Musk’s plan to surround the earth with satellites hits a regulatory wall
San Francisco — Elon Musk’s ambitious plan to surround the Earth with thousands of internet-beaming satellites is encountering turbulence from regulators concerned about interference with competing systems. SpaceX, the rocket company Musk runs, filed for permission for its constellation of refrigerator-sized satellites late last year. Selling broadband from orbit is a key part of how SpaceX plans to make money beyond its original rocket-launching service. But the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is poised to hand the project a setback with a decision that could force power reductions on SpaceX satellites, and potentially limit the spectrum they can use, making them less effective. The regulator will, in part, defer to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an agency of the UN, on how these new satellite systems need to co-ordinate and share spectrum, according to a draft set of rules set for a vote on Tuesday. The package is likely to be passed as it’s backed by ...
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