Low Earth Orbit Satellites: Policies to Promote Spectrum Sharing, Foster Competition, and Close Digital Divides: A Report of the LEO Policy Working Group

Recent advances in technology have dramatically expanded the potential for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to meet global connectivity needs. Satellites in orbit have grown tenfold over the past decade. LEO systems can now deliver faster speeds and lower latency than previous generations, enabling services ranging from broadband internet and remote backhaul to sensing networks and enterprise IoT.

This report by the LEO Policy Working Group highlights three salient LEO issues for policymakers to address. First, effective spectrum sharing and coexistence reforms can hugely expand LEO capacity, performance, and innovation. The report endorses a new U.S.-led framework for satellite spectrum sharing, higher power, and a dramatic increase in allocations for both fixed and mobile satellite use. Second, the report finds that competition is real and intensifying but also skewed by state sponsorship and regulatory asymmetries. Policymakers must remain alert to how vertical integration, tying, and merger activity shape the market over time. Third, LEO systems are advancing the goal of universal connectivity, but traditional government subsidy programs need to be adjusted to better incorporate them. Policymakers must consider LEO service’s strengths, challenges, and use cases to effectively include LEO systems in ongoing and future broadband subsidy programs.

Editorial note: While this report lists five primary authors for publication purposes, the findings and recommendations presented here emerged from the LEO Policy Working Group. The authors gratefully acknowledge the full contributions of all working group members in shaping this report.

Members of the LEO Policy Working Group

• Michael Calabrese (co-chair), Director of Wireless Future at New America
• Kristian Stout (co-chair), Director of Innovation Policy, International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE)
• Jeffrey Carlisle, Managing Member, Lerman Senter PLLC, Former Chief of the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau
• Patricia Cooper, Founder, Constellation Advisory LLC, Former President, Satellite Industry Association
• Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge
• Paul Garnett, Chief Executive Officer, Vernonburg Group, Former Assistant Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, at CTIA-The Wireless Association
• Mark Jamison, Gerald Gunter Professor, University of Florida, and Director, Public Utility Research Center (PURC) and Digital Markets Initiative
• Joe Kane, Director, Broadband and Spectrum Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
• J. Armand Musey, President and Founder, Summit Ridge Group, LLC
• Michael O’Rielly, Strategic Advisor and Advocate, MPORielly Consulting LLC, Former FCC Commissioner
• Jon Peha, Professor, Electrical Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Former Chief Technologist at the Federal Communications Commission and Assistant Director, White House Office of Science & Technology Policy
• Ruth Pritchard-Kelly, Principal, RPK Advisors, Former Senior Advisor for Regulatory and Space Policy, OneWeb
• David Reed, Scholar in Residence, University of Colorado Boulder, Former Telecommunications Policy Analyst at the Office of Plans and Policy, FCC
• Nicol Turner Lee, Director, Center for Technology Innovation and Senior Fellow of Governance Studies, Brookings Institution