<story><title>FCC fines Swarm $900K for unauthorized satellite launch</title><url>https://reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1OJ2WT</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>riskable</author><text>So if Swarm wasn&amp;#x27;t a US-based company they wouldn&amp;#x27;t have gotten this fine? They launched the satellites from India and tested them from Georgia (the state in the US or the country? The article isn&amp;#x27;t clear).&lt;p&gt;Seems to me that future companies that want to do this sort of testing just need to do it in other countries or from off-shore platforms. &lt;i&gt;Then&lt;/i&gt; apply for your FCC license so you can charge US customers without having to worry about getting sanctioned (and losing your ability to process credit cards and bank in the US).&lt;p&gt;When I started reading the article and read about all these international launches my first thought was, &amp;quot;why does the FCC have a say in any of this?&amp;quot; Now I&amp;#x27;m thinking, &amp;quot;perhaps we need a better international framework for this sort of thing.&amp;quot;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>mabbo</author><text>We do have an international framework, of sorts. It&amp;#x27;s that each country must regulate satellites launched by their companies. A US-based company must comply with US laws regarding satellite launches and get permission to launch them.&lt;p&gt;In this case, Swarm lied to the Indian government and said the US had approved it (which made sense as they are a US-based company), while trying to hide the existence of the satellites from the US Government. Frankly, I think a $900k fine is too small.</text></comment>
<story><title>FCC fines Swarm $900K for unauthorized satellite launch</title><url>https://reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1OJ2WT</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>riskable</author><text>So if Swarm wasn&amp;#x27;t a US-based company they wouldn&amp;#x27;t have gotten this fine? They launched the satellites from India and tested them from Georgia (the state in the US or the country? The article isn&amp;#x27;t clear).&lt;p&gt;Seems to me that future companies that want to do this sort of testing just need to do it in other countries or from off-shore platforms. &lt;i&gt;Then&lt;/i&gt; apply for your FCC license so you can charge US customers without having to worry about getting sanctioned (and losing your ability to process credit cards and bank in the US).&lt;p&gt;When I started reading the article and read about all these international launches my first thought was, &amp;quot;why does the FCC have a say in any of this?&amp;quot; Now I&amp;#x27;m thinking, &amp;quot;perhaps we need a better international framework for this sort of thing.&amp;quot;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>_oygb</author><text>US state.&lt;p&gt;Yes, the actual judgment document just vaguely refers to it as &amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot; but it&amp;#x27;s inferred that it&amp;#x27;s the state since FCC has no statutory authority outside of the U.S.  However in the application it&amp;#x27;s clearly marked as state of Georgia.&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;Swarm  seeks  narrow  authority  to  transmit  data  from  the  SpaceBEE  satellites  in order  to  access  tracking  information.  The  SpaceBEE  satellites  will  only  transmit  to enable downlinking of GPS data, and will be muted at all other times. GPS data will be downlinked during passes over Los Altos, California and Buford, Georgia. These passes Swarm Technologies will   occur   approximately   four   times   per   day.   Each   transmission   will   require approximately two seconds.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;[1] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;docs.fcc.gov&amp;#x2F;public&amp;#x2F;attachments&amp;#x2F;FCC-18-184A1.pdf&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;docs.fcc.gov&amp;#x2F;public&amp;#x2F;attachments&amp;#x2F;FCC-18-184A1.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;[2] &lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;apps.fcc.gov&amp;#x2F;els&amp;#x2F;GetAtt.html?id=212398&amp;amp;x=&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;apps.fcc.gov&amp;#x2F;els&amp;#x2F;GetAtt.html?id=212398&amp;amp;x=&lt;/a&gt;.</text></comment>