The Republican-led House Energy & Commerce Committee and the Democratic FCC chair are on the same page when it comes to the importance of satellite communications.
Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) said Thursday (Jan. 26) that the first Communications Subcommittee hearing of the new Congress will be on “ensuring America continues to lead in the burgeoning satellite communications industry,” adding, “Next-generation satellite technologies are revolutionizing the communications marketplace, [y]et many of our nation’s laws and regulations haven’t been updated in decades.”
The hearing will be Thursday, February 2, and while witnesses have yet to be announced, the FCC chair clearly has some thoughts on the subject that square with Rodgers.
Earlier this month, the FCC under chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel voted unanimously to create a Space Bureau.
“The satellite industry is growing at a record pace, but here on the ground our regulatory frameworks for licensing have not kept up,” Rosenworcel said after the vote. “We’re working to change that … A new Space Bureau at the FCC will ensure that the agency's resources are appropriately aligned to fulfill its statutory obligations, improve its coordination across the federal government, and support the 21st-century satellite industry.”
The FCC under both Republican and Democratic chairs has supported the deployment of constellations of low earth orbit satellite (LEOs) — OneWeb, SpaceX — to provide broadband competition to terrestrial providers. ■
