The FCC is getting serious about defining spectrum - and usage guidelines, for consumers’ use of satellites in emergencies.

A recent move by the FCC means that increasing numbers of smartphone users may discover what hams already know: that when there's no terrestrial service, additional coverage is readily available from satellites.

Smartphones may soon have a direct connection to satellites when necessary, following a move by the US Federal Communications Commission to set out guidelines for such service. While space-based connections are already a reality on a limited basis with Apple phones and are in the works for T-Mobile, SpaceX, Qualcomm and Iridium, guidelines are still needed to sort out the rules for broader implementation. A recent draft document by the FCC seeks to explore this kind of supplemental service and how it would work.

The FCC said in a news release that this would require agency authorization for terrestrial-based providers so they could provide licensed operation on a part of the spectrum reserved for them. Phones would switch to the satellite signal when no other signal is available.