Intelsat requested a two-week extension from the FCC International Bureau to the reply...
Intelsat requested a two-week extension from the FCC International Bureau to the reply comment period in the Open-Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act, which requires the agency to provide annual reports to the House and Senate…
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Commerce and Foreign Relations committees on the effect of the privatization of Intelsat and Inmarsat. Intelsat filed the request Monday to push back the Wednesday deadline. Intelsat said it needs the extra time to respond to allegations of anticompetitive behavior and of other problems with the current fixed satellite services market from Artel, CapRock, Globecomm, and Spacenet (CD April 12 p6). “This very short time period for the filing of reply comments is likely due to the International Bureau’s experience with past ORBIT Act proceedings, in which almost no parties other than Intelsat and Inmarsat have filed comments,” the extension request said. Artel and Globecomm also filed a request for permission to file surreplies in response to Intelsat’s anticipated reply because the companies wouldn’t get a chance to follow up on Intelsat’s reply comments. Allowing the additional reply comments “would benefit the Commission by allowing other industry participants to scrutinize matters raised for the first time by Intelsat and provide the Commission with a full and complete record,” the request said. Because Intelsat is only filing reply comments, they can be “insulated from critical review by other industry participants,” said the request.