STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER MICHAEL O’RIELLY Re: Space Exploration Holdings, LLC Application for Approval for Orbital Deployment and Operating Authority for the SpaceX V-band NGSO Satellite System, IBFS File No. SAT-LOA-20170301-00027; In the Matter of Kepler Corporation Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Grant Access to the U.S. Market for Kepler’s NGSO FSS System, IBFS File No. SAT-PDR-20161115-00114; In the Matter of Telesat Canada Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Grant Access to the U.S. Market for Telesat’s V-band NGSO Constellation, IBFS File No. SAT-PDR-20170301-00023;In the Matter of LeoSat MA, Inc., Petition for Declaratory Ruling Concerning U.S. Market Access for the LeoSat Ka-band Low-Earth Orbit Satellite System, IBFS File No. SAT-PDR-20161115-00112. These are exciting times in the development and deployment of new global satellite constellations that will serve consumers. Not since the early 1990s have satellite systems received such attention and captured the imagination of what new technologies, including high-speed broadband offerings, may bring. This also comes with some apprehension as few can predict which satellite systems, if any, will succeed or make money, and existing satellite offerings are indeed being subject to greater scrutiny. But, this new race to satellite orbit provides a first-class seat to the dreams of visionaries, and I look forward to seeing what NGSO systems develop and what services are eventually offered. Quite frankly, our job at the Commission is to approve the qualified applications and then let the market work its will. In these four items, the Commission approves four additional systems, which will add at least another 7,859 satellites into orbit, if everything goes according to the submitted plans; and this comes on top of the nine applications and petitions the Commission has approved over the last 17 months. Between SpaceX’s current application and the one previously consented to by the Commission, SpaceX alone is envisioning a future constellation of an unprecedented 11,943 satellites. As I said earlier today, new technologies – especially ones that revolutionize an industry model – oftentimes require the Commission to modernize and streamline our rules to provide a limited, but sound, framework to deal with accompanying policy issues. That is what today is all about. I support granting the SpaceX application and the Kepler, LeoSat, and Telesat petitions for market access. While there are still issues to be explored, including communications with ESIMs and orbital debris, and policy calls that we may not have gotten quite right, such as how we handle in-line interference, the Commission continues to take the necessary steps to allow investment and future deployment of these ambitious projects. I approve.