Marguerite Reardon

Senior reporter at the c|net infosite, Marguerite Reardon, has posted a story regarding the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as the agency has struck a deal worth billions of dollars with a group of satellite companies to free up spectrum that can be used for 5G service.

Ajit Pai

On Thursday, February 6, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai released details of the plan, which has satellite companies surrendering valuable spectrum.  The plan calls for the FCC to pay satellite companies $3 billion to $5 billion in compensation for abandoning the so-called C-band spectrum and moving to another frequency in order for the airwaves to be auctioned.

The FCC is asking these companies to modify their use of this spectrum in order to prevent interference from cell phone use. Read the entire article at this direct c|net infolink.

Xinhua is reporting that Japan has set Sunday as the new launch date for an H2A rocket carrying a government optical satellite for intelligence-gathering purpose, according to a statement from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. on Thursday, February 6.

The H2A rocket is scheduled to be launched Sunday morning from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The previous launch was set for Jan. 28, but was canceled due to a glitch during the countdown. A leak was discovered in the piping supplying the rocket with nitrogen gas for liftoff. Mitsubishi Heavy attributed the leak to pipe corrosion and said it has completed necessary repairs and inspection.

According to an article at the Bloomberg infosite, Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to spin out and pursue a public offering of the firm's budding space-internet business Starlink — this will give investors a chance to buy into one of the most promising operations within the closely held company.

     SpaceX has already launched more than 240 satellites to build out Starlink, which will start delivering internet services to customers from space this summer, as stated by company President Gwynne Shotwell on Thursday at a private investor event hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Miami, Florida.

She said, “Right now, we are a private company, but Starlink is the right kind of business that we can go ahead and take public. That particular piece is an element of the business that we are likely to spin out and go public.” Read the entire article at this direct Bloomberg infolink.