SATELLITE INTERESTS WELCOME STREAMLINING PROPOSALS FOR LICENSING

If antennas meet the FCC’s existing technical and operational standards, the license applications should be processed routinely, General Communications (GC) told the FCC. Routine processing would cut down expenses and time for the Commission, it said. If antennas are less than 4.5 m in diameter, antenna gain patterns must be submitted with each license request. But GC said each of its submissions was a waste of resources because the models were identical: “The Commission staff resources are thus dedicated to confirming compliance anew with every filing… Once the make and model antenna is confirmed [compliant] that finding should not change from application to application.” Routine processing would allow more applications to be completed in less time and consumers could begin using services sooner, GC said. The Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) suggested streamlining based on off-axis angles. Currently, the rules specify that 1 degrees or 1.25 degrees are acceptable measurements for off-axis angles, SIA said. Any measurements of 1.5 degrees or greater would be noncompliant and should be examined more carefully, it said.

SIA also disagreed with the Commission’s proposal to require antennas to use a pilot tone to monitor where they were directed and whether interference was being caused by transmissions. “Imposing a requirement for an independent pilot tone in each network would unnecessarily increase the complexity and cost” of VSAT network implementation and terminals, it said. Most terminals already are designed with a similar device that requires a transmit terminal to receive a broadcast before it can transmit, SIA said, and mandating pilot tones would require a duplication for most terminal models. In joint comments, Spacenet and StarBand agree pilot tones were unnecessary, and requiring their installation wasn’t “technology neutral and inhibits innovation.” Spacenet and StarBand said existing rules already considered pointing errors, not by mandating strict solution but “wisely in a more flexible form that accommodates the differing proprietary technologies” used by VSAT networks.

Aloha Networks said it would “encourage” pilot tones because they could help automatically correct pointing errors that resulted in adjacent satellite interference (ASI). Aloha said it agreed with PanAmSat’s concerns that ASI would increase with the growth of the small antenna consumer market. “As smaller beam width antennas are developed, transmitter power spectral density can be increased to maintain the same ASI while improving the link margin. However, the pointing errors will become more significant with those higher power, sharper beam combinations,” Aloha said. Not all networks should be required to use pilot tones, it said, specifically citing larger networks as better candidates for the device because smaller networks could adjust the direction of the beam manually.

Networks that are professionally installed also wouldn’t need pilot tones, Aloha said. Professional installation was a concern for several commenters, mainly because of cost and delay, but Aloha said that if additional cost would reduce ASI, it was worth it and also could cut down on other system requirements. “Professional installation should be recognized as a stop-gap measure for those networks that transmit at or near the ASI limits and have no automatic terminal pointing monitoring capability,” the company said. Spacenet and StarBand agreed some networks could benefit from professional installation if interference were reduced significantly. However, if accurate installation can be achieved without professional installation, the applicant should be allowed to demonstrate the system’s accuracy instead of expending additional amounts, they said.