Opinion: Welcome to the Secret Society of Satellite Spectrum

Michael Calabrese, director of New America's Wireless Future, is quoted in a Fierce Network op-ed about the deeply complex and multi-layered world of satellite spectrum.

Calabrese talked to me from the Americas Spectrum Management conference in Washington, D.C., last week. In terms of the complexity surrounding satellite spectrum, he said, “It’s really funny because we almost think of ourselves as some kind of secret society or something, because so few people can wrap their heads around it. There's something about it that's just really difficult to completely understand.”

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The three primary MSS bands are much lower in frequency than FSS spectrum and thus better able to connect to consumer handsets. Calabrese said the key thing about MSS spectrum is that it needs to be low-band because cell phones don’t have much power, so there must be enough propagation for the return path of the signal up to the satellite.

Calabrese said, “All satellite spectrum is allocated by the ITU, you know, globally for harmonization. And then it's up to each country to decide who either gets a license or has market access in that country.”

A report by New America's Wireless Future and the International Center for Law & Economics' jointly-led LEO Policy Working Group is also mentioned.

The New America report is an excellent primer for those of us trying to understand satellite spectrum. First, it’s important to note that the spectrum used for fixed satellite service (FSS), such as SpaceX’s Starlink broadband, is different than the spectrum used for mobile satellite service (MSS), which is necessary for direct-to-device services.