leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee, we must streamline our regulatory processes to usher in a new era of American innovation and investment in this growing sector, particularly as our economic competitors like China race to dominate this industry, and must ensure our laws and regulations fully protect the public," McMorris and Pallone said in a joint statement.
The Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act would require the FCC to come up with performance requirements, space safety and orbital debris requirements for satellite licenses, give the FCC a year deadline to act on an application for a constellation of satellites and earth stations and 180 days to act on a renewal.
There are also some specific benchmarks the licensee must meet to earn a public interest determination, which is always part of the FCC vetting process. Those are 1) that the license does not cause harmful interference "with another licensee," 2) that it doesn't diminish the efficiency of spectrum of a functionally equivalent service; 3) that it does not adversely impact competition among functionally equivalent services, and 4) that, if it is a retail mass market broadband service, it will provide service "to the largest economically feasible number of users."
The Secure Space Act addresses national security issues. It would amend the Secure Trusted Communications Networks Act to prohibit the FCC from granting a license for satellite constellations "if the license or grant of market access would be held or controlled by an entity that produces or provides any covered communications equipment or service or an affiliate of such an entity, and for other purposes." Covered communications or services -- particularly tech tied to Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei -- are ones the government has determined pose a threat to the supply chain and national security.
“The final frontier is home to an emerging constellation of satellites that are offering high-speed Internet services," said FCC commissioner Brendan Carr of the new drafts. "That is great news for American consumers because it provides them with even more choice and competition for their broadband dollars. We need to ensure that America continues to attract the jobs and investments that flow from these innovative operations. And that is why I applaud the bipartisan work of Leader Rodgers and chairman Pallone. Their draft bills would strengthen America’s space-based leadership by further streamlining the licensing process and advancing the security of satellite systems.” ■
