The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will today vote on an order that could cause trouble for the satellite plans of Elon Musk's SpaceX by threatening their economic viability.
SpaceX wants to create a massive, $10 billion constellation of more than 4,400 communications satellites that would beam internet coverage around the world. However, it's not the only company racing to throw thousands of communications satellites into the heavens, with key competitors including OneWeb, Telesat and Boeing.
It's critical that these systems don't conflict with one another, nor with the satellites that are already up there, so regulators have to pay close attention to issues around the power of the satellite's transmissions and the radio spectrum that they use to send and receive information.
SpaceX intends to start its satellite operations over the U.S. before spreading worldwide. However, that raises the question of whose rules it needs to follow: those of the U.S. regulator, or of global regulators.
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