Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of )
)
WorldVu Satellites Limited ) IBFS File Nos.: SAT-MPL-20200526-00062
) and SAT-APL-20210112-00007
)
Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Modify the U.S. ) Call Sign: S2963
Market Access Grant for the OneWeb Ku-band and )
Ka-Band NGSO FSS System )

ORDER AND DECLARATORY RULING

Adopted: September 16, 2022 Released: September 16, 2022

By the Chief, Satellite Division, International Bureau:

I. INTRODUCTION
1. In this Order and Declaratory Ruling, we grant in part and defer in part the petition for
declaratory ruling of WorldVu Satellites Limited (OneWeb) to modify its grant of U.S. market access for
a 720-satellite constellation authorized by the United Kingdom.1 We allow OneWeb to access the U.S.
market with minor revisions to its satellite architecture. Specifically, OneWeb is approved to operate up
to 49 satellites per plane in two orbital planes instead of the previously approved 40 satellites per plane.
We defer consideration of the remainder of OneWeb’s Modification Petition. This grant in part will
enable OneWeb to begin testing and providing service to the United States with satellites that have
already been launched and are now being raised into their final orbital positions.
II. BACKGROUND
2. In April 2016, OneWeb became the first company to seek Commission approval for a
new generation non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO), fixed-satellite service (FSS) system designed
“to provide high-speed, affordable broadband connectivity to anyone, anywhere” in the United States.2
OneWeb proposed to operate a constellation of 720 satellites, configured in 18 near-polar orbital planes
with 40 satellites per plane, at an approximate altitude of 1200 kilometers and in the frequency bands
10.7-12.7 GHz (space-to- Earth), 14-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space), 17.8-18.6 GHz (space-to-Earth), 18.8-
19.3 GHz (space-to-Earth), 27.5-29.1 GHz (Earth-to-space), and 29.5-30 GHz (Earth-to-space).3
3. The initial OneWeb petition triggered a processing round.4 The processing round notice
invited additional applications and petitions for declaratory ruling for NGSO-like satellite operation in the

1WorldVu Satellites Limited, Modification to OneWeb U.S. Market Access Grant for the OneWeb Ku- and Ka-
Band System, IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062 (filed May 26, 2020), amended by WorldVu Satellites
Limited, Amendment to Modification Application for U.S. Market Access Grant for the OneWeb Ku- and Ka-Band
System, IBFS File No. SAT-APL-20210112-00007 (filed Jan. 12, 2021) (together, Modification Petition).
2WorldVu Satellites Limited, Petition for a Declaratory Ruling Granting Access to the U.S. Market for the OneWeb
NGSO FSS System, Order and Declaratory Ruling, 32 FCC Rcd 5366, 5366, paras. 1-2 (2017) (OneWeb Grant).
3 Id. at 5366-67, para. 2.
4 See 47 CFR § 25.157(c).
 Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

frequency bands requested by OneWeb.5 The notice announced that applications and petitions filed by
the cut-off date of November 15, 2016, would be considered together with the initial OneWeb petition,
but that requests filed after that date may not be entitled to shared use of the spectrum with respect to any
grant of applications or petitions filed prior to the cut-off date.6 Eleven additional applications and
petitions were filed in this first processing round.7
4. The Commission granted OneWeb’s initial market access petition in June 2017.8 The
grant included a condition requiring OneWeb to share spectrum, on an equal basis, with any NGSO
system licensed or granted U.S. market access through the first processing round in accordance with the
Commission’s rules.9
5. In March 2020, a second processing round was opened for the frequency bands included
in the OneWeb Grant.10 The second processing round closed May 26, 2020.11 OneWeb initially
submitted the Modification Petition within this second processing round window, and later amended it on
January 12, 2021.12
6. The Modification Petition proposes a revised satellite architecture for the OneWeb
NGSO FSS system, to be deployed in what is described as two phases. Phase 1 would consist of 716
satellites, which is a reduction from the previously approved 720 satellites. OneWeb would also
reconfigure the deployment of satellites.13 Rather than operating 40 satellites per plane in 18 orbital
planes at an 87.9° inclination, OneWeb would operate 49 satellites per plane in 12 orbital planes at an
87.9° inclination and 16 satellites per plane in 8 orbital planes at a 55° inclination.14 OneWeb asks that
this reduction and reconfiguration of the already-approved OneWeb system be granted without affecting
its spectrum sharing rights based on its participation in the first processing round.15
7. Phase 2 would represent a significant expansion of the OneWeb system. As originally
filed, the phase 2 deployment would increase the total constellation size to 47,844 satellites; 16 however,
the amendment reduced this to 6,372 satellites.17 OneWeb proposes that operation of these satellites be

