SpaceX's focus in coming months is expanding its consumer footprint in the U.S. and its service into new countries, said Vice President-Starlink and Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller in a Euroconsult discussion Tuesday. Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development Department approved SpaceX providing service last week. Hofeller said SpaceX also aims to broaden its customer base into government, educational and enterprise. Telesat Senior Vice President-Corporate and Business Development Michael Schwartz said its low earth orbit constellation is being designed to emulate fiber as much as possible, with launches to start in early 2023. He said it anticipates announcing a manufacturer of its LEO satellites later this year. Stewart Sanders, head of the SES/O3b mPower Program, said first launch of SES' mPower constellation will be in less than a year, with service commencing in 2022. Asked about the state of Iridium's 2019 memorandum of understanding with OneWeb for a combined L- and Ku-band service offering, Iridium CEO Matt Desch said he doesn't know where it stands, with OneWeb emerging from bankruptcy. "They're still resetting themselves as a company," he said.

T-Mobile is expanding its $50-a-month Home Internet pilot to more than 130 additional municipalities in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin, the carrier said Monday. The "pandemic has underscored the importance of broadband connectivity, and how sorry the state of home broadband is for many in America -- especially those in rural communities that have been undervalued and underserved by traditional cable providers and ISPs for years,” T-Mobile said.

Wireless and satellite critics of AST's planned 243-satelltie non-geostationary orbit constellation to provide mobile broadband connectivity (see 2011040003) "don't know our system," CEO Abel Avellan said in an interview Thursday. He said concerns about lack of proof of interference protections and about spectrum use incompatible with FCC rules "are simply not factual," and the company will respond. The plans for satellite-based connectivity to mobile devices "is revolutionary, [and] when you bring something completely new, people don't understand it," he said. The company is seeking regulatory approvals other than the U.S. and plans to begin putting up its constellation in late 2021, he said.

AST's request for U.S. market access for a 243-satelltie non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation to provide mobile satellite service (see 2004140001) is getting pushback from some satellite operators and wireless providers. In a petition to deny this week with the FCC International Bureau, Hughes/EchoStar said none of the 617-960 MHz or 17110-2200 MHz spectrum AST wants to use is allocated for such use or otherwise available for licensing. They urged dismissal or deferred consideration of AST’s proposed V-band operations until a new processing round. Verizon said providing satellite-based connectivity to smartphones and tablets using terrestrial wireless spectrum would be incompatible with rules, and AST didn't explain how it could do so without interfering with U.S. terrestrial operations. The telco said AST didn't provide enough technical information to assess whether its SpaceMobile satellite network would interfere with wireless networks. It's "of such magnitude that [it] must be addressed via rulemaking before the full Commission," T-Mobile asked. The carrier said AST isn't seeking authority now to use terrestrial mobile spectrum and instead plans to lease terrestrial mobile spectrum, but rules for long-term de facto transfer leases say if the underlying spectrum is only for certain services, those restrictions also apply to the spectrum lessee. CTIA said AST's request lacks any demonstration of how terrestrial mobile operations will be protected. The group said high-band spectrum use that's inconsistent with the table of allocations should be subject to rulemaking. Telesat Canada said AST's petition came well after the deadline for the last V-band processing round, so it's unclear why the petition was accepted: It should be considered if a new processing round is opened, alongside other V-band asks. The company said any AST approval should be conditioned on protecting systems authorized in that initial processing round, like Telesat's. Boeing didn't object to AST OK and seeks first a processing round for V-band NGSO systems. AT&T said AST's technology "is promising," but its petition raises technical issues deserving study, and the requester should provide technical evidence to confirm that coexistence with terrestrial mobile systems is feasible. Rakuten Mobile, an AST investor, said the satellite operator's technology "could significantly improve 4G and 5G availability." AST didn't comment Wednesday.

A forthcoming Charter Communications broadband price hike, though it could lead to more churn, "suggests management is very confident" about the business and its "competitive position," New Street's Jonathan Chaplin emailed investors Tuesday. He said the move during the pandemic and down economy could draw political heat, but Charter's providing free service to households with students and teachers and its participation in the FCC Rural Digital Opportunities Fund Phase 1 auction would make it "tough to accuse the Company of unfair pricing policies." The cabler emailed that “Spectrum is committed to continuously enhancing our communication products, providing superior connectivity services with the best overall competitive value in the marketplace. We are delivering faster broadband speeds and improved performance -- all as the average price per megabit per second and per gig consumed declines dramatically.”

A key question for Universal Electronics is about its ability to secure new design wins to drive revenue growth in 2021, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Tuesday, before Thursday earnings report. As COVID-19 pressures ease on customers who rely on a truck roll for cable box installation, and new products are released, sales growth should resume, he said. Colliers is looking for updates on new design activity, expecting MVPDs to follow the lead of Comcast's Flex platform. Q2 Video subscriber losses at Comcast were better than expected with a decline of 273,000 in Q3 vs. 427,000 lost in Q2, while it had 633,000 broadband additions, which drives installations of Flex -- and Universal’s voice remote, Frankel said.

House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, touted the Rural Connectivity Advancement Program Act (HR-7972/S-4015), during a Thursday foreign policy event, as one of a “broad range” of GOP-led legislative proposals to improve broadband connectivity. HR-7972/S-4015 would set aside 10% of the net proceeds from FCC spectrum auctions through Sept. 30, 2022, for broadband buildout (see 2006180062). The measure would help ensure “we have those dollars available for that buildout,” Latta said. He noted that committee Republicans aimed to reduce regulatory barriers to broadband buildout (see 2006250068). The private sector said “’we're not against regulations, just give us regulations we can live with,’” Latta said. “They've invested about $1.7 trillion out there” in rural areas on broadband. Lawmakers need to ensure “we get it out to these rural areas,” especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amazon's Kuiper is continuing its eighth-floor lobbying against SpaceX's proposed lower orbit for more than 2,000 satellites (see 2009030002), per filings Monday with the FCC International Bureau on virtual meetings with Commissioner Brendan Carr and with Bureau Chief Tom Sullivan. Among the Amazon staffers involved was Aaron Goldberger, who until this fall was an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai (see personals section, Oct. 15). SpaceX didn't comment Tuesday.

Three-quarters of Americans don’t know how much internet speed their household needs to keep up with current online demands, www.highspeedinternet.com blogged Thursday. A fifth have upgraded plans this year. Some 45% think their internet speed is too slow, and 61% think it’s too expensive. Half see $30-$50 as a reasonable price to pay for internet, though the average cost is $80 monthly. It directed consumers to a website where they can compare local internet speeds and rates by provider.

T-Mobile said Thursday it's stepping in to provide wireless broadband in communities where AT&T is phasing out DSL. “What AT&T takes away, T-Mobile brings back,” T-Mobile said: “Following news that AT&T is discontinuing DSL home broadband in many communities, T-Mobile is massively expanding its Home Internet pilot service to give another option to an additional 20 million households in parts of 450 cities and towns.” Current DSL customers will keep that service, an AT&T spokesperson responded. “We continue to make substantial investments in wireless capabilities and fiber to reach more customers with faster speeds,” the spokesperson emailed: “That’s why as of Oct. 1, we’re not accepting new orders for DSL service 6 Mbps and slower.”