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.

The Bureau of Industry and Security received 41 public comments on its December 2010 proposed rule to add a new License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA). Commenters expressed concerns that the proposed exception is too conservative and will not benefit many companies, and provided recommendations for new licensing mechanisms.

TIA said it strongly supports an FCC proposal to reduce regulatory barriers and create “innovation zones” aimed at increasing the efficiency of spectrum use. The FCC should consider allowing for-profit companies to do research under new experimental licensing rules, the association said in a filing at the commission. “TIA’s members operate research campuses and labs where radio frequency is effectively contained, but like colleges, universities, and non-profit research organizations, face the burdensome and inefficient process of applying for multiple licenses to conduct research that drives innovation,” said Danielle Coffey, TIA’s vice president for government affairs. “Excluding for-profit companies from the FCC’s proposals will chill innovation, investment, job creation, and economic growth.” CTIA said it supports the use of experimental licensing to spur development of new technologies, but licensed wireless operations must be protected from harmful interference. The FCC “should make research program licenses available to wireless vendor and carrier laboratories, make innovation zone licenses available to single entities, and make medical program licenses available for testing all devices with a general medical purpose,” the association said. But Marcus Spectrum Solutions questioned whether changing the experimental licensing rules would have much benefit. “The present Part 5 Experimental License System is not a major obstacle to innovation and given the expected tightening of resources at FCC due to the budget situation it is questionable whether the proposals here have really significant enough impact on innovation to justify the diversion of staff effort from larger impact issues,” the company said. Proposed modifications to FCC rules could mean a flood of “uncertified, and potentially interfering and irretrievable, equipment,” said the Satellite Industry Association in an FCC filing. Controls are necessary before equipment is sold or leased in connection with a market trial, said SIA. While it “generally endorses” the proposed rules for experimental licenses, safeguards are needed, the association said. For instance, the scope of the program licenses should be clarified to prevent experiments “that are too far-flung,” said SIA. The spectrum available for the licensees should exclude safety-of-life services as well as fixed, mobile and broadcast satellite service spectrum ,because it can be hard to locate interference in those bands, said SIA. Experimental license applications should be granted within 14 calendar days of submission, unless objected to by NTIA, said the association.