https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/30/fcc-approves-spacex-starlink-service-to-vehicles-boats-planes.html

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Investing in Space

FCC authorizes SpaceX to provide mobile Starlink internet service to
boats, planes and trucks

Published Thu, Jun 30 20225:12 PM EDTUpdated An Hour Ago
thumbnail
Michael Sheetz@thesheetztweetz
WATCH LIVE
Key Points

  * The Federal Communications Commission authorized SpaceX to
    provide Starlink satellite internet to vehicles in motion, a key
    step for Elon Musk's company to further expand the service.
  * SpaceX will now be able to provide mobile Starlink service to
    consumers, businesses and more.
  * The company has signed early deals with commercial air carriers
    in preparation for this decision.

The Starlink logo is seen in the background of a silhouetted woman
holding a mobile phone.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

The Federal Communications Commission authorized SpaceX to provide
Starlink satellite internet to vehicles in motion, a key step for
Elon Musk's company to further expand the service.

"Authorizing a new class of [customer] terminals for SpaceX's
satellite system will expand the range of broadband capabilities to
meet the growing user demands that now require connectivity while on
the move, whether driving an RV across the country, moving a
freighter from Europe to a U.S. port, or while on a domestic or
international flight," FCC international bureau chief Tom Sullivan
wrote in the authorization posted Thursday.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on
the FCC decision.

Starlink is SpaceX's network of satellites in low Earth orbit,
designed to deliver high-speed internet anywhere on the globe. SpaceX
has launched about 2,700 satellites to support the global network,
with the base price of the service costing users $110 a month. As of
May, SpaceX told the FCC that Starlink had more than 400,000
subscribers.

SpaceX has signed early deals with commercial air carriers in
preparation for this decision: It has pacts with Hawaiian Airlines
and semiprivate charter provider JSX to provide Wi-Fi on planes. Up
until now SpaceX has been approved to conduct a limited amount of
inflight testing, seeing the aviation Wi-Fi market as "ripe for an
overhaul."

The FCC's authorization also includes connecting to ships and
vehicles like semitrucks and RVs, with SpaceX having last year
requested to expand from servicing stationary customers. SpaceX had
already deployed a version of its service called "Starlink for RVs,"
with an additional "portability" fee. But portability is not the same
as mobility, which the FCC's decision now allows.

The FCC imposed conditions on in-motion Starlink service. SpaceX is
required to "accept any interference received from both current and
future services authorized," and further investment in Starlink will
"assume the risk that operations may be subject to additional
conditions or requirements" from the FCC.

The ruling did not resolve a broader SpaceX regulatory dispute with
Dish Network and RS Access, an entity backed by billionaire Michael
Dell, over the use of 12-gigahertz band -- a range of frequency used
for broadband communications. The FCC continues to analyze whether
the band can support both ground-based and space-based services, with
SpaceX pushing for the regulator to make a ruling.

VIDEO14:5614:56
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