The FCC said it will look into allegations of anticompetitive conduct against Intelsat in a coming proceeding about the structure and operation of the fixed satellite service (FSS) sector. In a satellite-market report for Congress covering calendar years 2008-2010 filed late Tuesday, the commission withheld conclusions about whether any of the industries’ sectors -- FSS, mobile satellite service (MSS) or satellite radio -- are competitive. In the two previous reports, the FCC found the industry competitive. The report was pulled from the agenda of this week’s commission meeting because the commissioners voted ahead of time to approve it. Satellite TV is covered by a Media Bureau report.
The FCC has a chance to clear the way for foreign investment in U.S. satellite and other communications companies by eliminating unnecessary licensing barriers, said satellite interests in filings at the FCC in docket 11-133. The FCC issued a proposed rulemaking in August on potential changes to foreign ownership rules and the licensing requirements of section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act (CD Aug 10 p11).
A group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at relaxing International Traffic in Arms Regulation rules for satellite components. HR-3288 was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Howard Berman, D-Calif., and co-sponsored by three more Democrats and four Republicans. The bill would give the Executive Office of the President back the authority to remove commercial satellites and components from a munitions list closely regulated by the State Department. Sales of items on the munitions list require difficult-to-obtain licenses that many in the satellite industry say have hurt U.S. satellite production. If passed, U.S. satellites and their components would still be ineligible for transfer to China, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria and North Korea. “It is time we undo the damage this restriction has unintentionally created for U.S. business, U.S. competitiveness, and U.S. national security,” Berman said. The Satellite Industry Association supported the legislation. “Congress has the opportunity to dramatically improve the competitiveness of the U.S. satellite and space industries and ensure an innovative and thriving U.S. space industrial base,” said President Patricia Cooper. She said SIA supports the bill’s goal of “updating an outmoded and overly-restrictive regulation instituted more than a decade ago, which has adversely affected the U.S. space industrial base."
The FCC shouldn’t grant Qualcomm’s request for a rulemaking to establish a new air-to-ground (ATG) service on a secondary basis for in-flight communications in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, said the Satellite Industry Association in comments (http://xrl.us/bme8wt). The band is used for commercial, government and military applications and ATG operations could alter the “operating environment that has otherwise fostered competition and technological innovation,” said SIA. Existing and planned terrestrial and satellite-based systems meet current and expected demand for ATG in-flight communications, making unnecessary a lengthy and complex proceeding, said SIA. Qualcomm’s petition doesn’t provide an adequate basis to consider interference with existing and future use of the band, said Boeing in its comments (http://xrl.us/bme8w7). The potential impact could be far worse than described in the petition, said Boeing. For example, the petition assumes uniformity in satellite receive beams without considering the increasingly common focused spot beams in high population areas, Boeing said. The FCC should also finalize the regulatory status of aeronautical mobile satellite services (AMSS) in the same band before considering non-satellite uses, Boeing said. “The creation of a secondary terrestrial service in the Ku-band could have substantial adverse impacts on broadband satellite services provided to aircraft, which could not be remedied adequately pursuant to a secondary or non-interference/non-protected regulatory designation,” the company said. Boeing has long sought FCC designation for Ku-band AMSS as a primary application, similar to the rules for vehicle mounted earth stations and earth station on vessels.
The FCC’s public notice on fixed service (FS) sharing of the 7 and 13 GHz bands “strangely” failed to consider the co-primary fixed satellite service (FSS) allocation in the 7 and 13 GHz bands, said the Satellite Industry Association. Its comments in docket 10-153 responded to the FCC’s public notice on proposed new fixed service operations in those bands. The agency shouldn’t “lose sight” of the FSS co-primary status and should ensure that existing and future FSS systems will be protected, said SIA. Sirius XM, Globalstar and others use the spectrum, it said. Any look into the feasibility of FS in the spectrum “must consider all existing services entitled to protection,” said the association. Sirius XM also noted the absence of reference to the FSS allocation. The “failure to address this usage suggests the Commission intends no changes to the current requirements protecting FSS,” the company said. “However, to avoid any confusion, the Commission should clearly affirm the co-primary status of FSS operations in these bands and the applicability of the existing frequency coordination rules."
The FCC should give native tribes priority in allocating and licensing spectrum, create a special “Native Nations Broadband Fund” and take on a “tribal-centric” view of economic development, Native American groups said in comments in docket 11-41. The National Congress of American Indians, Native Telecom Coalition for Broadband, National Tribal Telecommunications Association, American Library Association and Alexicon Telecommunications Consulting endorsed some form of a broadband fund for tribes. “The FCC must take extraordinary measures to provide parity of communications service with non-Native communities,” the Tribal Telecom Association said in a joint filing with the Gila River Telecommunications Association. “Since the passage of the 1996 Telecom Act, only three Native governments have attained full regulatory self-provisioning [eligible telecommunications carrier] status.”
The satellite business continued its revenue growth streak in 2010, largely on the back of satellite services, the industry’s largest sector, the Satellite Industry Association said. At the end of Q3 -- the most recent data available -- industry employment had fallen 2.7 percent since the end of 2009, SIA said in its annual study. It was done by Futron Corp. using surveys of 80 companies, 40 of which are SIA members, and publicly available data and research, and is at http://xrl.us/bks9s8.
The FCC International Bureau’s long lead time on what is supposed to be a yearly satellite competition report isn’t a source of much concern around the industry, satellite executives said. Some executives said the large gap of time since the last report, which was adopted Oct. 14, 2008, may reflect an industry confidence in the market’s competitiveness and a lack of competitive concern on Capitol Hill. Others said the gap has left some in the industry wondering if the report is working as a means for monitoring competition in the market.
The 1755-1780 MHz band is ideal for wireless broadband, and should be reallocated as quickly as possible, CTIA, 4G Americas and the carriers filing comments told the FCC. The band has been identified by NTIA as its top priority for evaluation. Carriers have long sought to have the band paired with the AWS-3 spectrum for eventual auction. The FCC’s Spectrum Task Force had sought comment on various bands identified by NTIA as potentially suitable for wireless broadband. Comments were due Friday.
The Bureau of Industry and Security received 55 comments on its December 2010 advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on revising the Commerce Control List (CCL) to make it more clear, positive, and tiered. Commenters expressed concerns on the tier placement criteria for items and on the foreign availability aspects of the CCL.