The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) approved on Tuesday, 8, Starlink’s request to launch another 7,500 satellites in the country’s orbit. Elon Musk’s company already had 4,400 satellites in operation and will now reach 11,900 units, which should reinforce its leadership in the rapid internet segment by satellites.
The decision of Anatel’s Board of Directors took place through a deliberative circuit vote, away from the spotlight. The theme had been placed on the agenda at the ordinary meeting of the board last week, but had the request for analysis postponed for up to 120 days at the request of the rapporteur of the process, the counselor Alexandre Freire. However, Freire decided to expose his vote in a deliberation in the agency’s virtual system.
Anatel’s approval occurred unanimously. With this, the regulatory body fully complied with Starlink’s election to change the right of exploration that was already in vogue, expanding the number of units in the orbit and the frequency ranges used for internet signal transmission. The change of license will cost R $ 102,000 to the company of Musk and will be valid until 2027.
The approval happened to the default of other satellite internet companies in Brazil, which had asked Anatel to reject Starlink’s request due to orbit traffic jams and interference, given the significant increase in the number of satellites, as well as the use of new frequencies.
In response to this intensification in the commercial race in the orbit, Anatel issued a “regulatory alert”, which informs society that it will update the current normative framework due to the identified risks. Among other measures, it was determined that the Telecommunications Infrastructure Committee and Anatel’s Spectrum and Orbit Committee should urgently promote technical discussions and in -depth studies to support regulatory impact analysis considering international guidelines, efficiency in spectrum use, network security, national sovereignty and competition promotion.
“Although we unanimously granted Starlink’s satellite exploitation right to expand the number of satellites and frequency ranges authorization, as well as updating associated networks, this case made it clear to me the limitations of current regulation to offer adequate answers to the complex questions that emerge in this scenario,” said the rapporteur, Alexandre Freire, in a statement.
