The satellite industry still isn't finding common ground on whether the FCC should vary regulatory fees for different types of non-geostationary orbit constellations rather than charge one $223,500 annual fee for all NGSOs (see 2006300070). Docket 20-105 comments last week also showed some disagreements about whether size matters when it comes to bigger constellations requiring more regulatory resources.
Matt Daneman
Matt Daneman, Senior Editor, covers pay TV, cable broadband, satellite, and video issues and the Federal Communications Commission for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications in 2015 after more than 15 years at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, where he covered business among other issues. He also was a correspondent for USA Today. You can follow Daneman on Twitter: @mdaneman
Expect to see fewer big interagency spectrum disputes under the President Joe Biden administration, and the FCC taking a lot more action on delegated authority, with the commissioners being split 2-2, agency watchers said in a Georgetown University-hosted webinar Thursday looking at likely policy issues for the next commission. Many said the 2-2 commission won't inherently lead to political deadlock.
Members of the C-band payment clearinghouse search committee opposed Vertix's application for review (AFR) of hiring CohnReznick. The request for proposals didn't specify a requirement that a banking institution be a principal, and CohnReznick says it would use Truist, so the contract with it isn't unexpected, said clearinghouse search committee members in docket 18-122 comments Wednesday. They said Vertix alleges CohnReznick isn't using best practices, but the committee reviewed CohnReznick disclosures and determined it fulfilled the requirements and rules. Vertix didn't cite ways CohnReznick isn't meeting those, they said. Search committee member CTIA said Vertix is making "vague assertions [that] amount to no more than Vertix’s general dissatisfaction" with the CohnReznick decision. The supposed deficiencies are disagreements with subjective determinations made by the search committee, it said. Verizon, also opposing the Vertix AFR, said the RFP didn't require the clearinghouse to include a financial institution, and that CohnReznick later made voluntary commitments doesn't reflect on the sufficiency of its proposal. Vertix said the clearinghouse decision "deviates from the transparency and equality expected in government procurement," with CohnReznick's proposal many millions of dollars more expensive than others. Vertix, which opposed CohnReznick's nomination (see 2008190045), said clearinghouse performance issues could jeopardize the auction and transition.
The FCC is finding little common ground among satellite operators on how to treat foreign-licensed operators or big constellations' overlapping orbits, in docket 18-313 replies to petitions for reconsideration of its April orbital debris order (see 2009250070). Amazon's Kuiper said lack of clarity on how the FCC might address a large constellation in an altitude where another constellation is authorized to operate could chill competition and discourage investment, necessitating requiring later-filed constellations maintain a 1-kilometer orbital separation from an earlier-filed one. It said the record showed clear desire among operators for orbital separation rules. Viasat said even other parties agreeing with Kuiper that orbital overlap could be a problem don't sign onto Kuiper's proposed fix. It said the FCC should address overlaps case by case, evaluating non-geostationary orbit system applications to see whether overlap is going to be an issue and taking corrective action when necessary. Viasat said the FCC, in looking at SpaceX's license modification application, should evaluate whether the orbital tolerances the company proposes are unreasonably high and inefficient, and whether tighter tolerances would help competitive entry by other operators later. SpaceX said the current record shows the exemption to orbital debris rules for foreign-licensed satellite operators resulted in uncompetitive behavior: If the FCC doesn't ax the exemption, establish a sufficiently transparent foreign-licensing regime to invoke the exemption. Kepler said its own experience is proof foreign-licensed systems aren't held to a different standard. It said foreign-licensed operators have to show their orbital debris mitigation plans to the licensing nation, as well as satisfy FCC requirements to operate in the U.S. Kepler said Kuiper's petition would set up a “first-to-file” precedence over orbital slots for large non-geostationary orbit operators that would arbitrarily exclude small satellite operators.
