The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has accepted an application that could point to SpaceX’s plans to expand radio frequency range ahead of the upcoming update to its Starlink service. SpaceX’s application has been submitted to the ITU, the global regulator responsible for allocating radio frequencies to satellite service providers. The document states that it is planned to use 29,888 satellites in 288 orbital planes at altitudes of 350 to 614 km.

Initially the ITU website did not mention SpaceX. Instead, the application was said to come from the Kingdom of Tonga, an island nation in Polynesia. However, the ITU confirmed on Friday that SpaceX was the operating entity behind the tender.

“However, ITU cannot confirm that this application is for additional satellites; maybe it’s related to additional frequencies “, said the ITU representative. SpaceX declined to comment.

We should also note that the company has already submitted documents to ITU for 30,000 Starlink satellites in 2019. Therefore, the new application may be related to the expansion of the company’s existing plans for the Starlink global satellite system, which currently serves more than 2 million users.

Tim Farrar (Tim Farrar), a consultant in the field of satellite communications, believes that the application to the ITU is an attempt by SpaceX to modernize Starlink in the face of increasing competition. “Part of this is an attempt to capture a range of radio frequencies that no one has thought about yet. ” he declared. In practice, the use of communication satellites in the frequency range of 123,000 MHz to 174,500 MHz, which Starlink has not yet used, is actually mentioned.

Farrar added: “In terms of usage areas, Starlink satellites are getting bigger, their antennas are getting bigger and they are providing communication links to more users on Earth. This means each satellite must process more user data; It also needs to receive this data and send it back to the gateways that connect the system to the internet. “.

» Potentially these frequencies could be useful to increase the ability of gateways to carry more traffic, with Starlink adding slightly lower E-band frequencies (70-80 GHz) to the systems it is currently working on.” he noted.

The application also mentions SpaceX’s development called Starshield, a satellite Internet system that uses Starlink technology to provide communications for the benefit of national defense. Last month, the Pentagon awarded SpaceX’s Starshield program a contract to provide military communications to the US Department of Defense.