Jessica Rosenworcel, interim chair of the FCC, recently confirmed that Boeing’s application is up for a vote by the US regulator.
Boeing first submitted its application to the FCC in 2017, with the goal of providing fast broadband internet services to its customers, government users and professions in the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
The company wanted approval to deploy a V-band constellation using low earth orbit (LEO) and non-geostationary orbit satellites in order to do so.
The plan was initially met with disapproval from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in 2019. He stressed that the plan posed a “clear risk of malicious interference with other systems” and that he hoped the FCC would “at a minimum impose appropriate conditions to ensure Boeing’s operations do not harm those of other” operators.
In April 2021, the FCC approved Elon Musk’s application to deploy Starlink’s own LEO satellites as part of a $10 billion plan to offer broadband to a wider consumer base.
According to Reuters, SpaceX has since also applied for approval from the commission to carry 2,834 satellites and the aim is to eventually deploy a constellation numbering as many as 12,000.
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