The cities of Philadelphia and Boston and groups representing city governments pushed back against a petition from the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association, DirecTV and Dish Network that urges the FCC to amend its Over-The-Air-Reception Devices (OTARD) rule and prohibit state and local governments from restricting reception devices located on rental properties. Comments were due Thursday in docket 12-121.
Global satellite revenue grew 5 percent last year to about $177 billion, led by revenue increases in the satellite manufacturing and launch sectors, the Satellite Industry Association said in a report. While the rate of net job losses decreased from 2.7 percent in 2010 to less than 1 percent last year, employment in the industry continued to drop in the first three quarters of 2011. The State of the Satellite Industry Report (http://xrl.us/bm8ydw) was done by Futron Corp., SIA said. Futron surveyed more than 80 satellite companies and assessed performance in the satellite services, manufacturing, launch and ground equipment sectors.
Several comments to the FCC show overall support for the effort to expand wireless broadband by allowing terrestrial wireless use in the 2 GHz band, such as for Dish Network. Companies in the wireless, satellite and GPS industries agreed in their comments that technical rules and license conditions that apply to terrestrial services in the band should apply to the AWS-4 band, and a terrestrial license should be issued to the incumbent mobile satellite service licensee. Some wireless carriers and rural telecom entities urged the FCC to take further steps to ensure the eventual licensee serves all areas and to keep the market competitive. Comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking were due Thursday in docket 12-70, and some were filed early that day (CD May 18 p6).
XTAR joined the Satellite Industry Association, said the SIA.
An FCC requirement that filings at the agency include all materials cited in pleadings or ex parte submissions would encourage some to “eschew participation in an FCC rulemaking,” the Satellite Industry Association said in comments (http://xrl.us/bmpszh). The requirement could result in such a large volume of information that it could obscure the useful information, SIA added. The proposal isn’t consistent with legislative and executive branches’ efforts to reduce burdens on those wishing to take part in agency rulemakings, the association said. The obligation wouldn’t enhance transparency and may make it harder to find relevant filings or participate, SIA said. All other filings have opposed expanding filing rules, as the agency asked about in a public notice (CD Jan 25 p12).
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."