5OneWeb Petition Accepted for Filing, IBFS File No. SAT-LOI-20160428-00041; Cut-Off Established for
Additional NGSO-Like Satellite Applications or Petitions for Operations in the 10.7-12.7 GHz, 14.0-14.5 GHz, 17.8-
18.6 GHz, 18.8-19.3 GHz, 27.5-28.35 GHz, 28.35-29.1 GHz, and 29.5-30.0 GHz Bands, Public Notice, 31 FCC Rcd
7666 (IB-SD 2016).
6 Id. at 7667.
7 OneWeb Grant at 5367, para. 3.
8 OneWeb Grant.
9 See id. at 5377, para. 23k; 47 CFR § 25.261(b)-(d).
10Cut-Off Established for Additional NGSO FSS Applications or Petitions for Operations in the 10.7-12.7 GHz,
12.75-13.25 GHz, 13.8-14.5 GHz, 17.7-18.6 GHz, 18.8-20.2 GHz, and 27.5-30 GHz Bands, Public Notice, DA 20-
325 (IB-SD 2020).
11 Id. at 2.
12 Modification Petition.
13 Id., IBFS File No. SAT-APL-20210112-00007, Legal Narrative at 5.
14 Id.
15 See id., IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062, Legal Narrative at 11-14.
16 Id., IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062, Legal Narrative at 10.
17 Id., IBFS File No. SAT-APL-20210112-00007, Legal Narrative at 5.
2
 Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

considered with other NGSO FSS systems filed in the second processing round.18 In addition to the
phased deployments described, OneWeb states in the Modification Petition that iterations of satellites
may be augmented by optical inter-satellite links.19
8. The Modification Petition was placed on public notice on March 18, 2022.20 Comments
were submitted by Viasat, Inc. (Viasat), SES Americom, Inc. and O3b Limited (together, SES), and
Kuiper Systems LLC (Kuiper).21 The National Telecommunications and Information Administration also
filed a letter on behalf of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National
Science Foundation (NSF).22 OneWeb responded to the comments and letter.23 ViaSat and Kuiper
replied to OneWeb’s response.24
9. In July 2022, OneWeb requested an expedited, partial grant of the Modification
Petition.25 OneWeb states that satellites to be operated in orbital planes 15 and 20 have been launched
and are currently being raised into their final configurations.26 OneWeb seeks partial grant of the
Modification Petition to allow it to access the U.S. market using up to 49 satellites in each of these planes,
instead of the previously approved 40 satellites per plane, as necessary to ensure the on-orbit satellites
may begin testing and providing service in the United States as soon as they have reached their final
orbital positions.27 On September 14, 2022, OneWeb filed a letter clarifying that the satellites
compromising the request for partial grant do not have inter-satellite link capability and stating that
OneWeb understands that any Commission action regarding its use of inter-satellite links will be taken at
a later date and separately from the request for partial grant with respect to the satellites in two orbital
planes.28
10. National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy and Trade Policy Review. On

18See id., IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062, Legal Narrative at 14-15; IBFS File No. SAT-APL-
20210112-00007, Legal Narrative at 5-7.
Id., IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062, Technical Narrative at 8; Letter from Brian Weimer, Counsel to
19

WorldVu Satellites Limited, to Karl A. Kensinger, Chief, Satellite Division, International Bureau, FCC, at 3 (filed
Mar. 7, 2022).
Space Station Applications Accepted for Filing, Public Notice, Report No. SAT-01618 (IB-SD 2022) (Public
20

Notice).
21 Comments of Viasat, Inc. (filed Apr. 18, 2022); Comments of SES Americom, Inc. and O3b Limited (filed Apr.
18, 2022); Comments of Kuiper Systems LLC (filed Apr. 18, 2022). In addition, Space Exploration Holdings, LLC
filed, and later withdrew, comments and a petition to deny in part. Comments and Petition to Deny in Part of Space
Exploration Holdings, LLC (filed Apr. 18, 2022); Letter from David Goldman, Director, Satellite Policy, Space
Exploration Technologies Corp. and Kimberly Baum, VP, Spectrum Engineering & Strategy, WorldVu Satellites
Limited to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (filed July 21, 2022).
22Letter from Milton Brown, Chief Counsel (Acting), United States Department of Commerce, National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (filed Apr. 22, 2022)
(NASA/NSF Letter).
Consolidated Response to Comments of OneWeb (filed May 3, 2022); Letter from Brian D. Weimer, Sheppard,
23

Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (filed May 4, 2022).
24 Reply of Viasat, Inc. (filed May 13, 2022); Reply of Kuiper Systems LLC (filed May 13, 2022).
25Letter from Blake Wiles, Market Access Manager, North America, OneWeb, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary,
FCC (filed July 28, 2022).
26 Id. at 1.
27 Id. at 1-2.
Letter from Douglas Svor, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, counsel to WorldVu Satellites Limited, to
28

Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (filed Sept. 14, 2022).

