Prior to the new milestones, operators were required to launch just a single satellite within seven years of applying for the spectrum, operate the same for 90 days and file the so-called bring-into-use paperwork with the ITU in order to preserve desired frequencies.
Fremont, CA: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), at a regulators meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference, declared that the world's spectrum regulators had reached a consensus on milestones for satellites outside the geosynchronous arc to preserve the spectrum rights. According to the agreement, non-geosynchronous satellite constellation operators will have to achieve the set milestones in order to maintain their spectrum rights. The required deployment milestone must be completed within seven years after the spectrum rights request.
After the first seven years, non-geosynchronous satellite operators will be required to launch 10 percent of their satellites in two years, 50 percent in five years, and the full 100 percent within seven years. Failure to comply with the seven within the stated fourteen years could result in the spectrum rights being reduced to the number of satellites already launched.
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"Advances in satellite design, manufacturing, and launch service capabilities have created new possibilities for high-bandwidth connectivity around the world," said Mario Maniewicz, director of the ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau. “This landmark agreement at WRC-19 represents a technological milestone that will enable the deployment of next-generation communications while providing broadband Internet access to the most remote regions.”
Prior to the new milestones, operators were required to launch just a single satellite within seven years of applying for the spectrum, operate the same for 90 days and file the so-called bring-into-use paperwork with the ITU in order to preserve desired frequencies. Regulators realized that this allowed the operators to hoard spectrum rights for hundreds of thousands of satellites by just launching one satellite within the stated seven years. The ITU believes these new milestones will help ensure the United Nations entity to determine which of the spectrum applicants is building and launching satellites and which is not. The ITU had observed that broadband megaconstellations had become an increasingly sought after means of providing global internet access. SpaceX, OneWeb, and Amazon have each planned constellations of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit to provide connectivity in offline or underserved areas.
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