FCC Sends Mobile Ground Station Final Rule to OMB

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had received a final rule from the FCC on “Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the FCC Rules to Facilitate the Use of Earth Stations in Motion Communicating with Geostationary Orbit Space Stations in FSS Bands: IB Docket No. 17-95”. A notice of proposed rulemaking was published on June 16th, 2017. A further notice of proposed rulemaking was published on July 24th, 2020. Portions of the first NPRM were adopted in a Report and Order notice published on July 24th, 2020. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“In June 2017, the Commission began a rulemaking to streamline, consolidate, and harmonize rules governing earth stations in motion (ESIMs) used to provide satellite-based services on ships, airplanes and vehicles communicating with geostationary-satellite orbit (GSO), fixed-satellite service (FSS) satellite systems. In September 2018, the Commission adopted rules governing communications of ESIMs with GSO satellites. These rules addressed communications in the conventional C-, Ku-, and Ka-bands, as well as portions of the extended Ku-band. At the same time, the Commission also released a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that sought comment on allowing ESIMs to operate in all of the frequency bands in which earth stations at fixed locations operating in GSO FSS satellite networks can be blanket-licensed. Specifically, comment was sought on expanding the frequencies available for communications of ESIMs with GSO FSS satellites to include the following frequency bands: 10.7-10.95 GHz, 11.2-11.45 GHz, 17.8-18.3 GHz, 18.8-19.3 GHz, 19.3-19.4 GHz, 19.6-19.7 GHz (space-to-Earth); and 28.6-29.1 GHz (Earth-to-space).” 

NOTE: The above UA agenda entry was posted in the ‘Long Term Actions’ portion of the Agenda with a note: “Next Action Undetermined”. It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for a rulemaking to so quickly change status. 

This rulemaking will only receive limited notice in this blog under my limited Space Geek coverage.