The commercial space industry's attracting Wall Street attention comes with a potential risk of the investment world turning negative on space broadly, panelists said Tuesday at the SmalSat Symposium. The FCC and FAA are processing some smallsat applications at breakneck speeds, Hogan Lovells satellite lawyer George John said.
The FCC will soon adopt rules that "crack down on revenue sharing” and exclusive access arrangements between broadband providers and building owners in multi-tenant environments said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during an Incompas policy summit in Washington Tuesday (see 2201210039). The record the FCC received last year on broadband access in MTEs “made one thing very clear,” Rosenworcel said: “The agency’s existing rules are not what they could be.” Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington encouraged NTIA to prioritize unserved areas in its new broadband programs. Other panelists urged the FCC to revise the USF.
Senate Commerce Committee Republicans told us they’re interested in pursuing a follow-up confirmation hearing with Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya given their hopes for the outcome of a Wednesday panel with FCC nominee Gigi Sohn that will serve as her de facto second confirmation hearing. Senate Commerce postponed planned votes last week on Bedoya and Sohn, in part citing the extended absence of Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., while he recovers from a stroke (see 2202010070).
Speakers at the Incompas Policy Summit expressed hope Tuesday that the FCC will act soon to allow use of the 12 GHz band for 5G. Incompas has been a leading member of the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition, which seeks new rules for the band (see 2107080055).
State and local governments sought close coordination as billions of broadband dollars come from the federal infrastructure law, in comments we received. Comments were due Friday on NTIA’s request for comments on implementing broadband programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Industry groups sought NTIA assurance the broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) and middle mile programs would be technologically neutral. Advocacy groups wanted maximum stakeholder participation and a focus on equitable deployment.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s December decision upholding the FCC’s 6 GHz order firms up the agency’s authority as “the expert agency” on spectrum, said FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks during the Fierce Wireless virtual Wi-Fi summit Monday. Other speakers said use of 6 GHz is growing and will be critical to better Wi-Fi.
Internal Intelsat emails make clear that the company backed out of the C-Band Alliance (CBA) due to maximizing the cash Intelsat would get from a C-band clearing, rather than being triggered by the FCC opting to go with a public spectrum auction, SES argued Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Intelsat outside counsel Mike Slade of Kirkland & Ellis replied that SES is "trying to jam a square peg into a round hole” and ignored how the CBA agreement terms were essentially negated by the spectrum auction approach the FCC ultimately took.
Lawmakers are frustrated that interagency spectrum policy infighting that became endemic during the Trump administration continues to be an issue one year into Joe Biden’s presidency, despite early hopes for a shift (see 2010260001). Some on and off Capitol Hill believe the Biden administration’s handling of the high-profile C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065) has stirred an increased appetite for enacting a legislative solution. Others want to hold off on legislation for the time being in hopes recently installed NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other officials will be able to quickly nip the squabbling.
A draft FCC Further NPRM that would seek comment on rural healthcare program revisions would make needed changes to how the rates database is calculated and modernize funding cap rules, said experts in recent interviews (see 2201280065). The draft, if adopted during the Feb. 18 commissioners' meeting, would also seek comment on whether the agency should redefine rurality and how that affects program participation.
Putting federal muscle behind repurposing or recycling orbital debris and designating a single agency responsible for overseeing orbital debris removal were recommended by the space community to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. That's according to nearly 400 pages of comments filed last month with OSTP on its proposed debris R&D plan, and obtained Friday via a Communications Daily Freedom of Information Act request.