On July 7, a coalition that includes Dish pushed back against Musk’s campaign, saying ‘Starlink has initiated a public misinformation campaign by falsely telling customers and the public that coexistence is not possible’. — AFP
US regulators received more than 90,000 messages after Elon Musk’s Starlink asked subscribers to rally to his side in an airwaves dispute with Dish Network Corp.
At issue are frequencies that Dish wants to use for fast 5G service. Musk’s SpaceX said the proposed service would block signals from his Starlink fleet of satellites, which offers wireless broadband through small antennas mounted on rural homes and businesses. Dish said its 5G won’t interfere with Starlink.
On July 7, a coalition that includes Dish pushed back against Musk’s campaign, saying “Starlink has initiated a public misinformation campaign by falsely telling customers and the public that coexistence is not possible”.
The Federal Communications Commission is weighing the issue and hasn’t indicated when it may decide whether to open the airwaves to 5G use.
The agency’s docket on the matter had received 201 submissions as of early last week. The number grew to 95,703 by midday Thursday, after Starlink emailed customers last week asking them to support the service and offering a link to contact the FCC.
“Starlink reached out to their subscribers and told them something that’s not true, and that’s what’s caused some of those folks to write in,” said Jeffrey Blum, executive vice president for external and legislative affairs at Dish.
A spokesman for Starlink declined to comment. – Bloomberg
