International Bureau Extends ATC Comment Period Following CTIA Protest
The FCC International Bureau extended the comment period Friday on a request by LightSquared for modification of its ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) license, after CTIA raised timing concerns Wednesday. The bureau had asked for input in a public notice that “was not available until late in the day” Nov. 19, said CTIA. The association said it asked for the extension in light of the Thanksgiving holiday and the brevity of the original 10-day comment period.
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In a Nov. 18 filing, LightSquared gave the FCC an update on how it would fulfill dual-mode criteria -- requirements for handsets to communicate with terrestrial and satellite networks. LightSquared, which plans to lease out its spectrum and network wholesale to other companies, said that because retailers will pay for both the satellite and terrestrial “air time,” it will remain in compliance with the dual-mode requirement. While the decision of whether to offer dual-mode devices will be up to the retailers, the pricing structure “gives LightSquared’s customers ample incentive to make dual-mode devices available to end users,” the company said. If LightSquared is found to be out of compliance with the requirement, it said, it should receive a waiver of the rule. The International Bureau treated the filing as a request for modification because the situation was new. The modification would essentially give companies the option to use the spectrum for terrestrial-only service.
CTIA raised several concerns over how quickly the bureau was intending to handle the request, especially when LightSquared didn’t “request expedited treatment of its request or provide any factual discussion of why expedition would be necessary.” The association said most satellite modification filings are given 30 days for comment. While such a brief filing period may not be “prejudicial” in some cases, the fact that the public notice was issued a day after LightSquared’s filing makes it even harder for the FCC to get adequate comments for the record, CTIA said. The quick turnaround leaves little chance for those interested to be alerted of the proceeding “by the press or through courtesy copies” before a public notice is issued, it said. The filing deadline was even more difficult since Thursday was a federal holiday and many people had Friday off, said CTIA. The association didn’t state a position on the proposed modification.
LightSquared responded to CTIA’s opposition Wednesday by saying applications to modify ATC authority are treated as “minor modifications,” so the FCC is under no obligation to issue a public notice. “We thought [CTIA] made a sufficient case to warrant granting an extension of time,” an International Bureau spokesman said of the decision to extend the comment period.
"This is quite a fundamental change to the way everyone interpreted the [ATC] rules in the past,” said Tim Farrar, president of TMF Associates. “It’s surprising it was being addressed in such a short time frame given the potential significance of the change.”