U.S. Satellite Operators Urge Commerce Department to Revise Proposed Commercial Remote Sensing Regulations
July 29 2019 - 5:00AM
Business Wire
Proposed regulations would be a step
backward for U.S. industry, giving foreign firms a competitive
advantage
U.S. satellite operators Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR)
(TSX:MAXR), Planet Labs, HawkEye 360, BlackSky Global and Spire
Global today urged the U.S. Department of Commerce to revise its
proposed commercial remote sensing regulations, which as drafted
would put U.S. firms at a significant disadvantage in the global
marketplace.
Maxar, Planet, HawkEye 360, BlackSky Global and Spire Global
recently submitted a joint response to the Commerce Department’s
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking objecting to the newly proposed
rules. While U.S. satellite operators appreciate the Department’s
recognition of the risk to American leadership in space that comes
from overly burdensome regulation, the proposed regulations would
undermine U.S. competitiveness, impair U.S. innovation and deter
investment in the U.S. commercial space industry. Commenters urged
the Commerce Department to significantly revise the proposed
regulations to take a more narrowly tailored approach to ensure the
pressing need for continued U.S. leadership in commercial space is
more appropriately balanced with other regulatory interests.
The U.S. commercial space industry provides critical products
and services that support disaster and humanitarian crisis
response, national and global security interests and enhance the
location-enabled services that billions of people around the world
use every day. Addressing the lack of transparency, operational
uncertainty and institutionalized delays that impair the ability of
the U.S. industry to bring innovative products and services to
market should be the primary focus of the Commerce Department’s
efforts. For example, license requests to bring new commercial
satellite imagery capabilities to market can take years to approve,
operators have little visibility into the decision-making process
and operating licenses are subject to retroactive modifications
after investment has already been made and systems are operating.
By failing to address these issues, the proposed regulations put at
risk continued U.S. leadership in the global commercial space
industry, including the satellite imagery market, which is alone
projected to reach $3 billion by 2020.
“The U.S. commercial space industry needs smart regulations that
promote innovation, encourage competitiveness and bolster national
security, and unfortunately the Commerce Department’s draft
regulations fall far short of these goals,” said Dr. Walter Scott,
Maxar CTO. “Maxar, Planet, HawkEye 360, BlackSky Global and Spire
Global urge U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and the National
Space Council to intervene and ensure that new regulations allow
American space firms to continue to lead in this dynamic global
industry.”
“The draft regulations represent a three-decade step backward,”
said Robbie Schingler, Planet’s Co-founder. “This is cold water
thrown onto a thriving ecosystem with rapidly changing space
architectures, many new entrants and novel business models. We
strongly urge regulators to take a strategic view and create a
forward-leaning environment that opens up near-Earth space to
efficient, secure and trusted commercial enterprise. Building new
industries bolsters American competitiveness and grows the economy,
which fuels national security. Should this rule progress without
significant modification, it will represent a direct threat to 21st
century U.S. national security.”
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Media Contact Turner Brinton Maxar Public Relations
1-303-684-4545 turner.brinton@maxar.com Claire Bentley Planet
1-303-501-6705 claire.bentley@planet.com Investor Relations
Contact Jason Gursky Maxar VP Investor Relations 1-303-684-2207
jason.gursky@maxar.com
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