US FCC to review spectrum sharing rules to boost space-based telecom
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday voted to open a review of the decades-old spectrum sharing regime between satellite systems sought by SpaceX.
The review by the US telecom regulator aims to allow a greater and more intensive use of spectrum for space activities. Existing reductions approved in the 1990s limit power use that prevent better coverage from SpaceX's Starlink and other systems.
FCC chair Brendan Carr said the power limits "hamper satellite broadband by degrading signal quality, reducing coverage, limiting capacity, and making it harder to share spectrum with other satellite systems".
Amazon.com, whose Project Kuiper satellite internet network, aims to compete with E lon Musk 's Starlink system, also wants changes to the rules but said the FCC must address a number of questions including what safeguards are needed to protect satellite operations in neighbouring countries.
"It is imperative the commission does everything possible to clear the way for American innovation and investment in space excellence," the FCC said.
Musk, the billionaire CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, is overseeing Trump's cost-cutting department of government efficiency effort. SpaceX filed a petition in August seeking changes saying the existing rules "have imposed significant artificial spectrum scarcity on Americans".
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Mail & Guardian
an hour ago
- Mail & Guardian
There is no genocide in South Africa – but there is billionaire disinformation
US President Donald Trump. What unfolded recently in the Oval Office — a meeting between US President Donald Trump, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Elon Musk, Johann Rupert, and DA leader John Steenhuisen — was a shameful display of misinformation, disinformation, elite self-preservation and racial scapegoating. It was a calculated act of fear-mongering and a spectacle of national chauvinism of the US state. Trump's tirade about a genocide against white people, or more specifically white farmers, in South Africa is not only factually wrong, it is morally grotesque. Especially in the context of the real genocide taking place in Gaza and which is being televised live around the world. According to reports by the Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) champions a pan-African agenda. Race is a social construct, not a biological reality; it is shaped by history, politics and culture rather than rooted in genetics. There is only one race and that is the human race. By referring to a section of the population in South Africa who happen to have a white skin as refugees, especially a section of the population who benefited unfairly under the apartheid regime, is disingenuous at best. One apartheid-era example is job reservation where all white collar work was reserved exclusively for 'whites only'. It also makes a mockery of the plight of human beings fleeing war, conflict and persecution based on their political beliefs, sexual orientation and so forth; fleeing for their lives. Trump's fear-based rhetoric is echoed by US officials such as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who are leveraging disinformation to justify racist immigration policies. It also informs the practice of many European countries and others such as Australia, which are embedded in repressive measures taken against people fleeing countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These can only be seen as racially informed policies to keep refugees out, based on a racist trope of 'cultural difference'. Rupert's presence in the White House was a masterclass in elite deflection. He spoke about building homes for his grandchildren while ignoring the millions of children growing up in South Africa's informal settlements, excluded from land and opportunity by the very class Rupert belongs to. Rupert accumulated his wealth through the unfair privilege that he enjoyed simply because of the colour of his skin. So to talk about transformation and redress is to talk about how apartheid's systemic construction of inequality remains a reality. Rupert also referred to undocumented migrants as 'aliens' — a term that reeks of apartheid-era violence, recalling the Aliens Control Act, which dehumanised African workers while Rupert's empire was fattened by the exploitation that was the legal framework of apartheid. Today, that legacy continues. But words such as equality and science are anathema to Trump. It is no surprise that Trump uses false and unsubstantiated information, because it is Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon that are vehicles for the spreading of misinformation and toxic hatred. Big Tech firms increasingly operate above the regulatory grasp of governments. And the more toxic and divisive the information that is shared such as the claim of 'white genocide in South Africa', the more profits these companies make. Those US-based tech corporates own the vast majority of the world's digital nervous system and they use this to spread misinformation, lies and unsubstantiated statements. What we saw in the Oval Office was global apartheid in action. The apartheid of the rich and the poor. The apartheid of the excessively rich. This wealth distribution and inequality is informed by an era of the existence of a global empire shaped by multi-tech companies that have a monopoly and domination of global markets and are economic powerhouses. These multi-tech companies are the ones who have coined the phrase 'precarious work', which has impoverished and stripped the dignity of hundreds of millions of workers. There are serious problems in South Africa, but they are not unique to us. Around the world, and very much including Trump's US, it is the greed, cowardice, corruption and inhumanity of those who hold political power and who hoard wealth and dodge taxes, that drives systemic poverty, unemployment and crime, not the poor and not migrants. The Trump-led US state, like most of the states in the Global North, is choosing to ignore the real global crises — climate refugees, displaced people, economic migrants and the genocide in Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians are being killed. Whole neighbourhoods flattened. Hospitals bombed. Journalists assassinated. You don't get to preach about justice and peddle lies about 'white genocide' when you not only ignore but support actual crimes against humanity. We call on every worker, activist, migrant, and citizen to reject the myth of the 'invading alien' and stand firm against the real threat: a global billionaire elite desperate to protect its position and power at any cost. Stand in solidarity with the struggle for equality and justice in the world. Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia is a coalition of organisations united against xenophobia.
