Satellite Operators Raise Further Issues in Part 25 Rules Streamlining
The FCC expanding its unified satellite/earth station licensing proposal and pushback against a 60-day "cure period" for fixing applications were among satellite operators' suggestions and proposed tweaks filed in docket 18-314 comments this week. Replies on the Part 25 rules…
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streamlining NPRM were due Tuesday. A proposal about allowing applicants to fix errors or omissions was also controversial in initial comments (see 1903190010). Earth station and satellite buildout deadlines need to be aligned, ViaSat said. But it disagreed on removing emission designators from earth station licenses, with applicants having to identify only carrier bandwidth, and on loosening the east-west station-keeping requirements. Iridium said it disagreed with adoption of out-of-band-emission interference protection levels for radio astronomy services across various frequency bands. Intelsat said the FCC's first-come, first-served licensing system policy could face problems in the form of two-month delays in application reviews if the agency adopts a 60-day "cure period" allowing applicants to correct errors or omissions in that time frame after an FCC request. The FCC needs to go further in unified earth station/satellite licensing, creating a unified approach for non-geostationary and geostationary orbit (GSO) satellites without limits on the relevant frequencies, SES/O3b said. It also backed allowing GSO satellites to operate within 0.1 degrees of their assigned orbital longitudes. On unified satellite/earth station licenses, the FCC needs safeguards "to prevent warehousing or preclusion of earth station operations" in bands with earth station deployment limits, Eutelsat said. It also said application of regulator fees on non-U.S.-licensed operators seeking U.S. market access is baseless.