The FCC amended its space station licensing rules with minor modifications in satellite fleets and earth stations. In response to a Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) request that modifications be approved after a 10-day review, the Commission said 10 days wasn’t enough time to complete a review, but streamlined modifications could be completed if space station operators notified the it 30 days before relocation. Operators would have to certify that operations would continue under existing coordination agreements and that service wouldn’t lapse for customers, the FCC said. It proposed similar parameters for minor modifications of earth stations, but only where the station antenna would continue pointing at the old satellite in a new location. If an operator chose to change the direction of the antenna to point at a new satellite, the Commission would consider the modification to be major and would require new authorization, it said. Non-U.S. satellites on the permitted space station list would be required to follow the same procedures, the Commission said.
Cingular Wireless and the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) asked the FCC, in separate petitions, to reconsider its decision to allow unlicensed operation of ultra-wideband (UWB) devices under Part 15 of the Commission’s rules. Cingular argued that the decision violated Sec. 301 of the Communications Act, which bars wireless transmissions without a license and “unquestionably requires a license for all low- power transmissions.” As a result, Cingular said, the Commission can’t authorize UWB operations on an unlicensed basis. It told the agency that Congress had identified 4 services in which spectrum use could be permitted without a license and that UWB didn’t fall into any of them. “The Commission’s authority to permit unlicensed UWB operations is therefore nonexistent,” Cingular said: “Once these devices proliferate, there will be no way to cure the interference they cause. This was a problem Sec. 301 was intended to prevent.” Cingular and other wireless companies have contended that the FCC erred in allowing UWB devices to operate under Part 15, in part because there hasn’t been extensive enough testing of the impact on commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) operations and Enhanced 911. Some commenters said the FCC should have conducted tests using actual UWB devices before granting authorization. Cingular said in its May 22 petition that the FCC’s UWB decisions were arbitrary and capricious: “The Commission recognized that any changes to Part 15 must continue to insulate FCC licensees from harmful interference and that, given the importance of this noninterference condition, it ’should be cautious until it has gained further experience with this technology.’ Yet the Commission rejected every conservative measure proposed by the CMRS industry to protect their operations from harmful interference and to ensure that UWB devices do not interfere with E911 calls.” It said the FCC moved forward without “an adequate test record,” even though its Technical Advisory Committee had suggested testing would be critical in any UWB decision. In a separate petition and engineering analysis, SIA said the FCC should revamp its UWB rules because they exposed fixed satellite service (FSS) operations in 4 GHz downlink bands to harmful interference. Rollout of “ubiquitous” UWB devices will interfere with C- band downlinks, creating concern for satellite operators because FSS systems make wide use of that band, SIA said. Those frequencies are used for program distribution to cable headends and radio/TV broadcast stations, broadband communications to Navy vessels, commercial weather data distribution to airlines and position location for truck fleets. “UWB interference could jeopardize the billions of dollars that FSS operators, customers and distributors have invested in FSS systems for commercial and national security purposes and could interrupt vital FSS services,” said SIA, which is seeking reconsideration of an earlier FCC rejection of a previous challenge by the group. SIA said the earlier denial was based on criticisms of the association’s findings “that do not withstand scrutiny,” the petition said. SIA argued that the interference-to-noise ratio adopted by the Commission, unlike that used by SIA, would expose FSS earth station receivers to harmful interference.
Midway Games announced winners of its Midway Sports MLB SlugFest Nationwide Cheerleader Tryouts. Chicago publisher said winners Sia Darmos and Amanda Gilbert would appear in upcoming Midway Sports videogames and each would receive $5,000, as well as “opportunity to travel and participate in exclusive Midway Sports promotional events.” Midway Vp-Mktg. Helene Sheeler said “fans rallied around this unique promotion” since it kicked off Jan. 14. In March 21-April 11 span, gamers cast their votes online to select next 2 Midway Sports cheerleaders, company said.
