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The satellite industry joined wireless companies and others oppos...

The satellite industry joined wireless companies and others opposing a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) move to expand notice and obstruction requirements designed to keep electromagnetic interference from harming air navigation systems (CD Sept 14 p2). The proposal would affect…

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the 3700- 4200 MHz, 5925-6525 MHz and 14.2-14.4 GHz satellite frequency bands. The rules would “impose substantial new requirements on operations in satellite frequency bands affecting hundreds of thousands of antenna installations,” the Satellite Industry Assn. said in comments for the FAA docket. The FAA rulemaking doesn’t give examples of electromagnetic threat in satellite bands it mentions, where satellite services have operated for decades, SIA said. VSAT operations would suffer most under the proposed rules, SIA said: “In an average month, satellite communication service providers deploy tens of thousands of new satellite terminals and relocate a few thousand more… The FAA’s proposed notification obligation could apply to each and every one of these satellite terminals, resulting in a logistical nightmare for the satellite industry as well as the FAA.” Many other satellite services would be inconvenienced, SIA said. News trucks and recreational vehicles with satellite hook-ups “would have great difficulty operating if they were required to file 60- day advance notice requirements with the FAA before executing any changes,” SIA said. The FAA should leave spectrum regulation to the FCC and NTIA, the satellite group said.