The FCC denied the Independent MultiFamily Communications Council...

operators on a primary basis and clarified migration of fixed service (FS) operators from the band to the upper and lower cable audio relay service (CARS) bands, in addition to reimbursement of FS operators for the move. The IMCC had asked the Commission to reconsider the order and provide emergency relief. IMCC also said the decision was based on a flawed study from the Office of Engineering & Technology (OET). The FCC said IMCC didn’t provide a “compelling basis upon which” relief could be granted. The Commission said its decision to reallocate the band wasn’t solely based on the OET study, but also the public interest and the long-term goal of spectrum efficiency. The OET study showed that private cable operator (PCO) links in the band could be accommodated in the CARS band. The Commission said while IMCC submitted a study which contradicted OET’s results, the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) submitted a study that challenged IMCC. “We are not persuaded that the OET CARS Band study is flawed such that it could not be reasonably relied upon to identify capacity for displaced [multichannel video program distributor (MVPD)] licensees… We are not persuaded that reconsideration is required because the results of the study were but one of the many factors we considered in determining that the public interest favored reallocation of the 18.3-18.58 GHz band for FSS.” The Commission said the rules it adopted for relocation are also adequate to address issues IMCC brought up concerning disruption of existing services. The FCC said its rules will allow incumbent FS operators to continue operating until reaching either a sharing or relocation agreement with the FSS operators. If no agreement is reached, the satellite operator must pay all relocation costs or operate within FS interference constraints. The FCC said it also addressed IMCC’s concern -- that incumbents couldn’t make system modifications -- by allowing waiver requests prior to relocation: “We believe that the availability of these procedures, coupled with the opportunity to relocate to new portions of the network in previously unavailable spectrum, and the Commission’s relocation policies enhance the ability of PCO operators to compete in the marketplace.”