Countries in the Americas require satellite capacity or service providers to obtain a licence or register before offering services, and most also require a spectrum licence. However, national rules differ on spectrum use, interference management and the migration of satellite services between bands.

Brazil, Canada, Peru and the USA regulate the migration of satellite services between frequency bands, as spectrum is made available for other uses such as mobile and 5G services.

In all of the 12 studied Americas countries, satellite operators must comply with both international spectrum rules and national requirements before providing services. Licensing, registration, spectrum access and interference rules can therefore differ considerably between countries.

Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay have no specific interference regulations.

Recent developments include changes to satellite licensing and space debris mitigation requirements in Canada, the reallocation of 160 MHz of upper C-band spectrum and longer satellite licence terms in the USA, and the authorisation of the W band for fixed satellite services in Chile.

Cullen International’s latest benchmark compares satellite regulation across the Americas, including service and spectrum licensing, registration requirements, spectrum allocations and fees, interference rules, migration between frequency bands and recent regulatory developments.

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