FCC Approves SpaceX's 15,000-Satellite Fleet Despite SES Objection
What happened
The FCC's Space and Wireless Telecommunications bureaus granted SpaceX authority Oct. 6 to launch a third, 15,000-satellite system using spectrum bought from EchoStar for mobile and device-to-cell service. The grant (DA-26-1078) authorizes only domestic U.S. service in 2 GHz-class bands and defers SpaceX's bid to extend direct-to-cell service abroad. SES, Viasat, DIRECTV and Eutelsat had jointly asked the FCC to deny or tightly limit the application. Regulators granted it anyway, adding only the non-interference conditions SES itself had requested.
Read-across for SES
SpaceX now holds a dedicated, FCC-licensed mobile-satellite fleet at home, in the same 2 GHz spectrum class the EU is allocating under COM(2026)311. SES and Elveo are bidding for that EU spectrum, and this grant bolsters SpaceX's case for scale and technical compliance in Brussels. The FCC did defer SpaceX's bid to extend direct-to-cell service abroad. SES's own opposition won interference safeguards, not a denial.
As the brief filed it
[AGE: 4h] The FCC granted SpaceX authority to launch a third, 15,000-satellite mobile-service fleet using EchoStar's 2 GHz-class spectrum, over SES's own opposition in the docket.