The war of words between Dish and Elon Musk’s SpaceX is getting ever more salacious over the fight for the 12GHz spectrum. The carrier already uses 12GHz for its direct broadcast satellite services and wants to be able to share it for its budding cloud-based 5G network whose 20% buildout milestone Dish has to prove before the FCC today, too.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, on the other hand, argues that its Starlink satellite Internet service needs the 12GHz spectrum as well, but isn’t excited about sharing it with a two-way 5G terrestrial network on the same band.
While Dish says it has run interference studies that give the green light to both 5G and satellite 12GHz spectrum sharing, these are still to be accepted by Starlink or the authorities that need to lift the dual-use spectrum restrictions.
The verbal attacks between the two went as far as involving the war in Ukraine and Elon Musk’s rule-busting (according to Dish) boasts that Starlink connectivity can be used on moving planes, RVs, or boats, hence is suitable for the wartime environment in Ukraine.
The problem is that SpaceX doesn’t have Earth Station in Motion (ESIM) operations license from the FCC and is nominally forbidden to provide Internet connectivity in moving vehicles which Dish was quick to point out, reports Fierce Wireless. This forced Starlink to evoke the plight of Ukrainians in the fight over the 12GHz spectrum proceedings.
“As part of its argument about service to enable mobile platforms in the United States, Dish criticizes SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for responding to the Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister’s request for ideas ‘to keep Starklinks & life-saving services online’ in Ukraine,” argues SpaceX in the FCC memo. “While one can hope that Dish made this condemnation in error, these tactics nonetheless highlight the lengths to which Dish will go so long as the commission inexplicably leaves the 12 GHz proceeding open.”
For its part, Dish defended its position by filing a number of tweets from Elon Musk that boast about Starlink’s ESIM connectivity that have nothing to do with the conflict in Ukraine. “Rather than address its conduct, SpaceX shamefully invokes the tragic invasion of a country to shield itself from liability for violating the commission’s rules. To be clear, Dish does not object to ESIM use of Starlink terminals in Ukraine,” added the nascent carrier.
