Dish Network's incentive auction spectrum plans remain hazy. Many saw Dish's 486 licenses for $6.2 billion as being a bigger play than nothing expected. Similar questions surround Comcast's strategy with its $1.7 billion for 73 licenses being smaller than anticipated (see 1704130056). The auction is expected to lead to problems for low-power TV stations and translators (see 1704140062).
Some kind of major space conjunction event, such as a cubesat collision with a far larger satellite, seems almost inevitable, and regulators and policymakers need to be planning for that now, said Mike Gold, chairman of the FAA Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee, at an FCBA event Thursday. However, an overreaction "will be sending jobs and capabilities overseas" to other regulatory regimes, he said.
Satellite operators with non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation applications before the FCC are starting to provide additional technical details to the International Bureau. The bureau in a series of letters in March to some operators requested supplemental constellation information on such issues as mitigation of orbital debris. ViaSat in a letter Tuesday provided more details about its post-mission disposal plans, giving more technical details about its plans to put its satellites into storage orbit at 8,500 kilometers. Boeing's letter elaborated on its plans for keeping apogee, perigee, inclination and argument of perigee values during the satellites' lifetimes, and more details on its intent to comply with application equivalent power flux density limits. The bureau, meanwhile, gave the company a May 10 deadline for providing a variety of supplemental information about its V-band constellation, including its design and operational strategies for mitigating orbital debris and an analysis of collision risk, in a letter Tuesday to Boeing. Karousel's letter Tuesday cited waivers it foresees needing in the 29.1-29.25 GHz and 29.25-29.5 GHz bands for its NGSO constellation since there's no NGSO designation in the bands, and how it will prevent interference with Iridium operations in the 29.1-29.3 GHz bands. The bureau this week also extended LeoSat's deadline to May 15 for it to give more information about the status of the French licensing authority's review of the orbital debris mitigation plans of LeoSat's constellation and an analysis of collision risk during the passive disposal phase. Boeing separately emailed us that its NGSO plans are "in full accordance with FCC requirements and precedent" -- in response to allegations by ViaSat that pending V- and Ka-band constellation applications from Boeing, SpaceX and O3b don't meet FCC requirements (see 1704110028).
Satellite operators are at odds on whether/how to change milestone rules for nongeostationary orbit (NGSO) fixed satellite service (FSS) constellations and how the FCC should deal with pending V-band constellation applications, as the agency looks to potentially update Part 2 and 25 satellite rules (see 1612150066). Tuesday was the deadline for replies on an NPRM, with many satellite operators agreeing on one issue -- opening up more spectrum to NGSO.
The FCC and allies and NATOA are at odds over the significance of a federal appellate court overturning the agency's solicited fax rule and what it means for a challenge of the commission finding of effective competition in the U.S. cable market. FCC intervenor NCTA in a letter (in Pacer) Friday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and the FCC in a letter (in Pacer) Thursday, said Congress expressly gave the agency authority to make effective competition determinations in franchise areas. The FCC said the fight over the agency terminating franchising authorities' certifications to regulate cable rates in areas where there's effective competition is "plainly distinguishable" from the D.C. Circuit's ruling last month that the agency's solicited fax rule is illegal (see 1703310018). The regulator said its December 2015 conclusion of effective competition in most franchise areas nationwide was consistent with the Communications Act's text and legislative history. In its letter (in Pacer) Wednesday to the D.C. Circuit, NATOA -- which along with NAB and Minnesota's Northern Dakota County Cable Communications Commission is challenging the effective competition finding (see 1508280033) -- said the D.C. Circuit junk faxing ruling "definitively rejected" FCC rationale that its solicited fax rule was lawful as long as Congress didn't prohibit it, and that since Congress didn't authorize "mass sua sponte terminations of franchising authority certifications," the court should set aside the FCC effective competition order. NCTA rejected NATOA assertions that the D.C. Circuit decision means the only way for the agency to terminate franchising authorities' certifications is after a petition, as laid out in Section 623(a)(5) of the Communications Act, saying that section of code is about seeking relief from a franchising authority that exercises its rate regulation in violation of FCC standards, and is silent about effective competition determinations.
FCC bureau staff still is going through satellite industry arguments and opponent counterarguments for revisiting spectrum frontiers rules and likely will have a list of options to present to Chairman Ajit Pai within a couple of weeks, agency staff and proceeding insiders told us.
Wireless industry watcher responses were mixed after Comcast unveiled further details Thursday about its Xfinity Mobile wireless service. This "could be [Comcast's] next growth driver," Wells Fargo analyst Marci Ryvicker wrote investors. The offering "highlights cable's optionality and introduces another potential negative to the wireless industry," Macquarie's Amy Yong said.
Various parts of Ligado's LTE plans face spectrum-related opposition, which raises the risk of financial challenges for the company, said satellite consultant Tim Farrar in a blog post Wednesday. Farrar said there are indications the Federal Aviation Administration will heavily limit power levels in the 1527-1537 MHz downlink band, and the Department of Transportation may put even tighter limits; and there are efforts by the earth science community to prohibit an auction of the 1675-1680 MHz spectrum used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Iridium is trying to block use of the 1627.5-1637.5 MHz uplink band, and the 1647-1657 MHz uplink band likely can be paired only with 1527-1537 MHz low-powered downlinks. He also cited a column Tuesday in The Hill by Robert McDowell of Cooley in which the former FCC commissioner said Ligado's LTE plan, like the one proposed in 2010 by its predecessor LightSquared, "still causes harmful interference to already-licensed neighbors such as satellite services providers, NOAA’s weather service and the aviation industry" and should be rejected by the FCC. Farrar said Ligado has the finances to last into next year and continue lobbying, but the FCC may come to a decision this month given Chairman Ajit Pai's indication the agency plans to answer petitions within one year and Ligado's application and petition were put on public notice April 22, 2016. The agency didn't comment. Ligado in a statement Wednesday said McDowell -- whose firm represents Iridium -- made an "outdated and inaccurate characterization" of its satellite/terrestrial network and noted that McDowell, when testifying in 2014 as an expert witness in LightSquared's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, indicated GPS coexistence with Ligado's LTE network was technically feasible. McDowell told us Wednesday his 2014 testimony was about FCC process and timing issues, not about out-of-band emissions concerns in the 1627.5-1637.5 MHz band, and that Ligado's LTE plans still haven't resolved those. Ligado outside counsel Gerard Waldron of Covington & Burling said DOD indicated at a DOT workshop last month on adjacent band compatibility that it was comfortable with Ligado's LTE plans. A final DOT report is due later this month, Waldron said.
Liberty Interactive's proposed $1.12 billion buy of Alaska-based General Communication Inc. likely faces few regulatory approval challenges, because of assets of the parties and the current regulatory climate, experts told us. Cable consultant Steve Effros said there likely won't be any major issue for the deal under this administration.
An FCC revamp of broadband network overbuild terms it had put on Charter Communications' buys of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks likely points to the agency under Chairman Ajit Pai being far less likely to try to impose nontransaction-specific conditions in other cable ISP takeovers, experts told us. Overbuild conditions themselves might be somewhat unlikely, at least in cases when the fact pattern matches Charter/TWC, consultant and economist Hal Singer said.