SpaceX Accuses Rival Viasat of Using FCC to Gain Access to Starlink Tech
SpaceX is accusing rival Viasat of trying to use the FCC to gain access to confidential data on Starlink satellite designs.
On Thursday, SpaceX made the accusation in a FCC filing defending the company’s proposal for a second-generation Starlink network, which aims to one day supply high-speed internet to millions of users across the globe.
Viasat has been among the rival satellite providers demanding the FCC impose certain conditions on the proposal, citing concerns the second-gen Starlink network will cause radio interference and collisions in space. However, SpaceX claims Viasat is resorting to legal tactics to both delay the second-gen Starlink network and to also uncover proprietary data about it.
“Viasat not only demands such onerous conditions on US licensees, but also seeks to force disclosure of SpaceX’s proprietary data —presumably to inform its designs to build a competing satellite business,” the company said on Thursday.
Viasat didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But earlier this month, it told the FCC that SpaceX’s application for the second-gen Starlink network failed to provide “key antenna and transmission information about its proposed system expansion,” including the number of beams on each satellite, and the channels per beam.
“This prevents the Commission and other interested parties from understanding the ‘baseline; satellite designs and system configurations being proposed by SpaceX,” Viasat said. “This is particularly critical in the case of SpaceX as it has unilaterally changed its satellite design multiple times, in ways potentially inconsistent with the requirement that all operating satellites and replacements remain ‘technically identical’ to those initially authorized
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