OneWeb Backs SpaceX in Fight With Dish Over Starlink 5G Interference
OneWeb is joining SpaceX in claiming a Dish Network proposal to use the 12GHz radio spectrum for a 5G network risks disrupting satellite internet services like Starlink.
“This OneWeb study clearly illustrates that [satellite internet] operators would not be able to deploy user terminals in the proximity of a typical urban or suburban macro-cell base station deployment without receiving harmful interference,” UK-based OneWeb tells the FCC.
OneWeb is also working to bring high-speed satellite internet to the globe similar to Starlink, but mainly for enterprises. On Monday, the company submitted a filing(Opens in a new window) to the FCC, urging the government regulator to reject a plan to open the 12GHz band for a ground-based 5G network.
Like SpaceX, OneWeb contends that satellite operators and a 5G cell service cannot effectively share the 12GHz spectrum due to the radio interference problems. The company’s filing argues that Dish Network’s previous studies on the matter have been flawed for making unrealistic assumptions on how the two systems would co-exist.
For example, the previous studies claim that satellite internet services and 5G networks would operate in “essentially separate and distinct geographic areas across the entire United States” while underestimating the user population sizes.
In response, OneWeb submitted its own study on the matter to the FCC, which found a 12GHz-based 5G network will “jeopardize” satellite internet services once it reaches sufficient deployment.
“The MVDDS (12GHz for 5G) proponents have no history of building out real networks and instead are focused on lobbying the Commission for an unparalleled spectrum windfall based on deeply flawed technical studies without any
Read more on pcmag.com
