Boeing Receives FCC Approval for Satellite Internet System

According to the FCC, Boeing plans on using the satellite internet system to supply broadband to residential, commercial, and government customers.

Boeing has secured FCC approval to deploy and operate a satellite internet system capable of beaming high-speed broadband to US consumers and businesses.  

On Wednesday, the US regulator signed off on Boeing’s application for the “V-band Constellation” satellite system, which the company originally filed back in 2017.  

However, the scope of Boeing’s system is smaller than SpaceX’s Starlink, which currently operates over 1,700 satellites in orbit. Boeing’s application calls for sending up 132 low-Earth orbiting satellites and another 15 non-geostationary satellites. (In contrast, SpaceX wants Starlink to one day span 30,000 satellites.)  

The low-Earth orbiting satellites from Boeing will also operate at an orbit of 656 miles, which is about 300 miles higher than SpaceX’s Starlink constellation. Meanwhile, the non-geostationary satellites from Boeing will circle the planet at a distance of at least 17,000 miles. 

The 702X. (Boeing. )

In a statement to PCMag, Boeing acknowledged the company's proposed satellite system will be one among many on the market.

"As the demand for satellite communications grows, diversity will be required across orbital regimes and frequencies to satisfy unique customer demands, and we see V-band as helping to provide some of that diversity," the company said. "While the application was in review with the FCC, we have continued work identifying compelling use cases for V-band and maturing the underlying technology."

When Boeing plans on launching the service was left unsaid. But In 2019, the company introduced the 702X satellite, which is capable of low-Earth orbit, and can supply internet connectivity. “More than 50 have been launched to date,” Boeing’s website says. 

The FCC also notes: “Grant of this application will enable Boeing to provide broadband and communications services to residential, commercial, institutional, governmental, and professional users in the United States and globally.”

The FCC approval means Boeing can use the requested radio spectrum to beam the internet data to and from the satellite system. However, the US regulator denied parts of Boeing’s application requesting access to certain radio frequencies, citing how the International Telecommunication Union had yet to allocate the radio spectrum for such use. 

SpaceX itself also raised concerns about Boeing’s satellite internet system causing radio interference. However, the FCC dismissed the concerns, and instead mandated the companies coordinate in good faith to eliminate potential interference problems.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Boeing.

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