Viasat's F2 satellite enters service despite SpaceX's pending FCC block petition

what happened

SpaceX filed a petition with the FCC on August 31 asking it to reconsider its July authorization of Viasat's Viasat-3 F2 satellite for the US market, per SatNews. SpaceX said uncoordinated Viasat-3 F2 transmissions in the shared 18.8-19.3 GHz downlink and 28.6-29.1 GHz uplink bands could exceed statutory equivalent power flux-density limits and degrade Starlink terminal throughput, and asked the FCC to condition any authorization on strict signal power caps, mandatory slant-angle masking, and an automatic cease-operation provision if interference is demonstrated. Viasat proceeded regardless: Viasat-3 F2 entered service on September 17 over the Americas, a reassignment from its originally planned EMEA coverage, per PaxEx.Aero and Runway Girl Network. Nine airlines are already connected to the satellite for inflight Wi-Fi, including Aeromexico, Azul, American, Breeze, Delta, JetBlue, LATAM, Southwest and United, per Runway Girl Network; Viasat says median peak throughput is up 3x so far and some routes have improved by over 10x. With F2 active, Viasat says its full three-satellite ViaSat-3 constellation is now operational.

why it matters

The FCC's July grant to Viasat-3 F2 already conditioned service on Viasat reaching an interference-coordination agreement with LEO operators; Viasat entering service before that dispute is resolved, and before the FCC has ruled on SpaceX's petition, tests how far the agency will enforce that condition after the fact rather than before. For airlines and other resellers on either network, the outcome affects how much of Viasat's newly tripled fleet-wide bandwidth is usable without a forced power or beam-pointing change.

signal-to-noise

quick facts

Companies

SpaceX, Viasat

Category

regulatory

Impact

notable

SNR

4 / 5

Event date

2026-08-31

Published

2026-09-07 13:19 UTC