By J.G. Harrington and Henry Wendel

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules to expand
the use of spectrum in the 17 gigahertz band to transmit data to
Earth. This decision allows the spectrum, which previously had been
reserved for feeder links and direct broadcast satellite (DBS)
service, to be used by any geostationary satellite operators providing fixed-satellite service. It also is noteworthy because the FCC
rejected requests to set this spectrum aside for terrestrial wireless
use and instead affirmed that it should be used for satellite
services.

Historically, 17 GHz spectrum has been used for feeder links, which
send signals from the Earth to satellites, but the FCC made the band
available to DBS operators for space-to-Earth transmissions in
2007. This decision makes the spectrum from 17.3 to 17.7 GHz and 17.7
to 17.8 GHz available to other satellite service operators using
geostationary satellites to reach fixed customer locations. The new
rules also authorize blanket licensing of earth stations in the 17 GHz frequencies, including earth stations used in moving vehicles. The FCC
expects that the new spectrum will be used to support broadband
operations – and that satellite operators will take advantage of spot
beam technology to reuse the spectrum efficiently across the US.

https://tinyurl.com/5yefhcdb

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