To Boost Starlink Speeds, SpaceX Pushes FCC to Update Satellite Power Rules

To improve Starlink’s speed and coverage, SpaceX is pushing the FCC to revise “out-of-date” satellite rules, which the company claims have stalled progress. 

“The time has come to unleash the power of next-generation satellite systems to connect the American people in every corner of the country by revising antiquated power restrictions to match the modern space age,” the company told the FCC on Friday. 

The issue concerns the energy today’s low-Earth orbiting satellites can transmit to and from ground equipment. The FCC currently regulates the satellites through a metric known as the “equivalent power flux density” (EPFD) limit.

But according to SpaceX, the rules desperately need to be updated. They were adopted by the International Telecommunication Union—a worldwide regulator—in 2000, and the FCC continues to rely on them as an important prerequisite to obtaining licensing, despite satellite technology drastically changing since then. 

(Credit: Maryana Serdynska via Getty Images)

“Overprotective EPFD limits have imposed wide-ranging constraints and costs on virtually all aspects of next-generation satellite systems, from system design and service quality to competition and coordination,” the company told the FCC in a letter. “The EPFD limits also constrain satellite innovation by imposing 1990s design requirements on 21st-century satellite systems.”

One of the company’s main gripes is that the existing rules allegedly protect radio spectrum access for older, geostationary satellites at the expense of low-Earth orbiting satellites, like those for Starlink. The results can “needlessly” reduce signal quality on the ground and force low-Earth orbiting satellites to implement “avoidance angles” to prevent signal interference with geostationary satellites. 

(Credit: SpaceX/FCC)

According to SpaceX’s letter, the FCC itself also recognizes that the rules need to be updated. But rather than wait for the ITU to take action, the company is urging the Commission to issue its own rule-making on loosening EPFD limits. SpaceX adds that a preliminary study shows that systems like Starlink could “increase their capacity up to eight times” if more efficient EPFD limits were adopted. 

“The revisions would increase satellite coverage and service quality, ensuring that all Americans can enjoy high-speed, low-latency broadband,” the company added. “They would enhance consumer choice by allowing next-generation satellite operators to provide an even more competitive option in the market.”

That said, any potential rule change could face opposition from rival satellite companies, which may argue that changing the EPFD limits risks causing radio interference. Still, SpaceX alleges that “legacy” satellite operators have already been abusing the rules to obstruct innovation and competition.

The FCC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But if the Commission does pursue a rule change, it would kick off a months-long process that would first solicit comment from the public and stakeholders before an FCC vote on revising the regulations. SpaceX also says its goal isn’t to undermine geostationary satellites but to ensure “that GSO operators are adequately protected without arbitrarily and unnecessarily limiting the service that NGSO (non-geostationary orbit) systems can provide to American consumers.”