17 GHz NPRM Raises Satellite Licensing, Spacing Conundrums
The satellite industry is excited to see the FCC moving to open 17/24 GHz spectrum for video broadcasting, DBS officials (and even launch services) said this week. But satellite firms commenting in the proceeding have their work cut out, we're told. The 17/24 GHz NPRM released last Fri. by the Commission raises so many satellite policy and engineering questions that most satellite officials we spoke with this week said they're still absorbing the text.
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“It’s always a bit of a surprise when you realize how many things there are to think about when it comes to licensing new services,” said one DBS attorney. DirecTV, EchoStar, Intelsat and Pegasus all have applications pending for the new band.
Among dozens of licensing questions, 2 may be especially nettlesome, satellite officials said: Orbital spacing and DBS auction legality -- both serious satellite conundrums on which the Commission has been loath to act. Now that they're teed up by the 17 GHz item, the Commission may have to “wrestle them to the ground,” one DBS attorney said.
Over a decade ago, the Commission saw a need for more DTH video service spectrum. Since then, one industry proposal -- letting DBS operators position “’tweener” satellites between existing crafts spaced at 9 degrees -- has proven especially controversial. Tweeners got some Commission attention in conjunction with 17 GHz (CD June 7 p9), we're told. A separate ’tweener rulemaking was said to have been circulating and at one point linked to the 17 GHz rulemaking. The 2 items would have been voted on together. But the 17 GHz rulemaking was voted on circulation the morning of the Commission’s June agenda meeting.
The ’tweener issue may be shelved while 17 GHz orbital spacing questions are addressed, industry officials said. “'Tweeners are much more difficult,” an official involved in both proceedings said: “The big difference between the 2 is that when you're licensing virgin spectrum, you don’t have the same interference problems as when you're working in a band that’s already populated.”
The Commission expects to see 17/24 GHz used for local- into-local TV service via small-footprint satellite spot beams, it said. So far, DirecTV and EchoStar have proposed 17/24 GHz orbital spacing of 4.5 degrees, Intelsat has proposed a 4 degrees minimum and Pegasus wants orbital separation of 10 degrees. “The question we must consider is what orbital spacing best advances the competing goals of permitting small-diameter [dishes] and relatively high-power transmissions, while simultaneously allowing for the greatest occupancy of the geostationary satellite orbit,” the FCC order said.
Whatever decision the FCC “ultimately reaches with regards to less than 9 degrees spacing for 12 GHz DBS satellites may have bearing upon the preferred orbital spacing for the 17 GHz band,” and vice versa, the 17/24 GHz order said. Parties “should consider all possible outcomes when formulating their comments in this proceeding,” it said.
Also on deck is the question of how best to structure 17/24 GHz licensing in light of a 2005 NorthPoint decision by the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C., invalidating the most recent FCC DBS auction. In Dec., the FCC axed DBS Auction No. 52 and froze all new DBS applications until it could decide how to process them. No new rules have emerged. In Dec., the International Bureau wouldn’t say how long it expected the application freeze to last or what options for DBS licensing might be under consideration. The 17/24 GHz NPRM posits several scenarios in addition to an auction, including the “first-come, first-served” approach.
Lately 17/24 GHz “hasn’t been a high priority” for Intelsat due to its merger with PanAmSat, Gen. Counsel Phil Spector said: “In general, we are supportive of the FCC opening up as many bands as possible for satellite use under the applicable rules.” EchoStar is “excited about any opportunity for additional spectrum,” an EchoStar official said. The DBS operator “plans to comment when comments are due,” the EchoStar official said.