FCC GRANTS LIMITED USE OF AMATEUR BANDS TO AST SPACEMOBILE

The FCC's Space Bureau said in a statement that it was giving permission to AST SpaceMobile to use frequencies between 430 and 440 MHz on an emergency basis only, The regulator said its move was in direct response to overwhelming concerns raised by amateur radio operators.

Citing potential interference among their issues, member societies of the International Amateur Radio Union, AMSAT, the ARRL and individual amateurs worldwide also argued that alternate UHF allocations exist for the satellites' telemetry, tracking and command functions. More than 2,500 comments were submitted to the FCC .

The FCC's action gives use of the amateur frequencies to the satellites for no more than a 24-hour period. The amateur radio 70cm band is used by hams worldwide for such applications as mobile FM voice, analogue and digital TV, digital data transmission, amateur radio satellites and weak-signal communications on SSB and CW.

AST SpaceMobile ultimately plans a full constellation of 248 satellites for broadband service from space.