Voglio sapere a riguardo di…

khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 121 / Monday, June 28, 2021 / Rules and Regulations Industry Associationcould create confusion among licensees and is an inferior solution compared to providing an allocation and adopting service rules.
Fourth, because the experimental rules are not intended to cover long-term commercial enterprises and STAs are limited by the Communications Act to periods of no more than 180 days, they are not suited to covering multiple launches over time. Thus, the current STA process cannot accommodate multiple launches over extended time periods as requested by Boeing, SpaceX, and Orbital ATK.
11. As advised by NTIA, the Commission is adopting a secondary Space Operation service allocation for the 22002290 MHz band rather than the primary allocation proposed in the NPRM. Given that the use of this band necessitates close coordination with NTIA, adopting a secondary allocation for this band would accomplish many of the goals the Commission sought to achieve with the proposed primary allocation. With a secondary allocation, the Commission will be able to adopt service rules for use of the band and issue spectrum authorizations for space launch operations. This will reduce the uncertainty of the launch-by-launch STA process and provide well-defined technical rules that licensees can design their equipment to comply with. While individual launches will still need to be coordinated, once the service rules are adopted and applicants will no longer have to apply for STAs for each launch, a streamlined process that will save time and effort on the part of space launch operators, NTIA, and the Commission will be more achievable.
The Commission notes that even if it had adopted a primary non-Federal allocation for this band, individual launches would still have needed to be coordinated because of the heavy existing Federal use of the band. Several commenters advocate adoption of a primary allocation claiming that it will lead to streamlined licensing, eliminate repeated licensing work, require less coordination, and provide greater certainty with respect to approvals. The service rules the Commission will be able to adopt under a secondary allocation should be able to provide these benefits to the same extent as rules adopted under a primary allocation. The Commission defers further consideration of adopting a primary allocation for this band to the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking FNPRM published June 10, 2021 86
FR 30860.
12. The Commission believes that providing access to the spectrum by adding a footnote to the U.S. Table is a
VerDate Sep<11>2014

15:59 Jun 25, 2021

Jkt 253001

better alternative than establishing an allocation in the U.S. Table for these bands. Adding a footnote instead of establishing an allocation is consistent with existing precedent that an allocation that is lightly used or highly restricted is implemented by using a footnote rather than placing in the U.S.
Table. In this case, use of the band will continue to be restricted even as the U.S. commercial space industry continues to grow because of the need to coordinate with the Federal operations in the band. The Commission notes that either a direct table entry or footnote entry will provide future space operations licensees with equivalent status in the band.
13. Hence, the Commission is implementing this secondary nonFederal Space Operation allocation by adding a footnote US96 to the 2200
2290 MHz band in the U.S. Table. This footnote limits use of the allocation to use during pre-launch testing and during space launch operations;
requires coordination with NTIA prior to each launch; and limits non-Federal use to the 2208.52213.5 MHz, 2212.5
2217.5 MHz, 22702275 MHz, and 22852290 MHz portions of the 2200
2290 MHz band. The limitation to use during pre-launch testing and space launches is consistent with NTIAs advisement as well as the proposal in the NPRM. Despite this limitation, the current use of the space operation allocation to enable access to TDRSS
will continue to be permitted on a noninterference basis under the current allocation. The requirement that the channel assignments be coordinated with NTIA was proposed in the NPRM
and is necessary because of the existing Federal use of the band.
14. The limitation on non-Federal use of the band to the 2208.52213.5 MHz, 2212.52217.5 MHz, 22702275 MHz, and 22852290 MHz portions of the band was requested by NTIA. The NPRM proposed that non-Federal use of the band be restricted to a slightly different set of subbands: 22072219
MHz, 2270.52274.5 MHz, and 2285
2290 MHz. SpaceX has indicated that its recent launches have used a set of frequencies that differ both from what was proposed in the NPRM and what is requested by NTIA. Blue Origin states that it has used two frequencies that match NTIAs request and two that are different. Boeing suggests that the Commission avoid identifying discrete portions of the 22002290 MHz band as available for non-Federal launches as non-Federal and Federal launch vehicles must be interoperable. The Commission identifies the four portions of the 22002290 MHz band for non-

PO 00000

Frm 00053

Fmt 4700

Sfmt 4700

33905

Federal use, as specified by NTIA, but proposes in the FNPRM that the Commission consider extending the secondary allocation to the full 90
megahertz. The Commission also notes that until service rules are adopted, nonFederal use of even the four subbands will continue to require an STA. The Commission notes that launches precipitated by successful coordination with NTIA have been conducted using this spectrum for many decades. The Commission sees no indication that this legacy of successful coexistence between launch operations and Federal users cannot continue to thrive under the allocation the Commission adopts today.
15. In addition, the Commission will not add developmental testing to the permitted uses of the Space Operations allocation, as requested by SpaceX and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.
As SpaceX admits, developmental testing is relatively infrequent and likely to occur at only a few discrete locations.
Such testing can, and should, be conducted under Part 5 experimental licenses.
16. When the Commission proposed allocating the three band segments in the 22002290 MHz band for commercial launch operations, the Commission also invited comment on whether the spectrum in those band segments would be sufficient to support the expected growth of the commercial launch industry. In its comments, SpaceX requests that the Commission expand the lower sub-band proposed in the NPRM by 4 megahertz to meet the needs of future launchesi.e., establish a 16 megahertz 22052221 MHz band segment. While the Commission is cognizant that as launch technology continues to develop there may be a need for greater amounts of telemetry data which will require wider bandwidths, the Commission declines to expand the band segments available for telemetry beyond those bands specified in the previous two paragraphs. Instead, the Commission believes any need for wider bandwidths can be adequately met on a case-by-case basis using the STA process.
17. Adopting a non-Federal allocation for the 22002290 MHz band, however, is only a first step in providing licenses for commercial launch operations. In the FNPRM, the Commission proposes non-Federal allocations for three more bands and the Commission seeks comment on appropriate service rules for each band that will enable spectrum sharing between Federal users and commercial space operators. The Commission fully intends that the important Federal operations in these
E:FRFM28JNR1.SGM

28JNR1