SpaceX has secured FCC approval to acquire three spectrum licenses without an auction, covering 62 counties across eight US states in the 1695 to 1700MHz uplink bands.
This regulatory exemption allows direct satellite utilization without building ground towers.
The transfer of licenses
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the company’s application to acquire three spectrum licenses from Mississippi-based Tristar License Group, which was not using the frequencies. The licenses cover 62 counties in eight states, including Massachusetts, North Carolina and Virginia, and involve 5MHz of bandwidth in the 1695 to 1700MHz bands exclusively for data transmission.
The spectrum was originally intended for EchoStar's network, but the company abandoned its plans for mobile telephony. Although the unused spectrum would normally have been put up for auction, the FCC decided to grant a special exemption, ruling that the move was in the public interest.
How will the frequencies be utilized?
The new frequencies will be used for SpaceX's mobile phone service, known as Starlink Mobile. The authority's decision exempts the company from having to build ground-based antenna towers for the specific frequencies, allowing it to rely solely on orbiting satellites.
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However, the company plans to use a combination of towers, small antennas, and satellites for its service, and the FCC has set it a condition to meet specific performance goals by November 2029.
SpaceX's position in the market
The licenses cover about 4% of the United States population and bring SpaceX's total spectrum holdings to 75MHz in these areas. Despite this expansion, SpaceX's holdings remain below the 300MHz individually controlled by its largest competitors, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.
The FCC is already preparing to auction off additional spectrum of interest to SpaceX, Amazon and AST, while earlier this month SpaceX also moved to acquire an additional 14MHz of low-band spectrum from Grain Management.
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