Direct-to-Handset Service a Danger to Radio Astronomy, NRAO Says
SpaceX's plans to offer mobile supplemental coverage from space (SCS) via its second-generation Starlink constellation (see 2302080001) proposes spectrum use not conforming to international frequency allocations, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory told the FCC Space Bureau last week in an…
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opposition. The joint SpaceX/T-Mobile service would be "bathing [the National Radio Quiet Zone] at harmfully-interfering levels in the hopes of serving" T-Mobile phones not getting terrestrial signals in the zone, which covers parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia, NRAO said. SCS "breaks radio astronomy’s historical operating model of spectrum access [and] should not be authorized until and unless a modus vivendi is reached," it said. SpaceX didn't comment Friday.