FCC Opens Third Spectrum Processing Round for Satellite Broadband Operators
New Cut-Off Deadline Set for July 6 as SpaceX, Amazon, and Logos Join Expanding Queue
The FCC’s Space Bureau has opened two new processing rounds for non-geostationary orbit satellite systems seeking authority to operate in Ku-, Ka-, and V-band frequencies — and set a July 6, 2026, deadline for new applicants to file.
The bureau released the public notice June 5 under document number DA 26-552. It opens a third Ku-/Ka-band processing round covering frequencies from 10.7 GHz to 30.0 GHz, and a third V-band processing round covering the 37.5–51.4 GHz range.
The rounds are not starting from scratch. Three operators already hold conditional authorizations that fold them into these proceedings.
On Jan. 9, 2026, the bureau authorized SpaceX to launch and operate an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites under what it designated the SpaceX Gen2 V3 Upgrade Order. That order granted SpaceX a waiver of the processing round rules for more than a dozen frequency bands — on the condition the company participate in whatever future processing round the bureau opened. SpaceX’s V-band operations are now included in the third V-band round; its Ku- and Ka-band operations are included in the third Ku-/Ka-band round.
Amazon Leo — formerly known as Project Kuiper — received a similar conditional authorization on Feb. 10, 2026. The bureau granted Amazon Leo authority to launch and operate an additional 4,504 satellites across its Gen2 and Polar constellations, with waivers covering Ku-, Ka-, and V-band frequencies. Amazon Leo’s Ku- and Ka-band operations are now folded into the third Ku-/Ka-band processing round.
On Jan. 30, 2026, Logos Space Services, Inc. received authorization to launch and operate a constellation of 4,178 satellites in S-, Ka-, V-, and E-band frequencies. The bureau included Logos’s V-band operations — in the 37.5–40.0, 40.0–42.0, 47.2–50.2, and 50.4–51.4 GHz bands — in the third V-band processing round.
A fourth operator, SN Space Systems LLC, has an application pending from the second V-band processing round that also requested Ku- and Ka-band authorization. The bureau is folding those Ku- and Ka-band frequency requests into the third Ku-/Ka-band round. That application is currently under national security review by the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector. Any FCC action on the SN Space application is pending the outcome of that review.
Operators that filed applications after the cut-off dates for the second Ku-/Ka-band and second V-band processing rounds — and sought waivers to be included in those rounds — are not automatically included in the third rounds. Those applicants may request inclusion, but must do so before the July 6 deadline. Applications must be filed electronically through the FCC’s International Communications Filing System at https://fccprod.servicenowservices.com/icfs.
SpaceX’s request for authority to operate an additional 14,988 Gen2 satellites, which also included waiver requests for Ku-, Ka-, and V-band frequencies, remains pending. The bureau deferred action on that tranche in the January order.
The FCC has not set a deadline for when it will act on applications filed in the third processing rounds.