FCC to Vote on Satellite Licensing Overhaul July 22, Creating a ‘Licensing Assembly Line’
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will vote on July 22 on the most significant reform of satellite and Earth station licensing in decades, replacing the decades-old Part 25 regulatory framework with a new Part 100 designed to handle the flood of low Earth orbit constellation applications. The so-called “Space Modernization Order” is widely expected to pass on party lines at the three-commissioner FCC.
“This is a decision that will move from bespoke reviews to a consistent, predictable, and objective assembly line process,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement.
The core concept of the new Part 100 is a modular, criteria-based approach. Applications are segmented into discrete components, debris mitigation, spectrum usage, ownership, and other factors, each subject to bright-line criteria that establish presumptive “public interest” findings. Applications that meet the criteria receive fast-track approval; those that do not receive a more considered review.
Key changes in the new framework include reducing the public notice window from 30 days to 15 days for most license requests, extending license terms to 20 years for most satellites and Earth stations, removing surety bond requirements for geostationary and certain non-geostationary operators, and shifting Earth station licensing to a predominantly nationwide blanket license approach. A new requirement mandates that operators share satellite tracking data with an FCC-approved Space Situational Awareness provider.
A previously proposed 7-day expedited path was dropped from the final order following industry feedback.
The Satellite Industry Association welcomed the reform. “The proposed rule changes will greatly expedite the licensing process and provide for better utilization of some of the frequency bands available to the industry,” said Tom Stroup, the association’s president.
The order maintains existing space debris regulations while adding the SSA data-sharing mandate, a point FCC officials emphasize as evidence that the new framework does not weaken orbital safety. Critics, however, worry that faster approvals could accelerate space debris proliferation by reducing the scrutiny each application receives.
The vote comes as the FCC also faces the question of how to handle an unprecedented surge in applications for massive constellations, including SpaceX’s plans for orbital data centers that could involve up to one million satellite structures and Reflect Orbital’s proposal for 50,000 orbital mirrors. The new modular framework is designed specifically to handle this volume, which had overwhelmed the old bespoke GEO-centric process.
On the same day, the FCC will also vote on rules for auctioning 160 MHz of upper C-band spectrum (3.98 to 4.14 GHz) in 2027.