The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unanimously passed a hotly anticipated shake up of satellite licensing rules that creates what the government agency claims will be a “licensing assembly line.”

The vote was for the "Space Modernization for the 21st Century Report and Order," which is set to replace the decades-old Part 25 satellite rules with a new “Part 100” regime that its enthusiasts suggest will turn years-long approval timelines into mere weeks.

“At the outset of the Trump administration, the FCC committed to boosting America’s space economy,” FCC chairman Brendan Carr noted in a statement on the vote. “Getting the regulatory framework right will determine if America wins this Space Race 2.0. That is why the agency started a process last year to fundamentally change how we process satellite and earth station operations. We bring that effort to conclusion with our Space Modernization Order – a decision that will move from bespoke reviews to a consistent, predictable, and objective assembly line process. By adding rocket fuel to the Space Bureau’s efforts, while following our guiding principles of speed, simplicity, security, and satellite spectrum abundance, we are setting up the country for more good wins.”

Bureaucracy beware

The FCC calls the Part 100 process a “presumed acceptable framework," which seeks regulatory compliance in seven “targeted review categories” in the interest of speeding up the application process, applying better predictability for companies, and empowering innovation. The seven shortlisted categories, described as “bright-line criteria” to be prioritized, are:

• Failure to certify
• Waiver requests
• Market access
• Foreign ownership
• Processing round status
• Spectral constraints
• Federal coordination

Only when one of these categories isn’t met will the application receive full scrutiny. In the event that all seven do not raise eyebrows, the FCC will immediately grant the application on the presumption of public interest.

This replaces the need for applications to submit non-standardized technical narrative descriptions that had to be read and cross-examined.

The FCC connected the efforts to its “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding, which they introduced in mid-2025 in the interest of removing “outdated” FCC rules to reduce regulatory burden.

The assembly line model also features timelines, which mandate that after an application is filed, the FCC must within 30 days either place the application on public notice or inform the applicant what their file is missing. That window of public notice has also been cut from 30 days to 15 days, and after the notice window closes, the FCC must take action or notify the applicant of a reason for delay within 60 days.

Satellite Industry Association (SIA) President Tom Stroup welcomed the order but noted policy isn’t everything, stating the FCC needs the staff and technology infrastructure to work their way through applications at scale.

The new order has ruffled feathers with House Science Chair Brian Babin registering discontent, joining ranking member Zoe Lofgren, who thought the FCC was demonstrating overreach beyond its areas of expertise, naming debris considerations as one such example.

Spectrum shakeup

The FCC also voted to clear more C-band spectrum that it plans to auction to telecom service providers. The spectrum includes 160-megahertz in the upper C-band, including some that will be extracted from current satellite-based communication providers.

The FCC said it had worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure its decision would not disrupt aircraft radio altimeters that use neighboring frequencies. The FCC spoke of clearing lower and upper C-band frequencies to create a 440-megahertz “super band” for terrestrial wireless networks, with the intent to license services as early as December 2030.

The move follows the sale of more than 280-megahertz of lower C-band in 2020 that generated more than $80 billion from the likes of Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

“The steps the FAA will be undertaking in parallel with this FCC decision will ensure that C-band services successfully coexist with critical aviation safety tools in the adjacent band,” Carr said during an open meeting. “Indeed, the FCC and FAA processes will together provide for the upgrade of radio altimeters and provide rebates to support eligible domestic aircraft operators and owners in that effort.”