Boeing, Lockheed Martin and a coalition of US aerospace and defence groups have formally asked the Federal Communications Commission to slow down a SpaceX-backed overhaul of how spectrum is coordinated for rocket launches, warning the proposed changes could increase the risk of harmful electromagnetic interference.

The dispute centres on a plan to replace the current third-party frequency coordination system, which governs how government agencies and commercial entities share key telemetry bands, with direct coordination and a near-real-time automated database.

The FCC opened a public consultation on modernising launch spectrum coordination after a presidential memorandum in August 2026 and a petition filed by the Commercial Space Federation (CSF). According to filings flagged by Vertical Aviation International, the CSF asked the regulator to scrap the existing third-party frequency coordination process for flight testing in favour of direct coordination and an automated, quasi-real-time database covering shared telemetry bands.

What is at stake for aerospace?

In a joint filing, the Aerospace & Defense Industry Spectrum Coalition cautioned that the proposed coordination changes could increase the risk of harmful electromagnetic interference in bands that flight-test operators cannot afford to lose.

The coalition stated that these shared frequencies are essential for real-time safety telemetry during:

• evaluations of prototype aircraft;
• certification flights of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft;
• defence operational readiness testing.

The group also argued that the FCC's accelerated consultation timetable did not leave enough time to conduct the in-depth technical studies needed to verify the absence of interference.

The filing puts the FCC in the position of arbitrator between two competing priorities: accommodating faster rocket launch schedules and protecting aerospace and defence users of the same spectrum from harmful interference.

What did the FCC just grant SpaceX?

The spectrum fight comes as SpaceX has just cleared a much larger regulatory hurdle. The FCC authorised the company, controlled by Elon Musk, to launch 15,000 next-generation satellites for its direct-to-device (D2D) mobile service, clearing the path for direct competition with AT&T, T-Mobile US and Verizon.

SpaceX filed its application with the FCC in September 2025 and rebranded its D2D satellite offering as Starlink Mobile earlier this year. The company targets downlink speeds of 150 Mb/s for the D2D service, against roughly 4 Mb/s on the downlink for the Starlink-based offering T-Mobile markets.

Rather than relying on a terrestrial network of cell towers, SpaceX plans to pair its satellites with ground-based femtocells to deliver 5G mobile coverage — an approach many industry executives consider unrealistic.

"With this decision, SpaceX's planned deployments will reshape spectrum-based connectivity by enhancing competition and offering more consumers more choices in more places, in service of the Commission's goal of connecting everyone, everywhere, to modern communications services," the FCC said on 6 October.

The regulator also granted SpaceX a waiver allowing it to offer its service via satellites without signing a leasing agreement with a terrestrial mobile operator — removing a key structural barrier to entering the US mobile market.

For the launch spectrum consultation, the FCC now has to weigh the coalition's interference warnings against the CSF's push for faster, automated coordination. The outcome will shape how quickly commercial launch schedules can expand — and how much protection remains for the defence and aerospace users sharing those telemetry bands.