SpaceX’s plan to upgrade Starlink with gigabit internet speeds has received partial approval from the US Federal Communications Commission, enabling the company to launch 7,500 more satellites, operate the constellation at lower orbits, and use a larger swath of radio frequencies.
The FCC’s decision, announced Friday, promises to improve the Starlink’s main satellite internet Starlink and the cellular Starlink system for phones, currently available from T-Mobile in the US.
SpaceX’s original plan was more ambitious; it requested more than 22,000. However, the FCC settled for a “partial grant,” but says it still expects the upcoming next-generation Starlink satellites to unleash better coverage and symmetrical gigabit speeds.
The 34-page order specifically doubles the satellite cap for the second-generation Starlink constellation, approved in December 2022, from 7,500 satellites to a more incremental 15,000. This means SpaceX can operate a total of 19,400 satellites in orbit since the company received earlier clearance for the first-generation Starlink constellation.
(Credit: FCC)
Under the order, the FCC has also approved SpaceX to operate most of the satellites about 200 kilometers closer to Earth, which should further reduce latency. This includes deploying “up to 144 satellites in up to 72 planes in each of the 340km, 345km, 350km, 355km, and 365km orbital shells and by deploying up to 120 satellites in up to 56 planes in the 480km and 485km orbital shells.” The second-gen satellites can also continue operating at the higher 500km range.
Another major development is that SpaceX has received a “time-limited waiver,” enabling it to operate the Starlink network at higher power levels to improve speeds. The FCC has already kicked off a process to potentially update its rules on the “equivalent power flux density” limit. But in the meantime, the commission says: “We believe that while this rulemaking is ongoing, it is in the public interest to grant SpaceX’s request for waiver to allow it to exceed the EPFD [equivalent power-flux density] limits, given the benefits to SpaceX’s service and thus American consumers and the continued protection of GSO [geostationary] operators.”
However, the resulting waiver is confined to Starlink operations in the US, and requires SpaceX to operate under certain limits, including ensuring the activities don’t clash with rival geostationary satellite constellations. The waiver will also be subject to the FCC’s “completion of and rules adopted in the pending rulemaking” for the EPFD limits.
On the spectrum front, the regulator also appears to have given approval to many, but not all, of the radio bands SpaceX requested to improve data downloads and uploads for Starlink.
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Five Times Higher Capacity
(Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Satellite industry analyst Tim Farrar said he expects the FCC order to help drastically increase Starlink’s network capacity, which has become stretched in certain parts of the US, where the satellite internet system is overloaded with users.
“The peak capacity in high demand areas could be as much as five times higher (of course you need to launch enough satellites to deliver that capacity),” he told PCMag in an email. “It should allow for substantial growth in the US customer base, which is already likely closing in on 3 million subscribers. And it will make it far less likely that Starlink encounters any congestion on the network from high levels of aircraft use near hubs, which was an area where Viasat claimed to have an advantage.”
Farrar also noted that the order clears SpaceX’s cellular Starlink system to use a swath of 2GHz spectrum that the company acquired from EchoStar. But the FCC’s order only approves the radio frequency use outside the US; the commission is still reviewing the spectrum transfer and SpaceX’s proposed 15,000 satellite constellation meant to harness it.
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The approval is a major win for SpaceX when rival satellite companies have been concerned that the larger constellation will generate radio interference and deny them access to lower orbits. In response, the FCC said it imposed conditions on the approval, which includes requiring SpaceX to cease any harmful radio interference if it occurs. The commission also said the company’s ongoing efforts to prevent Starlink satellites from reflecting too much light in the night sky and ongoing coordination with astronomers “continue to be sufficient to resolve concerns.”
De-Orbiting Satellites vs. the ‘Human Environment’
(Credit: satellitemap.space)
On the environmental impact, the FCC appears unconvinced there’s enough evidence to show retired Starlink satellites burning up in the atmosphere pose a danger to the ozone layer.
Scientists had called for the FCC to investigate, but the commission says “the scientific evidence presented at the time, as confirmed by a Government Accountability Office review, recognized that there was uncertainty surrounding potential effects and that further study would be beneficial. Three years later, petitioners have not presented any new information on the record.
“The record still does not demonstrate that reentering satellites may impact the human environment,” the FCC added. “We note that SpaceX has committed to working with the scientific community to develop methods to study the effects of reentering satellites on the atmosphere, and we find at this time no additional review under NEPA [National Environmental Protection Act] is necessary.”
SpaceX is expected to use Friday’s decision to launch next-generation V3 Starlink satellites, which are larger and have been upgraded with more capacity. However, the company plans on doing so with the Starship vehicle, which is still undergoing test flights. Nevertheless, SpaceX forecasts it will launch the first V3 Starlink satellites sometime this year. Currently, Starlink offers internet download speeds usually ranging around 200Mbps, according to the company.
About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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