WASHINGTON, D.C.—As companies push to launch more satellite broadband services, FCC Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a plan to reorganize FCC’s International Bureau into a new Space Bureau and a standalone Office of International Affairs.
These changes will help ensure that the agency can continue to fulfill its statutory obligations and keep pace with the rapidly changing realities of the satellite industry and global communications policy, the Rosenworcel said.
"The satellite industry is growing at a record pace, but here on the ground our regulatory frameworks for licensing them have not kept up,” she said at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. “Over the past two years the agency has received applications for 64,000 new satellites. In addition, we are seeing new commercial models, new players, and new technologies coming together to pioneer a wide-range of new satellite services and space-based activities that need access to wireless airwaves. Today, I announced a plan to build on this success and prepare for what comes next. A new Space Bureau at the FCC will ensure that the agency's resources are appropriately aligned to fulfill its statutory obligations, improve its coordination across the federal government, and support the 21st century satellite industry."
The Commission licenses radio frequency used by satellites and ensures that space systems reviewed by the agency have sufficient plans to mitigate orbital debris under the authority of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
By establishing a stand-alone Space Bureau, the FCC believes it can better fulfill its statutory obligations and elevate the significance of satellite programs and policy within the agency to a level that reflects the importance of the emerging space economy, the role of satellites in the U.S. broadband market and its overall communications' strategy.
The FCC also noted that the goal of establishing a stand-alone Office of International Affairs will allow relevant experts to focus specifically on matters of international communications regulation and licensing.
