At today’s open meeting, the FCC unanimously adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to streamline, consolidate, and harmonize rules governing earth stations used to provide satellite-based services on ships, airplanes, and vehicles. Currently, the regulation of these earth stations, collectively known as “earth stations in motion” (ESIMs), varies according to the type of vehicle to which they are attached and is covered in various rule provisions. The NPRM proposes to integrate the three types of ESIMs into a single regulatory category and permit blanket licensing in additional frequency bands – the “conventional Ka-band” – in order to give ESIMs additional flexibility. Comments on the NPRM are due 30 days after, and reply comments are due 45 days after, publication in the Federal Register, which has not yet occurred.
