Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, has given industry and the public 10 days to say whether SpaceX should be allowed to add six high-frequency gateway bands to its Brazilian authorisation — and whether that permission should come with competition conditions attached. The consultation was reported by Telecompaper and Tesla North, which says the notice appeared in Brazil’s official gazette on Wednesday, November 4, and that the applicant is Starlink Brazil Holding, SpaceX’s local representative. Both accounts draw in part on reporting by the Brazilian business daily Valor Econômico.
The underlying documents are public but sit outside both write-ups: Anatel publishes its notices in the Diário Oficial da União and runs comment dockets through the Participa Anatel portal on the agency’s own site. Starlink News has not independently reviewed the filing text; everything attributed below comes from the outlets named.
What Starlink asked for
Tesla North reports the request covers six ranges — 92 to 94 GHz, 94.1 to 95 GHz, 95 to 100 GHz, 102 to 105 GHz, 105 to 109.5 GHz and 111.8 to 114.25 GHz — all of them for transmissions from ground stations up to the satellites. Citing Valor Econômico, the outlet says the frequencies would link Starlink satellites with gateway stations on Brazilian soil. Telecompaper ties the same request to gateway communications for SpaceX’s satellite network.
Why gateway links reach for 92 GHz and above
This is not the spectrum a household dish uses. Starlink’s consumer terminals and its existing gateways work in the Ku and Ka bands, all of it below 40 GHz, and those allocations are set out in the ITU’s Radio Regulations. Gateways are the ground stations that haul traffic between the constellation and the terrestrial internet, so each one aggregates the demand of thousands of subscribers rather than a single home.
That is the argument for going higher. Above 90 GHz there is far more contiguous bandwidth on offer than anywhere in Ku or Ka, and contiguous bandwidth is what trunk links need. The penalty is physics: these wavelengths are absorbed more heavily by rain and atmospheric moisture and demand narrow, precisely pointed beams with clear line of sight. That trade-off is manageable for a small number of professionally sited and maintained gateways — and unmanageable for a self-installed terminal on a roof. Because the request is uplink-only, Anatel is being asked about ground-to-space transmissions, not about the downlinks customers receive.
The competition question Anatel attached
Anatel is not only asking whether the frequencies should be granted. Tesla North reports the agency wants comments on whether limits or conditions should be imposed in order to promote broad and fair competition and access to the market for different players — the live issue in the docket, given that the technical objections appear to have been cleared.
On that technical point, Telecompaper reports Anatel’s technical department confirmed the request aligns with current national frequency allocations and requires no additional restrictions. Tesla North gives the same account via Valor Econômico, adding that staff saw no need for extra conditions at this stage but still wanted to hear from industry and the public first.
One band or six? An open question
The two reports do not describe the request identically. Telecompaper presents a single span of 92–114.25 GHz; Tesla North breaks it into six discrete ranges with gaps between some of them, notably 100–102 GHz and 109.5–111.8 GHz. That difference is not cosmetic: a continuous grant would hand SpaceX roughly 22 GHz of uplink spectrum, while the segmented version withholds several gigahertz of it. Neither outlet explains the discrepancy, and only the notice text and the consultation docket can settle it. We flag it as an open question for follow-up and will update this report once the filing has been checked.
Background: Starlink’s Brazilian build-out
SpaceX obtained its Brazilian operating licence in 2022 and has expanded its satellite internet footprint there since, Tesla North reports. The same outlet says Starlink Mobile launched across Brazil with Vivo last month, and that this consultation comes weeks after Anatel approved Starlink Mobile’s full 2 GHz access — a separate, far lower band for direct-to-device service, not for gateways.
Part of a wider pattern of regulatory reviews
The Brazilian docket opens while Starlink’s spectrum and licensing paperwork moves through regulators elsewhere, including Gabon’s plan to license Starlink and Eutelsat within months and South Africa’s licensing reform debate. Anatel’s competition-conditions question also rhymes with the multi-step approval queue Starlink faces in India, where market-access terms rather than radio engineering set the pace.
What happens next
Anatel has not approved the bands and will decide after the comment window closes, Tesla North reports. Neither source gives a date for a ruling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this consultation change Starlink’s prices, speeds or coverage outside Brazil?
No. Both Telecompaper and Tesla North describe a proceeding limited to Starlink’s right to use specific frequencies inside Brazil. Neither report mentions any change to service, coverage, equipment or pricing in any other market, including anywhere in Africa.
When does the comment window close and when will Anatel decide?
The window runs for 10 days from the notice published in Brazil’s official gazette on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, according to Tesla North. Neither outlet states the exact closing date, and neither gives a date for a final ruling.
Can people outside Brazil file comments?
Neither Telecompaper nor Tesla North says whether participation is restricted to Brazilian residents or companies. The conditions for filing are set out in the gazette notice and the consultation docket on Anatel’s Participa Anatel portal.
How does Anatel’s notice describe the Starlink constellation?
Anatel characterises Starlink as a large non-geostationary system with more than a thousand satellites, according to Tesla North’s reading of the notice.
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