FCC Adopts Changes to Space and Earth Station Regulatory Fees for FY2025
Affects Timing of When Regulatory Fees Are Assessed, Modifies Categories
The FCC has adopted a Third Report and Order (Order) amending its existing methodology of assessing regulatory fees for space and earth stations. These changes will be effective for the fiscal year 2025 (FY 2025) assessment and collection of regulatory fees.
The Commission began this proceeding after the creation of the Space Bureau in 2023 to ensure that the regulatory fees structure for those paying space and earth station fees remain fair, administrable, and sustainable in light of the substantial changes in the space industry in recent years. The Commission says it is mindful of the significance of ensuring its work is consistent with such overarching goals because the fee schedule adopted for fiscal year 2024 contained sizable increases in the fees assessed to space and earth station fee payors compared to the previous fiscal year.
In this order, there are two key actions for the current fiscal year to address the situation. First, regulatory fees are assessed on stations once they are authorized, rather than when the stations are certified to be operational, as is currently the case. Second, existing regulatory fee categories are split for Space Stations (Non-Geostationary Orbit) into two new fee categories: small constellations (fewer than 1000 authorized space stations) and large constellations (1000 authorized space stations or more). These changes will better distinguish between space station regulatees, and will more accurately apportion fee burdens among them. That should result in lower per unit regulatory fees for the majority of space station fee payors compared to fiscal year 2024.
The order also adopts an approach that broadens the base of regulatory fee payors to better align fees with the benefits of regulation and that is less subjective than the current system that allocates fees based on the estimated “complexity” of an NGSO system.
The commission says that the changes support its goal that its regulatory fees are fair, administrable, and sustainable. The targeted changes are considered to be a step to quickly improve the assessment of regulatory fees for the current fiscal year, but also an acknowledgement that, as the industry develops, and as the Commission seeks to streamline much of the Space Bureau’s operations, additional improvements to the methodology may be proposed in future fiscal years.