SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This is a summary of the Commission document (Public Notice), in SB Docket No. 25-157; DA 26-973, released September 11, 2026. The full text of this document is available online at docs.fcc.gov/​public/​attachments/​DA-26-973A1.pdf. The document is also available for inspection and copying during business hours in the FCC Reference Center, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities, send an email to FCC504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

The actions in the document have not changed, or proposed to change, our Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), which was set forth in the Order (FCC 26-26) 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 (FCC 26-26). As a result, no new submission to the Office of Management and Budget is necessary to comply with the PRA requirements.

Congressional Review Act

The Commission has determined, and the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, concurs, that this action is non-major under the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission will send a copy of the document to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). The Office of the Managing Director, Performance Program Management, will also send a copy of the document in a report to be sent to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

OPEN Government Data Act

The OPEN Government Data Act requires agencies to make “public data assets” available under an open license and as “open Government data assets,” i.e., in machine readable, open format, unencumbered by use restrictions other than intellectual property rights, and based on an open standard that is maintained by a standards organization. This requirement is to be implemented “in accordance with guidance by the Director” of the OMB. The term “public data asset” means “a data asset, or part thereof, maintained by the federal government that has been, or may be, released to the public, including any data asset, or part thereof, subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).” A “data asset” is “a collection of data elements or data sets that may be grouped together,” and “data” is “recorded information, regardless of form or the media on which the data is recorded.”

Synopsis

Background. On April 30, 2026, the Commission adopted the Order to update its spectrum-sharing rules for GSO and 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. The Commission concluded that the prior NGSO-GSO sharing regime—based upon NGSO systems complying with equivalent power-flux density (EPFD) limits developed in the 1990s—was spectrally inefficient and overprotective of modern GSO networks. To better support efficient spectrum use and the competitive satellite market, the Commission adopted an alternative sharing framework, incorporating good-faith coordination and performance-based GSO protection criteria as a backstop when coordination between GSO and NGSO operators is not reached.

Specifically, as an alternative to compliance with EPFD 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. To perform these compatibility showings, NGSO operators will rely on a set of GSO reference links, which reflect typical GSO operations in the U.S. and the resultant impacts on GSO systems from enhanced NGSO operations. Reference links are used by NGSO operators to demonstrate compliance with the long-term and short-term interference metrics, and the operational parameters of an NGSO system must ensure that the GSO protection criteria are satisfied at every reference link. In practice, as noted in the Order, there may be one protection criterion for one reference link that is the constraining factor on the operational parameters of a given NGSO system (referred to as the “most sensitive link”). The operational parameters required to protect this most sensitive link as the worst-case protection scenario will be the operational parameters that the NGSO system may employ when providing service anywhere in the United States. Consequently, all GSO links—regardless of whether they are included in the reference link dataset—will be protected by the operational constraints placed on NGSO systems to protect the most sensitive reference link. Indeed, the actual protection of GSO operations will often be greater than the protection levels adopted by the Commission.

The Order adopted an initial set of 328 GSO reference links that were drawn from both International Telecommunication Union data and the Commission's licensing databases and were filtered for conformance with a set of selection criteria. The Commission concluded that reasonable selection parameters for the reference links were ( printed page 69726) necessary for efficient spectrum sharing. In adopting this initial set of reference links, the Commission also 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.

On May 12, 2026, the Bureau sought comment on the initial set of GSO reference links, potential revisions to the dataset, and the accompanying selection criteria. The Public Notice asked for input and analysis on the dataset, including as to whether certain links or information should be added or removed from the database and on whether the selection criteria should be modified at this time. Nine comments, seven reply comments, and several ex partes were filed in response.

Discussion. Based on the record, we update the initial set of adopted GSO reference links. We also add new links proposed by GSO satellite operators, correct parameters of links already included in the dataset, and remove outdated links and links operated outside of the United States, consistent with the selection criteria used for the initial set of reference links. The updated set of GSO reference links is included in an Attachment to the document. We conclude it is premature to make broader changes to the dataset or underlying selection criteria at this time and adopt the updated dataset using the selection criteria used for the initial set of links.

First, GSO operators submitted a number of up-to-date reference links to reflect current operations that are consistent with the selection criteria used to create the initial dataset. In addition, one NGSO operator provided a set of proposed replacement reference links that it identified and selected using the Commission's licensing database for every authorized GSO operator in the 17.3-18.6 GHz and 19.7-20.2 GHz bands (Ka-band). We have reviewed these proposed links and agree that they are reasonably representative of a variety of widespread GSO operations in the United States and appropriate for inclusion in the dataset.

Second, further review of the initial set of reference links shows that certain links either reflect operations outside the United States, are unassociated with any current operator or operations serving the United States or were submitted for GSO networks that never began operations or ceased operations over a decade ago. We remove these legacy reference links considering the updated links from GSO operators that we add to the dataset. We also remove links for GSO operators that are either redundant or superseded by up-to-date links provided by those operators in the record.

Third, we modify certain link parameters in the initial dataset that now appear to be either non-representative of typical operations or otherwise inaccurate. Specifically, commenters in response to the Public Notice point out several non-ACM links in the initial dataset with unusually high carrier-to-noise (C/N) levels of up to 18 dB. DIRECTV, one of the most widespread users of non-ACM links, states that such high C/N thresholds “are not reflective of non-ACM operations.” SpaceX proposes to apply a maximum unavailability C/N for non-ACM links of 9.5 dB, which DIRECTV supports for broadcasting-satellite service user links as consistent with its existing operations and network design. SpaceX further notes that of the 40 new non-ACM user terminal links submitted by GSO operators in response to the Public Notice, only three have unavailability C/N thresholds exceeding 9.5 dB, each of which appears to originate from a satellite that has surpassed its design lifespan. SES, which submitted the new high C/N links, argues that some of its GSO media distribution services rely on non-ACM links designed to achieve high availability levels and use an unavailability C/N threshold of 12.6 dB to maximize link capacity. We determine that higher C/N values appear to be relative outliers on older networks, and agree with DIRECTV and SpaceX that a 9.5 dB C/N threshold is a reasonable upper bound for modern, widespread and typical non-ACM user terminal links to facilitate spectrum sharing. Accordingly we incorporate the 9.5 dB C/N threshold into the revised dataset. Separately, we also modify certain parameters of Hispasat links to reflect corrections noted on the record.

Fourth, we streamline the columns of the reference link dataset to clarify the necessary information, support coordination, and remove extraneous information not needed as input to the compatibility demonstrations.

Finally, we decline to make broader changes to the dataset or selection criteria at this time. The Commission's Order ended over two decades of overprotective and spectrally inefficient restrictions on NGSO systems for the benefit of GSO networks. The new sharing framework has yet to be implemented, but the services available to consumers across the United States from fast-growing NGSO systems will be limited by the NGSO operational parameters necessary to protect the most sensitive link in the GSO reference link dataset. Given that determining the most sensitive link depends on several factors, we are wary of modifying or reducing the selection criteria and potentially introducing edge-cases into the analysis. Further, we note specific rationales to maintain contested criteria, and that to the extent that links which are not included in the dataset are no less sensitive or constraining for a particular NGSO system, they will receive protection levels equal to or greater than the GSO protection criteria adopted by the Commission. Further, the Commission has never concluded that even a GSO link that receives less protection than the levels set in the Order would be nonviable in specific use cases. Rather, we will address future updates to the dataset and be in a better position to reassess the protection criteria after we gain experience with its implementation. We will consider in particular any real-world operational information once the new rules are effective. We reiterate that operating NGSO systems may be required to adjust their operations to protect any new GSO reference links added in the future.

91 FR 69725