The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has cleared SpaceX to provide satellite coverage direct to mobile devices in areas lacking traditional connectivity through its Starlink operation.
Starlink, which has a deal in place to provide the service to T-Mobile US initially, is being permitted to use its second generation satellites to provide coverage in rural and remote areas of the country.
In its report, the FCC noted partial approval of the company’s proposal “strikes the right balance between allowing SpaceX’s operations at lower altitudes to provide low-latency satellite service and permitting the Commission to continue to monitor SpaceX’s constellation and evaluate issues”.
On social media, T-Mobile president of technology Ulf Ewaldsson welcomed the decision, reiterating its partnership with the satellite player was an “effort to eliminate dead zones” with an ambition to “provide connectivity for our customers no matter where they are in the US”.
The pair were granted temporary permission to use the trial service earlier this year as part of hurricane response efforts.
Although clearing the company to provide supplementary mobile coverage, the regulator delayed decisions on several parts of SpaceX’s wider application, including a request related to power output.
The FCC’s order also “continues to defer SpaceX’s request to deploy additional Gen2 Starlink satellites beyond the total 7,500 satellites previously authorised”, it noted, adding this constituted “the remaining 22,488 satellites, including all satellites proposed to operate in the 340km, 345km, 350km and 360km orbital shells” beyond those already cleared