The arrival of the Biden administration will change fortunes for interest groups and think tanks. Political science experts and interest group insiders told us that groups that had the ear of the White House and President Donald Trump's officials likely will focus now on working on members of Congress with whom they're more ideologically aligned, plus states.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated digital divide issues, and more focus needs to be put on items such as better pedagogy for remote education and the lack of broadband affordability for many, speakers said Thursday at an Axios broadband event. NCTA President Michael Powell said the number of Americans without broadband availability could dramatically decline over the next five to 10 years with proper government support. But economics is also a hindrance, and low-income access efforts like NCTA's K-12 Bridge to Broadband program need to be a higher societal imperative, he said. Beyond connectivity, more work is needed on adapting educational curricula to remote learning and teaching students digital skills, he said. Without such efforts, even with more universal connectivity, "you're still going to get suboptimal results," Powell said. FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said lack of granular data about who has broadband is "frustrating," but it's already well established that 77 million people in the U.S. lack adequate home fixed broadband connections, large numbers of people in urban areas are unconnected, and communities of color are persistently "on the wrong side of the digital divide," with particularly high rates of adults lacking broadband connections. Starks said "help is on the way" in tackling rural access issues, but broadband affordability and digital literacy -- particularly with seniors often not realizing the must-have nature of broadband -- are also key problems. Expand the E-rate program, he said. Plinio Ayala, CEO of IT career training nonprofit Per Scholas, said artificial intelligence will disrupt industries such as hospitality, retail and transportation, and the pandemic accelerated that. He said workforce development programs like his and others need more private and public sector investment. Comcast said Thursday it was giving Per Scholas $1 million to scale its operations. Jessie Woolley-Wilson, CEO of online educational software firm DreamBox, said 15 million U.S. students are falling behind educationally because they lack "persistent, consistent" broadband access. Treat broadband like a utility, with sustained funding for access and devices in schools, she said.
NTCH's petition asking the Supreme Court to consider H-block waivers granted to Dish Network and the related spectrum auction order would have SCOTUS considering challenges to an order on which neither the FCC nor the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has decided, said a commission opposition Monday (docket 20-410) to NTCH's petition for writ of certiorari. The D.C. Circuit vacated the waiver in February and remanded NTCH claims to the FCC (see 2002210044). The agency also opposed NTCH's challenge of the Auction 96 order, saying the D.C. Circuit found it "reasonable," which shows it wasn't arbitrary and capricious. Dish's opposition said NTCH's cert petition "hinges on the erroneous narrative that the FCC improperly adopted certain policy outcomes based on an alleged 'backroom' agreement with DISH." FCC justifications and process "easily satisfied" the Administrative Procedure Act and commission rules, Dish said, noting NTCH isn't arguing the D.C. Circuit conflicted with another appellate court or a state court of last resort or departs from accepted judicial proceedings. NTCH outside counsel didn't comment Tuesday.
The two major C-band satellite operators, Intelsat and SES, have band-clearing efforts underway such as relocating customers to different satellites and shipping out integrated receiver/decoders (IRD), they told us. The FCC said the C-band auction "will begin on schedule."
Backers and some critics of Ajit Pai agreed he was a particularly effective FCC chairman, leaving behind a legacy of major accomplishments and changes. Pai announced Monday he will step down on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20 (see 2011300020). Supporters said his scorecard includes enacting policies that accelerated broadband deployment and steering the agency through the pandemic.
Amazon Kuiper asking the FCC to consider mandatory distance between constellation filings (see 2009250070) got both critiques and some support in docket 18-313 replies posted Wednesday. Viasat said the petitions to pull back on some information disclosures could still let the agency evaluate orbital safety implications of non-geostationary orbit systems. It said the Amazon Kuiper petition about not allowing later-filed NGSO constellations to use the same altitudes as earlier-filed ones creates an incentive for foreclosure. Maxar Technologies said requiring systems be physically separated from other, previously approved systems "will prioritize a safe and sustainable space environment [and] incentivize responsible space stewardship," as will denying the push that the FCC eliminate its effective maneuverability reporting requirement. Kepler said a required physical separation from earlier-filed constellations could lead to an operator making filings with staggered orbital slots "and claim[ing] effective ownership of whole swathes of outer space without placing any satellites into orbit." Backing Kuiper, OneWeb said enough orbital separation between constellations "remains vitally important." It said arguments against allowing non-U.S. licensed satellites to demonstrate orbital debris oversight by another national licensing authority ignore that U.S. reviews would be duplicative and lead to operators facing possibly inconsistent obligations.