FCC NPRM on Part 25 Rules Marks New Approach Approving Earth, Space Station Applications

The major changes include increasing the number of earth station applications that would be eligible for routine processing and “reduced duplicative information requirements for space station applicants proposing multiple identical spot beams,” said the International Bureau. The proposals also would amend information requirements for applications “to reflect evolving technology” and reinforce emergency contact reporting requirements “while consolidating requirements for annual reporting and removing unnecessary reporting rules,” it said.

The NPRM includes a “shift in the focus of the rules from a ’tell us how you build it’ approach to a ’tell us how you avoid interference’ approach,” which is simpler and more streamlined, said Chairman Julius Genachowski. It also expands the number and type of licenses that can take advantage of routine processing, he said. “These are common-sense changes to improve our rules, making them better for innovators, entrepreneurs and new entrants, as well as existing companies.” Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel pointed to the need for updating the rules to better keep pace with technologies and to enhance consumer benefits. The proposals “set us on a path toward speedier application grants which will mean faster deployment of new services to the public and more opportunities for innovation and investment in the satellite industry,” Rosenworcel said.

Commissioner Ajit Pai agreed that the commission should find ways to harmonize conflicting rules and delete provisions that are no longer in effect and ensure that rules on the books conform to FCC practice. He encouraged stakeholders to also weigh in on larger-scale reforms to satellite licensing and operating rules. The commission “also may want to think about whether all of these requirements are necessary as a threshold matter,” he said. The NPRM proposes consolidating rules that apply differently to different satellite operators, so that they apply across the board, he said. But “we should consider whether these rules deter satellite operators from investing in and launching new satellites,” he added.

Commissioner Robert McDowell commended the role of satellite technologies in meeting the communications needs of public safety entities, retail customers and other sectors. Satellite can connect consumers in areas that make them unreachable through terrestrial wireless service, he said. McDowell said modernizing the rules around space stations with large numbers of identical spot beams is noteworthy: This change “will greatly reduce the burden on our FCC staff as well as licensed applicants."

The commission is trying to put the rules back in line with its regulatory obligations, a satellite industry attorney said. The overall idea of the proposal is for the FCC and other interested parties “to have an idea of what the interference picture is going to be from a satellite station,” the attorney said. Some of the applications require information on power budgets and the weight of the satellite, the attorney said. “None of it is correlated to the regulatory mission.” There also is a burden on applications for spot beams, the attorney said. “You have to provide all sorts of information in the case of multiple beams even though they're effectively the same."

The Satellite Industry Association commended the commission for proposing the changes. By eliminating and consolidating rules, the NPRM “aims to increase regulatory efficiency and accelerate deployment of satellite services,” SIA said. “A sensible and up-to-date regulatory framework is vital to the robust innovation and investment that are hallmarks of the satellite sector.”