At the LEO Satellite Policy Symposium, hosted by the International Center for Law & Economics and New America, FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz highlighted that modernizing EPFD limits can improve the broadband quality provided by NGSOs while protecting GSO systems.
Fierce Network’s Masha Abarinova describes how satellite power limits – not just a lack of spectrum – are a key bottleneck for LEO satellite deployment.
New research shows significant economic benefits for the Southern African Development Community through improved internet coverage leveraging NGSO systems, including over $16 billion in economic benefits annually (or 2% of the region’s GDP in 2024), as well as helping mobile operators to save over $10 billion in by expanding mobile coverage to remote regions.
A blog from CCIA’s Disruptive Competition Project argues that the U.S. must exert strong leadership to ensure global radio regulations will “support innovation, protect existing investments, and promote fair access to orbital resources.” CCIA highlights that the U.S. has an opportunity to lead the charge at WRC-27 on modernizing EPFD limits in a “clear real-world test of the ITU’s ability to evolve its rules to accommodate rapid technological change.”
On Monday, September 22, a bipartisan group of 14 signatories representing 11 organizations asked FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to move forward with updating EPFD limits to boost competition in the satellite marketplace, lower costs for consumers, and strengthen American leadership in space. The groups stress that doing so will “unlock the full potential of LEO satellites both domestically and abroad.” This letter was filed in the FCC docket 25-157, “Modernizing Spectrum Sharing for Satellite Broadband.”
There is widespread support for revisiting EPFD limits from NGOs, trade groups and think tanks across the political spectrum.
In their filings to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), several satellite operators acknowledged openness to revisiting EPFD limits:
This study from the Phoenix Center examines why the 25-year-old EPFD limits need to be updated. Using an economic model to analyze permissible interference levels, the Center’s economists show that fast-growing demand for NGSO broadband — expected to overtake NGSO revenues by 2028 — calls for more flexible interference standards. The study finds that modernizing these rules would let NGSO systems expand more easily, lowering costs and improving service for consumers while still protecting existing GSO networks.
A blog from CCIA’s Disruptive Competition Project argues that the FCC’s proposed overhaul of EPFD limits is a critical step for unlocking the full potential of next-generation satellite broadband. It explains that EPFD rules, drafted decades ago in a vastly different technical landscape, now unfairly favor legacy systems over NGSO networks. Updated rules would allow NGSOs to operate with greater flexibility, and improve broadband access — especially in underserved and rural areas.