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
Elon Musk blasts Donald Trump's mega-bill as 'disgusting abomination'
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TimesLIVE
8 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Bail hearing over smuggled fungus scheduled for Chinese researcher
A Michigan court has scheduled a bail hearing on Thursday for a Chinese researcher accused of smuggling biological samples into the US. Yunqing Jian, 33, and her boyfriend Zunyong Liu, 34, who conducted biological studies in the same field, were accused of smuggling a fungus into the US for research. Jian, who according to a federal criminal complaint has worked on research projects in the US since 2022, made her first court appearance on Tuesday. Liu was denied entry into the US last July, when the pathogen, a fungus identified by the US department of justice as Fusarium graminearum, was found in his luggage. Liu said he wanted to conduct research on the fungus at a University of Michigan laboratory where Jian worked, according to the complaint. Prosecutors described the fungus as a dangerous biological pathogen that had the potential to be used as an agricultural terrorism weapon. The fungus is already widespread on US farms, tested for and tightly controlled in grains, and is not considered dangerous unless consumed in large quantities. Clair Keene, an agronomist at North Dakota State University, said she was puzzled by US authorities' description of the fungus. 'It's a common pathogen. We have it here. The claim that Fusarium graminearum can be used as a biological weapon doesn't strike me as accurate,' she said. The fungus can cause Fusarium head blight, typically known as scab. It is common among wheat, barley and other grains, especially during rainy years. The telltale salmon-pink streaks on the grain heads contain a toxic byproduct called vomitoxin, which in high quantities can cause nausea and vomiting when eaten. Keene said farmers often spray fungicide to protect their crop and researchers have developed strains of wheat that are resistant to the fungus. Reuters was unable to contact Jian or her lawyer for comment. The case involving the researchers comes as the University of Michigan and other universities have faced pressure from the Trump administration over allegations they have done too little to combat anti-Semitism on campus and what the administration depicts as radical ideology in the classroom. Universities' ties to China also have come under scrutiny. The University of Michigan said in a statement it condemned 'any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the university's critical public mission'. 'It is important to note that the university has received no funding from the Chinese government in relation to research conducted by the accused individuals,' the university said, adding it will 'continue to co-operate' with federal law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and prosecution. FBI director Kash Patel said in a post on X that the case was a reminder that China's ruling Communist Party 'is working around the clock to deploy operatives and researchers to infiltrate American institutions and target our food supply, which would have grave consequences ... putting American lives and our economy at serious risk.' In response to a request for comment, the Chinese embassy in Washington sent a statement from its spokesperson Liu Pengyu. 'I don't know the specific situation, but I would like to emphasise that the Chinese government has always required overseas Chinese citizens to abide by local laws and regulations and will also resolutely safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,' Liu said.