3
 Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

March 18, 2022, the Modification Petition was referred to the relevant Executive Branch agencies for
their views on any national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, or trade policy.29 On March 25,
2022, the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States
Telecommunications Services Sector (Committee) notified the Commission that it was reviewing the
Modification Petition for any national security and law enforcement concerns that may be raised by
foreign participation in the United States telecommunications services sector and requested that the
Commission defer action on the Modification Petition.30 On September 16, 2022, following the
clarification by OneWeb that the satellites comprising the request for partial grant do not have inter-
satellite link capability, the Satellite Division modified the referral to the relevant Executive Branch
agencies to exclude the space stations involved in the request for partial grant because they do not raise
the concern that was the basis for the referral.
III. DISCUSSION
11. After review of the record, we conclude that partial grant of the Modification Petition
will serve the public interest.31 Our public interest analysis considers the effect of the proposed
modification on competition in the United States, as well as issues of spectrum availability, eligibility
requirements and operating requirements, and national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and
trade.32
12. This analysis is relatively straightforward with respect to OneWeb’s request for an
expedited, partial grant. The Commission has already approved OneWeb to provide service in the United
States using 720 satellites configured in 18 orbital planes with 40 satellites per plane. Modifying this
grant to reflect OneWeb’s operations with 49 satellites per plane in two of those orbital planes, without
exceeding the total number of previously-approved satellites or changing their operational altitude or
other characteristics, will have no material impact on competition in the United States or spectrum
availability, and offers no reason to reconsider OneWeb’s eligibility qualifications. Below, we briefly
discuss OneWeb’s operating requirements in the context of issues raised by commenters. We defer
consideration of those issues to a future action on the broader Modification Petition. We also explain why
a grant in part will have no impact on the ongoing review of any national security, law enforcement,
foreign policy, and trade considerations with regard to the Modification Petition.
13. Processing Round Status. The International Bureau has approved modifications to
NGSO systems, without changing their status in a particular processing round, when the modifications
did not present significant interference problems.33 We have no difficulty concluding that this standard is
met by OneWeb’s request to operate 49 satellites per plane, instead of 40 satellites per plane, in 2 of the
18 currently approved orbital planes for its constellation. This change reflects a minor adjustment in the
OneWeb system, and the change in operations with deployment of additional satellites in those planes
will have no significant effect on the interference environment. Indeed, one commenter explicitly
recognizes that the proposed phase 1 modifications generally would not present significant interference

29 Public Notice.
30Letter from Megan Fluckiger, Attorney Advisor, Foreign Investment Review Section, National Security Division,
U.S. Department of Justice, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (filed Mar. 25, 2022).
31Amendment of the Commission’s Regulatory Policies to Allow Non-U.S. Licensed Satellites to Provide Domestic
and International Service in the United States, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 24094, 24106, para. 29 (1997).
32 Id.
33See Space Exploration Holdings, LLC, Request for Modification of the Authorization for the SpaceX NGSO
Satellite System, Order and Authorization and Order on Reconsideration, 36 FCC Rcd 7995, para. 18 (2021).
4
 Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

problems.34 No commenter argues that phase 1 changes, or any part of them, would present significant
interference problems. Accordingly, we conclude that we may grant the proposed modification for an
additional nine satellites to be operated in each of planes 15 and 20 within OneWeb’s already approved
720-satellite constellation without alteration of the NGSO FSS spectrum sharing status of the
constellation.
14. Operational Issues and Comments. Commenters raise broader issues regarding the
Modification Petition which, for the reasons given below, we conclude are unnecessary to address in this
order to grant modified market access to OneWeb reflecting its deployment configuration in two orbital
planes.
15. Viasat raises orbital debris and spectrum sharing concerns related specifically to
OneWeb’s proposed phase 2 constellation expansion, which we will address when we act upon
OneWeb’s phase 2 request.35 Similarly, the orbital debris and other issues raised by NASA are
appropriately considered in the context of OneWeb’s proposed phase 2 expansion, rather than the minor
reconfiguration of its approved satellites addressed in this order.36 The issues raised by NASA focus on
the potential effect on the space environment of the enlarged OneWeb system, numbering 6,372
satellites.37 For example, NASA notes the projected increase in transiting and deorbiting satellites as
phase 1 satellites are decommissioned and phase 2 satellites are launched.38 The limited modification
granted here will not significantly alter the characteristics of the system from an orbital debris mitigation
perspective. NASA’s comments regarding potential impacts to optical astronomy also generally concern
the phase 2 of deployment.39
16. Kuiper’s comments focus on the differing, and related, regulatory treatments of
OneWeb’s proposed phase 1 and phase 2 satellite operations.40 Kuiper requests that the Commission
clarify the processing round statuses of OneWeb’s phase 1 and phase 2 satellites and whether they will be
subject to separate bond and milestone requirements.41 Kuiper also raises arguments it has made in a
pending rulemaking proceeding regarding NGSO FSS spectrum sharing, asking that we sunset
interference protections for phase 1 operations and require OneWeb to share certain operational
information with other NGSO FSS system operators.42 As noted above, partial grant of the Modification
Petition to allow OneWeb access to the U.S. market with 49 satellites in two of its approved orbital planes
is a minor reconfiguration that will not present significant interference problems; therefore, it will not
affect the sharing status of these operations in the first processing round. We do not address OneWeb’s
phase 2 proposal or the related phase 2 bond and milestone issues. Further, Kuiper’s rulemaking-related
arguments can be adequately addressed in the context of the ongoing rulemaking proceeding or in
connection with a full disposition of the OneWeb’s modification request, and our action here is without

