SpaceX accused of forcing spectrum-sharing deals

There's not a lot to go on at this stage, but we could be looking at the start of calls for operational or structural separation in the nascent LEO satellite communications market, which is only likely to grow in importance as we move towards the ubiquitous connectivity requirements of 6G mobile.

SpaceX has asked rival satellite service providers such as Kepler Communications and OneWeb to share their spectrum rights with Starlink before agreeing to launch their equipment into space, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The sources claim that attorneys from law firm Wilson Sonsini met with the US Justice Department's antitrust division in recent months to draw attention to these types of deal on behalf of some satellite providers, the paper's sources said. They claim the meetings were designed to discuss possible abuse of market power on SpaceX's part.

The Journal was unable to secure any comment from either Wilson Sonsini or the DoJ.

SpaceX was keen to defend itself though. A spokesperson told the paper that it cannot force any other satellite operator to agree to spectrum coordination, nor can it demand inequitable terms, due to the fact that government bodies must ratify any spectrum deal.

"We consistently work to promote both a competitive broadband landscape alongside a robust launch economy," the spokesperson said in a statement to the Journal.

That statement doesn't really tell us a lot. The fact remains that SpaceX has a foot in both camps – launching rockets and providing satellite services – and it is a major player in both.

Its website shows that it has made 389 launches to date, putting a huge amount of its own and rival companies' satellites into space. The Journal quoted Iridium CEO Matt Desch as bemoaning the lack of competition to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. And while the market for LEO-based satellite services is still in its infancy, Starlink is well ahead of the competition there too.

This question of fairness of operating model was always going to arise at some point. And now it has, it's unlikely to go away.

The Journal quoted industry executives – anonymous, of course – with opinions on both sides of the argument. While some said they would not expect the issue of spectrum to arise during rocket launch deal negotiations, others noted that that type of broader bargaining is pretty common.

SpaceX is already under close scrutiny by regulator bodies all over the world. The question mark over whether or not it is abusing its market power by securing spectrum deals for Starlink is just another element that regulators will examine going forward. This is a pretty new market; Starlink launched commercial services less than four years ago. But it is growing fast, and as it develops we will almost certainly here more about the structure of the market leader.