EPFD Limits Change Proposal Seen Facing Big Hurdle at WRC-23
Backers and opponents of changes to the ITU's Ku- and Ka-band equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limit rules on non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites see a U.S.-driven proposal to amend them facing an uphill battle at the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference, which begins Monday. A WRC-27 proposed future agenda item (FAI) is the subject of notable advocacy and lobbying activity by both sides.
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Between "inertia" in the ITU process and opposition from geostationary orbit (GSO) operators, building support for the FAI will be difficult, acknowledged Kristian Stout, director-innovation policy, International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE). At the same time, it's helped by not being about only American NGSO operators. Nations interested in entering low earth orbit (LEO) space will be sensitive that their space companies will favor EPFD rules changes, he said. ICLE -- along with Amazon's Kuiper, New America's Open Technology Institute and the Digital First Project -- make up the FAI-advocating Alliance for Satellite Broadband (see 2310310039).
Dozens of nations have expressed opposition to the FAI, and more have indicated they will voice opposition, said John Janka, chief officer-global government affairs and regulatory at Viasat, which opposes the FAI. Consensus on the item is "near impossible," he added.
WRC-23 "will be pivotal in shaping the future of the satellite industry and its ability to expand networks and services," American Enterprise Institute nonresident fellow Shane Tews blogged this week. An FAI committing to study the EPFD limits "would set the stage for the ITU to propose regulatory changes at the next WRC, based on comprehensive studies," Tews wrote, adding such an update "would not only bolster [LEO operators], but also significantly contribute to global socioeconomic development by enhancing connectivity across the globe." However, she noted, the proposed FAI "is not without its challenges, as incumbent satellite operators are lobbying intensely to keep EPFD limits off future agendas, fearing competition from emerging non-Global Services Operation service providers."
That only the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) among the six ITU regional organizations backing the FAI suggests the FCC shouldn't make support of the proposal a priority, Viasat said this week in docket 16-185. Most countries see that an FAI "would create significant regulatory and investment uncertainty for the next four years at a critical inflection point for the satellite industry," the GSO operator said. The FCC's prioritizing support for the FAI "would likely come at the expense of other WRC matters that are vital to U.S. interests," it said.
Viasat and its Inmarsat and fellow GSO operators EchoStar, SES and Hispasat, in a filing in August to CITEL about the proposed EPFD rules review, warned that EPFD rules changes "would have major impacts on existing, planned, and future" GSO fixed satellite service and broadcasting satellite service.
Pointing to FAI support of 10 CITEL nations and multiple countries in Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, NGSO operators SpaceX and Amazon's Kuiper told the FCC that they see "FAI momentum" and urged FCC support at WRC-23. ICLE's Stout told us developing nations looking to LEO connectivity as a route to closing their digital divides could result in "a groundswell" of support at WRC-23.