Preliminary clearance was given by US authorities to guidelines for delivering phone calls via direct linkages to satellites, a potential $30 billion industry that has drawn Elon Musk’s SpaceX and competitors such as AT&T Inc. partner AST SpaceMobile Corp.
By a 4-0 decision Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission conditionally authorised regulations for the service, which would extend mobile-phone reception to locations beyond cell coverage, providing connectivity in distant locales.
The regulations will not become final until a second vote, which has not yet been set.
“By providing clear rules, I believe we can kick-start more innovation in the space economy, while also expanding wireless coverage in remote, unserved and underserved areas,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said before the vote at the agency’s monthly meeting in Washington. “We can make mobile dead zones a thing of the past.”
Businesses like as Iridium Communications Inc. have long provided direct connections between portable devices and satellites by employing pricey specialist equipment.
The new services intend to provide connections using standard consumer mobile phones.
A long-held ambition, direct phone coverage from space, is becoming a reality.
Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. wants to test calls from space this year as part of a collaboration with T-Mobile US Inc., according to Jonathan Hofeller, vice president of commercial sales at SpaceX’s Starlink business, during a March 13 conference.
The FCC amended draught language that recommended prohibiting AT&T and Austin, Texas-based company AST SpaceMobile from using frequencies targeted for calls-via-satellite, and now wants opinions on permitting their use, agency employees stated at a press conference.
These airwaves have been assigned to AT&T’s FirstNet, a wireless network for public safety officers.
AT&T and AST SpaceMobile had both requested the FCC in papers to authorise direct-to-satellite service on the FirstNet frequencies, which are being used to test the service.
Direct-to-satellite advocates intend to provide coverage when the world’s projected 5 billion mobile phones leave cell service zones. They also want to provide service in areas with no local cell coverage, such as distant highlands or far out at sea.
According to the GSMA, a mobile industry association, industrywide income for such connection might reach $30 billion by 2035, or around 3% of overall industry revenue.
