It’s Status Quo For AMSRS Rules, as FCC Seeks More Info from Satellite
Mobile Satellite Services officials were still making sense of an Oct. 11 FCC 2nd Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Aviation Radio Service, at our deadline Fri. The aviation rulemaking had been under the radar of most MSS regulatory officials, they said. Primarily involving wireless matters under Part 87 of the Commission’s rules, the order also calls for public comment on Aeronautical Mobile Satellite (Route) Service (AMSRS) standards for 1.6 GHz, 2 GHz and 5 GHz. AMSRS, a subset of MSS, links aircraft by satellite to land or other aircraft for flight communication.
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The FCC declined to make any changes to the rules governing AMSRS in the Oct. 11 order -- asking instead for more responses to AMSRS issues it raised in the first Aviation Radio Service NPRM in 2003. Under consideration in the proceeding is whether AMSRS should expand from the L-band frequencies it uses now to 1.6 GHz, 2 GHz and 5 GHz. If AMSRS is to be allowed in those bands, the Commission wants to know if it should be licensed under Part 87 and get priority and preemptive access.
MSS officials said they weren’t up to date on AMSRS because the most recent comments in the docket are 2 years old. Comments filed at the FCC by Boeing, Globalstar, Inmarsat, Iridium, Rockwell Collins and others date to the 1990s. Most ask for the Commission to expand AMSRS frequencies and to permit use of additional satellite systems for provision of AMSRS. Several satellite commenters also want Commission to authorize use of any emission type for AMSRS, and to eliminate requirements over data rates and modulation types.
The Commission agreed Oct. 11 that allowing additional satellite systems for AMSRS would serve the public interest, but it said new rules should be based on international standards. “The record is unclear at this point as to whether such standards are sufficiently advanced to permit adoption of such rules,” the order said, echoing NTIA’s concerns. NTIA said AMSRS rules shouldn’t be broadened to satellite systems other than Inmarsat’s because the International Civil Aviation Organization hasn’t adopted standards for such operations. Boeing, Globalstar and Iridium all disagreed in comments for the docket.
The changing MSS landscape also contributed to the FCC’s decision not to adopt any sweeping AMSRS rules changes, it said: “In light of market developments occurring since the initiation of this proceeding, including the abandonment of plans for several proposed MSS systems, as well as the emergence of Ku-band Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service (AMSS systems), we conclude that it would be prudent to seek additional comment on this issue.”
The Commission proposed AMSS rules for the Ku-band in 2005, governing a different kind of aviation communication service: broadband and voice for airline passengers (CD April 8/05 p4). ARINC and the now-defunct Connexion by Boeing fall into the AMSS category, licensed under Part 25.
In the 2nd FNRPM, the Commission specifically requested comment on whether it should, among other things: (1) Permit AMSRS licensees to utilize any emission type in aeronautical spectrum that isn’t shared with other services. (2) Accommodate use of nongeostationary satellite networks for AMSRS. (3) Broaden AMSRS rules to better accommodate non- Inmarsat satellite systems. (4) Adopt additional technical requirements for AMSRS to protect microwave landing systems. The Commission also invited comments on whether Part 87 licensing should be considered for other frequencies, such as the Ku-band.
The FCC shares regulatory oversight of aviation frequencies with the Federal Aviation Administration, and in 2001 started the Aviation Radio Service rulemaking in a “top- to-bottom review” to keep aeronautical spectrum rules up to date. The first report and order was adopted in 2003. The Oct. 11 order builds on the earlier effort. Before 2001, the Commission had only launched a comprehensive review of its Aviation Radio Service rules once, in 1988. Federal regulation of Aviation Radio Service predates the FCC.