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0 pointsgodelski3y ago0 comments

I'm still curious about the legal situation here. Why is it banned by default? I mean other wireless communications are totally fine to use while in motion (HAM, cell service, wifi, CB, GPS, Satellite telephones, etc). Why does the FCC explicitly have to approve this kind of thing? I imagine it is more than bureaucracy?

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lgats3y ago

I don’t think it’s banned by default, but the rules surrounding mobile and fixed differ slightly. Perhaps getting limited regulatory approval for a fixed network would face less regulatory hoops and thus be approved faster.

HWR_143y ago

> Why is it banned by default?

AFAIK all FCC rules on frequency allocation (which is what SpaceX needed) are usually geo-locked. It's a lot easier to commit to fixed transmitters early on with the idea that any specific problems can be dealt with than getting permission to move them around at will.

Also, during this time the FCC has been redoing the rules on the bands they use to try to allow companies this kind of use. So in 2021 they asked for ideas, and SpaceX suggested mobile uplinks as a permissible use. Then, hearings and feedback from a lot of companies occurred.

margalabargala3y ago

Since RF spectrum is a very limited resource, everything is approached from a standpoint of "nothing is okay, unless it explicitly is". It is, rightly, tightly managed.

The things you mentioned are either in public bands (HAM, CB) or have long since gotten the same permission (sat phones).

The only reason this is newsworthy is because spacex/starlink. Headlines like "Satellite Phones BANNED (before the FCC approved their application)" don't get clicks.

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