The FCC shouldn’t include the 3650-3700 MHz band in its decision on additional spectrum for unlicensed devices, the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) said in reply comments. SIA said it earlier had provided documentation that it said showed interference from unlicensed devices to existing co- frequency incumbent fixed-satellite service (FSS) operations, none of which were disputed by later comments. SIA said the “impossibility of a global allocation, the difficulty in assessing interference from future fixed service networks” and “the further challenge of protecting co- and adjacent- frequency” FSS operations seemed to elicit skepticism rather than enthusiasm for that allocation. Adopting rules for the band would be difficult because operators of future unlicensed devices wouldn’t have models of expected services, undermining “any incentives to develop standards and design products for the band,” SIA said. “Within the next few months, the FCC will auction new Fixed Service licenses in the band, making the extended C-band even more intensely used than today. Let that be enough,” it said. “The FCC should not simultaneously propose adding unlicensed products into the 3650-3700 MHz band.”
FCC Office of Engineering & Technology Chief Edmond Thomas said Tues. the Commission expected to start a proceeding by year’s end to open a debate on “interference temperature,” which he called “an extremely difficult technical concept to implement.” He told a National Spectrum Managers Assn. conference in Arlington, Va., that the FCC also planned to open a proceeding by year-end on cognitive radio technologies. On both counts, the end-of-year period is “exactly what we are shooting for and it looks like we are going to do that.”
Independent MultiFamily Communications Council doesn’t require emergency relief from or reconsideration of an FCC ruling removing it from its satellite frequency (IB 98-172), the Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) said in a report to the FCC. The ruling was made after the Commission concluded that the 18.3-18.58 GHz band should be designated for the fixed satellite service (FSS), thus requiring terrestrial users to vacate the band over the next 10 years and prohibiting any new applications for terrestrial use in the band. The SIA said it found no basis in the IMCC’s bid for reconsideration and emergency relief. Relief or reconsideration from an order requires that the petitioner suffer irreplaceable harm if not granted, which the IMCC itself actually admitted wasn’t the case, SIA said. The IMCC also waited 6 months before filing its relief request, which SIA said was much too long after the May 8, 2003, date on which the rule changes became effective to be taken seriously. The IMCC also doesn’t satisfy any aspect of the 4-point standard for granting emergency relief as established in the Va. Petroleum Jobbers case, nor will it further the public interest, the SIA said.
Service rules the FCC adopts for the operation of dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) stations in the 5.85-5.925 GHz band (5.9 GHz band) should consider the co- primary uplink operations of fixed satellite service (FSS) earth stations in both the 5.9 GHz band and the adjacent band from 5925-6425 MHz, the SIA said. “Widespread deployment of DSRC stations could limit where new FSS earth stations can be located” because of the potential for harmful interference, the association said. To protect both operations, it said rules should be adopted to protect existing FSS operations and require prior coordination of new DSRC and FSS earth stations. Beyond that, a “coordination zone” could be established, SIA said, “outside of which no coordination would be necessary.”
Developers of wireless local area networks (LANs), including Wi-Fi systems, urged the FCC to follow through on a recent notice of inquiry and make additional spectrum available for unlicensed devices, including TV broadcast bands. But several commenters, including some local govts. and private wireless groups, cautioned that technology to avoid interference to incumbents wasn’t far enough along to warrant the FCC’s taking the “risk” of opening that spectrum now. Broadcasters raised particular concerns about the potential impact on the DTV transition.
The Satellite Industry Assn. (SIA) asked the FCC to reconsider its decision to reallocate 30 MHz of mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum, not because there would be less spectrum available for the services but because 10 MHz would be taken from the existing global allocation. SIA said the decision was contrary to the Commission’s policy “of actively supporting the development, preservation and use of harmonized international and multinational spectrum allocations.” ICO agreed. Celsat America took on the issue of paired frequency assignments. The Cellular Telecom & Internet Assn. (CTIA) applauded the decision, urging the Commission to do the same with all unused spectrum.
Routine treatment of smaller antennas, the necessity of pilot tones and professional installation were the main topics raised by satellite interests in response to an FCC request for proposals for streamlining licensing rules for satellite network earth and space stations. The Commission released the request in Sept., with proposals it said “should expedite the processing of earth station applications” and provide services to the public more quickly. Commenters emphasized the need for flexibility for each system in conjunction with strict rules on interference and applications.