Space Bureau Seeks Comment on GSO Reference Links

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Published
May 28, 2026
Issuing agencies

Federal Communications Commission
Abstract

In this document, the Space Bureau (Bureau or we) within the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on potential revisions to the set of geostationary (GSO) satellite network reference links adopted in the Modernizing Spectrum Sharing for Satellite Broadband Report and Order (Order). Ensuring the GSO reference links appropriately reflect typical and widespread GSO satellite operations in the United States will promote efficient spectrum sharing among today's broadband satellite systems.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 102 (Thursday, May 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 102 (Thursday, May 28, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31697-31699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10617]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 25

[SB Docket No. 25-157; DA 26-467; FR ID 347964]


Space Bureau Seeks Comment on GSO Reference Links

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Space Bureau (Bureau or we) within the 
Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeks comment on 
potential revisions to the set of geostationary (GSO) satellite network 
reference links adopted in the Modernizing Spectrum Sharing for 
Satellite Broadband Report and Order (Order). Ensuring the GSO 
reference

[[Page 31698]]

links appropriately reflect typical and widespread GSO satellite 
operations in the United States will promote efficient spectrum sharing 
among today's broadband satellite systems.

DATES: Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal 
Register. Reply Comments are due 45 days after publication in the 
Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by SB Docket No. 25-157, 
by any of by any of the following methods:
    Federal Communications Commission's website: <a href="https://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/">https://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/</a>. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    People with Disabilities. Contact the FCC to request reasonable 
accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fd9b9e9ec8cdc9bd9b9e9ed39a928b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="adcbcece989d99edcbcece83cac2db">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or phone: 202-418-
0530 (voice).
    For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clay DeCell, Attorney Advisor, 
Satellite Programs and Policy Division, Space Bureau, at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#67040b061e49030204020b0b2701040449000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d6b5bab7aff8b2b3b5b3baba96b0b5b5f8b1b9a0">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or at (202) 418-0803.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission 
document, DA 26-467, released May 12, 2026. The document is available 
for public inspection online at <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-467A1.pdf">https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-467A1.pdf</a>. The document is also available for 
inspection and copying during business hours in the FCC Reference 
Center, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.

Filing Requirements

    Interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or 
before the dates indicated in the DATES section above.
    [squ] Electronic Filers. Comments may be filed electronically using 
the internet by accessing the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing 
System (ECFS): <a href="http://apps.fcc.gov/">http://apps.fcc.gov/</a>ecfs.
    [squ] Paper Filers. Parties who file by paper must include an 
original and one copy of each filing.
    [cir] Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by 
commercial courier, or by the U.S. Postal Service. All filings must be 
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary, 
Federal Communications Commission.
    [cir] Hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the 
Commission's Secretary are accepted between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. by 
the FCC's mailing contractor at 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis 
Junction, MD 20701. All hand deliveries must be held together with 
rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of 
before entering the building.
    [cir] Commercial courier deliveries (any deliveries not by the U.S. 
Postal Service) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis 
Junction, MD 20701.
    [cir] Filings sent by U.S. Postal Service First-Class Mail, 
Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express, must be sent to 45 L Street 
NE Washington, DC 20554.
    [squ] People with Disabilities. To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#23454040161317634540400d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="81e7e2e2b4b1b5c1e7e2e2afe6eef7">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530.

Ex Parte Presentations

    This proceeding shall be treated as a ``permit-but-disclose'' 
proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Persons 
making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any written 
presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within 
two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline 
applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral ex 
parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the 
presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise 
participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was 
made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during 
the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of 
the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the 
presenter's written comments, memoranda or other filings in the 
proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or 
arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings 
(specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data 
or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the 
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex 
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must 
be filed consistent with Sec.  1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by 
Sec.  1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method 
of electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda 
summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments thereto, 
must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available 
for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format (e.g., 
.doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding 
should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte rules.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The actions in this Public Notice have not changed, or proposed to 
change, our Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), which was set 
forth in the Order in Appendix C. Thus, no supplemental FRFA is 
necessary.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The action contained herein does not change, or propose to change, 
the information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (``PRA''), Public Law 104-13, contained in the 
Order. As a result, no new submission to the Office of Management and 
Budget is necessary to comply with the PRA requirements.

Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act

    Consistent with the Providing Accountability Through Transparency 
Act, Public Law 118-9, a summary of this document will be available on 
<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings">https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings</a>.

Synopsis

    Background. On April 30, 2026, the Commission adopted an Order 
updating its spectrum-sharing rules for GSO and non-GSO (NGSO) 
satellite systems operating in the 10.7-12.7 GHz, 17.3-18.6 GHz, and 
19.7-20.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) bands. Specifically, as an alternative 
to compliance with equivalent power-flux density limits in the United 
States, the Commission adopted a procedure whereby an NGSO applicant 
may either certify that it has completed a coordination agreement with 
any operational co-frequency GSO satellite network or submit a 
compatibility showing which demonstrates that it will not cause 
unacceptable interference to any such system with which coordination 
has not been completed.
    Compatibility showings must contain the following elements:
    (A) A demonstration that the NGSO system will cause no more than 3% 
time-weighted average degraded throughput of any GSO reference link 
that uses adaptive coding and modulation;
    (B) A demonstration that the NGSO system will cause no more than 
0.1% absolute change in link availability to any GSO reference link; 
and
    (C) A demonstration that the NGSO system will cause no more than -
10.5

[[Page 31699]]

dB I/N for 80% of time for any GSO reference link that does not use 
adaptive coding and modulation.
    Reference links are used by an NGSO operator to demonstrate that it 
will comply with the criteria in (A) through (C) above. They also 
provide transparency and regulatory certainty for both GSO and NGSO 
operators as to the types of operations that will be protected to the 
threshold levels. The Commission adopted a set of GSO reference links 
to accompany these protection criteria. The initial set of 328 GSO 
reference links adopted by the Commission were drawn from both 
International Telecommunication Union data and the Commission's 
licensing databases.
    In adopting this initial set of reference links, the Commission 
noted the potential for its further refinement and delegated authority 
to the Bureau to initiate a proceeding by Public Notice to remove, 
revise, or add appropriate GSO links. The Commission specifically 
directed the Bureau to initiate a focused proceeding to refine the 
initial set of reference links within 15 days after release of the 
Report and Order, and to adopt a decision within 60 days after close of 
that comment period.
    Comment Sought. We invite comment on potential revisions to the set 
of GSO reference links, including the antenna patterns and other 
operating parameters, technical justifications, deployment information, 
and considerations of efficient spectrum use. Should any additional GSO 
reference links be added to the database? If so, do those links meet 
the selection criteria employed for the initial set of links, or should 
the selection criteria be modified? Should any reference links be 
removed from the database, for example to focus on the most sensitive 
links and reduce the burden of performing the compatibility showing 
analyses while maintaining equivalent levels of GSO protection? Should 
any columns of information be added or removed in the database? Should 
any changes be made to the information provided for the current links 
in the database? For any proposed changes to the GSO reference link 
database, commenters should provide analyses of the impacts on both GSO 
networks and NGSO systems.

Federal Communications Commission.
Jennifer Gilsenan,
Deputy Chief, Space Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2026-10617 Filed 5-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P


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