SpaceX Subsidiary, Starlink and its rapidly expanding orbital satellite network might be impaired by the DISH Network Corporation’s use of 12GHz for ground-based broadband use.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has escalated his response to DISH Network’s efforts to secure licensing for the 12 GHz band.
Musk initiated actions with the Federal Communications Commission, challenging the use of the 12 GHz band by DISH Network Corporation, stating that such use would render Starlink “unusable.”
Musk has asked Starlink subscribers and supporters to petition the FCC to block the DISH Network effort to secure licensing for the 12 GHz band. Over 3,000 Starlink supporters have joined the effort thus far.
“If DISH’s lobbying efforts succeed, our study shows that Starlink customers will experience harmful interference more than 77% of the time and total outage of service 74% of the time, rendering Starlink unusable for most Americans,” SpaceX stated.
Starlink also posted a statement about the potential 12 GHz band interference on its website:
“Despite technical studies dating back as far as 2016 that refute the basis of their claims, DISH has attempted to mislead the FCC with faulty analysis in hopes of obscuring the truth. The 12 GHz band has become one of the most important and intensively used spectrum bands for Americans who depend on satellite services, including Starlink users who rely on 12 GHz to download content. However, DISH Network has been attempting to claim new rights to the 12 GHz band, implying that these new rights would have no impact on existing users.”
SpaceX wrote a letter to the FCC containing additional details regarding the potential 12 GHz band interference.
