WASHINGTON — In a bid to overhaul decades-old regulatory frameworks for the modern commercial space era, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it will vote on July 22 on a sweeping new Space Modernization Order. The sweeping policy reform is designed to shift the agency from a system of slow, case-by-case reviews to a rapid-fire “licensing assembly line.”
The order seeks to replace the FCC’s long-standing Part 25 space and Earth station regulations with a modernized Part 100 framework. The overarching goal is to condense regulatory review cycles; which historically dragged on for years, down to timelines measured in weeks or months, ensuring the U.S. regulatory apparatus can keep pace with increasingly complex low Earth orbit (LEO) mega-constellations.
Accelerating the “Space Race 2.0”
According to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, shifting the agency’s regulatory baseline to a “default to yes” model is a national security and economic imperative as competitive orbital pressures mount.
“Getting the regulatory framework right will determine if America wins this Space Race 2.0…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.”
– Brendan Carr, FCC Chairman
Key Provisions of the Proposed Part 100 Framework
- Default to Yes: Assumes applications meeting clear, objective criteria inherently serve the public interest, expediting routine approvals.
- Red Tape Reduction: Dramatically broadens the scope of minor license modifications operators can deploy without requiring prior FCC approval.
- Shorted Notice Windows: Slashes the standard public notice window for routine requests from 30 days down to 15 days.
- Space Safety Standards: Mandates that LEO operators actively share satellite tracking data with approved space situational awareness (SSA) providers to mitigate orbital collision risks.
Exclusion Clause: While the order seeks to grease the wheels for future filings, pending applications for massive orbital data center constellations submitted earlier this year, including SpaceX’s ambitious plans for up to a million AI-supporting satellites, will not retroactively benefit from these accelerated timelines.
The order also lands as Congress continues to debate the bipartisan Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act, which aims to impose hard statutory deadlines on the FCC’s licensing pipeline.
Reopening the Spectrum Vault: A New Upper C-Band Auction
In tandem with the licensing overhaul, the FCC will also vote on July 22 to establish rules for a major 160 megahertz (MHz) auction of upper C-band spectrum (3.98–4.14 GHz) slated for next year. This marks the agency’s first commercial spectrum auction in five years.
The frequencies, currently utilized by multi-orbit operator SES to distribute television services, sit adjacent to vital aviation bands.
SpaceX’s Wireless Ambitions
The upcoming auction represents a massive premium asset. The upper C-band cache is 35 times larger than the AWS-3 spectrum recently re-auctioned on a MHz-POP basis, which brought in $3.57 billion.
| Auction Event | Spectrum Band | Total Bandwidth | Major Takeaway / Spending |
| 2020 Lower C-Band | 3.7–3.98 GHz | 280 MHz | Raised $80B+; Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile dominated. |
| Recent AWS-3 Re-Auction | AWS-3 Frequencies | Minimal | Raised $3.57B; Verizon spent $3.2B; SpaceX won two licenses for $9M. |
| Upcoming 2027 Auction | Upper C-Band | 160 MHz | Projected to raise billions; key target for satellite/terrestrial players. |
The minimal spending by Elon Musk’s firm in the recent AWS-3 auction sparked widespread industry speculation. While SpaceX walked away with just two licenses for $9 million, analysts suggest the low-stakes bidding was highly strategic way to educate themselves on FCC auction ahead of a much more valuable auction in the future.
As satellite operators increasingly eye direct-to-smartphone and terrestrial mobile capabilities, the upcoming mid-band auction could become the next major battleground for market dominance.