STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: WorldVu Satellites Limited, Petition for a Declaratory Ruling Granting Access to the U.S. 
Market for the OneWeb NGSO FSS System.
Humans have long sought inspiration from the stars, from the ancient Egyptians orienting the 
pyramids toward certain stars to the Greeks using constellations to write their mythology.  In modern 
times, we’ve done the same, with over 1,000 active satellites currently in orbit.  Today, the FCC harnesses 
that inspiration as we seek to make the promise of high-speed Internet access a reality for more 
Americans, partly through the skies.
Over a year ago, OneWeb was the first company to seek approval to enter the U.S. market with a 
system of high-capacity satellites that orbit closer to Earth than any satellite has ever before.  The goal of 
this non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) technology is to provide global, high-speed broadband 
service—and its use case is particularly compelling in remote and hard-to-serve areas.
Today, we grant OneWeb’s petition for U.S. market access.  OneWeb is leading the charge with 
its planned constellation of 720 satellites, and others are close behind.  After OneWeb filed its petition, 
several other companies did the same or applied for a U.S. license in the same spectrum bands.  These 
applications are being reviewed by the International Bureau’s excellent satellite engineering experts.  We 
hope to approve many more constellations because we know that the more companies compete, the more 
consumers win. Additionally, the Commission also has an ongoing rulemaking proceeding proposing to 
update the current NGSO Fixed Satellite Service rules to better accommodate this next generation of 
systems.
But first things first.  This Order lays the foundation for deployment of future low-Earth orbit 
satellites while establishing carefully measured standards to ensure that these NGSO constellations will 
not interfere with their terrestrial or geostationary counterparts.  And the Order provides that OneWeb 
will need to accommodate in-line interference avoidance and spectrum sharing with other NGSOs in the 
future.
Many thanks to Jose Albuquerque, Christopher Bair, Clay DeCell, Stephen Duall, Chip Fleming, 
Jennifer Gilsenan, Karl Kensinger, Kal Krautkramer, Kathryn Medley, Tom Sullivan, and Troy Tanner in 
the International Bureau; Nicholas Oros and Jamison Prime in the Office of Engineering and Technology; 
Peter Daronco, Nese Guendelsberger, Matthew Pearl, Blaise Scinto, and Joel Taubenblatt from the 
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; and Deborah Broderson and David Horowitz from the Office of 
General Counsel.  Thousands of years ago, people looked to the stars to predict their destiny.  In the 
future, thanks to your efforts, we hope that Americans will be able to use these networks in the sky to 
make their own destiny.