FCC Space Bureau Chief Bullish on LEO
Believes satellite can compete with fiber.
WASHINGTON, June 16, 2025 – Federal Communications Commission Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz expressed optimism that with a few regulatory tweaks, low-earth orbit satellites may soon be able to deliver fiber-like speeds.
On a Thursday episode of the American Enterprise Institute’s Explain to Shane Podcast, Schwarz argued that LEO networks are supplying faster internet speeds then “even what is typically considered broadband,” and that with the help of a recently released FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, consumers are “going to see maybe stuff that’s close to what we would consider fiber-like speeds, those sorts of speeds delivered from satellite.”
That April Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeks to review the spectrum-sharing framework between geostationary and non-geostationary satellite systems, including equivalent power flux density limits, developed by the International Telecommunication Union in the 1990s.
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Panel 3: Reacting to the New BEAD NOFO Guidance
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The FCC currently requires NGSOs, including LEOs, operating over U.S. territory to follow the ITU’s EPFD limits, though Schwarz argued that changing those limits could improve the broadband service delivered by NGSOs, though he did not specify what changes he was seeking to implement.
Schwarz wasn’t just high on satellite’s future. He emphasized the impact that satellite internet is having now, noting that it has fostered competition among broadband providers in rural areas and that “it’s not competition that even had to be subsidized.”
Satellite internet has emerged as a viable alternative to fixed wireless, and an option for those without access to fiber, an emergence driven in large part by the rise of Starlink. Schwarz has previously expressed his interest in ensuring that satellite operators have access to adequate spectrum, and reiterated that interest on Thursday.
