In 2021, the Commission released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on revisions to the spectrum sharing requirements among non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO), fixed-satellite service (FSS) systems. The NPRM proposed that the Commission’s existing spectrum sharing mechanism for NGSO FSS systems will be limited to those systems approved in the same processing round. The NPRM also proposed to adopt a rule providing that later-round NGSO FSS systems will have to protect earlier-round systems, and invited comment on how to define such protection. In addition, the NPRM sought comment on whether to sunset, after a period of time, the interference protection afforded to an NGSO FSS system because of its processing round status.

In 2023, the Commission released a Report and Order (R&O) in this proceeding. The R&O adopted rules clarifying protection obligations between NGSO FSS systems authorized through different processing rounds by using a degraded throughput methodology, and subjected those protections to a sunset period. After the sunset period, new entrants authorized in later processing rounds would share spectrum on an equal basis with earlier-round incumbents. The R&O also clarified that all NGSO FSS operators licensed or granted market access in the United States must coordinate with each other in good faith, regardless of their processing round status, and explained the Commission’s expectations for information sharing during this good-faith coordination. In an accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM), the Commission sought comment on which specific metrics should be used to define the protection afforded to an earlier-round NGSO FSS system from a later-round system, and sought specific comment on implementation of the degraded throughput methodology.