34Kuiper Comments at 3 (“OneWeb’s phased approach separates the segment of the modification that would present
significant interference problems, the addition of thousands of satellites (“Phase 2”), from the segment that would
not present such problems, the removal of four satellites from and orbital shifting of its already-authorized
constellation (“Phase 1”).”).
35 ViaSat Comments; ViaSat Reply.
36See NASA/NSF Letter. The National Science Foundation “shares the general concerns of NASA, regulators, and
satellite operators with respect to orbital debris and congestion.” Id.
37 See id.
38 Id. at 2.
39 Id. at 4-5.
40 Kuiper Comments; Kuiper Reply.
41 See Kuiper Comments at 4-6, 9-10.
42 Kuiper Comments at 7-12.
5
 Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

prejudice to disposition of those arguments. OneWeb’s market access grant remains subject to the
outcome of the rulemaking proceeding.
17. Kuiper and SES also seek conditions on OneWeb’s market access related to its
compliance with Equivalent Power Flux Density (EPFD) limits.43 While we note that OneWeb has
reaffirmed that both its phase 1 and phase 2 deployments will comply with the single entry EPFD limits
in Article 22 of the ITU Radio Regulations; has provided EPFD analyses for its phase 1 and phase 2
deployments; and has offered to provide EPFD data files to commenters,44 this issue is unlikely to be
materially affected by the minor reconfiguration requested for immediate action and is most appropriately
considered in a future decision on the broader Modification Petition.
18. National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy and Trade Policy Issues. The
operations proposed in OneWeb’s request for partial grant do not involve any satellites with inter-satellite
link capability, and these operations have been excluded from the referral made to the relevant Executive
Branch agencies. Further, there is no record evidence of any national security, law enforcement, foreign
policy, or trade policy issues involved with the modified orbital architecture in two orbital planes sought
in the request for partial grant. We conclude there are no such issues involved in the request for partial
grant.
19. The remaining aspects of the Modification Petition are currently under review by the
Committee for their views on any national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, or trade policy
concerns. The Committee has asked that we defer action on the Modification Petition referred to it
pending completion of its review. Accordingly, we defer action on all aspects of the Modification
petition that are referred to the Committee and are currently under its review.
IV. CONCLUSION AND ORDERING CLAUSES
20. We conclude that grant in part of the Modification Petition will serve the public interest
by enabling OneWeb to begin testing and providing service with satellites in a revised orbital
configuration as soon as they have been placed into their final orbital positions.
21. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, that the Petition for Declaratory Ruling, as amended,
filed by WorldVu Satellites Limited, d/b/a OneWeb, IS GRANTED IN PART and DEFERRED IN PART
as described above, pursuant to section 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47
U.S.C. § 303(r), and section 25.137(c), (e), and (f) of the Federal Communication Commission’s rules, 47
CFR § 25.137(c), (e), (f).
22. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the conditions of OneWeb’s grant of U.S. market
access are modified to reflect that OneWeb may operate up to 49 satellites in each of the orbital planes 15
and 20, as identified in the Schedule S submitted in IBFS File No. SAT-MPL-20200526-00062.

43 Kuiper comments at 10 n.28; SES Comments at 3.

44 OneWeb Response at 24, Attach. B.
6
 Federal Communications Commission DA 22-970

23. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, except as provided in the preceding paragraph,

OneWeb must continue to comply with all of the terms and conditions of its original U.S. market access
grant, WorldVu Satellites Limited, Petition for a Declaratory Ruling Granting Access to the U.S. Market
for the OneWeb NGSO FSS System, Order and Declaratory Ruling, 32 FCC Rcd 5366 (2017).

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Karl A. Kensinger
Chief, Satellite Division
International Bureau