Matt Daneman

The FCC could make more spectrum available in the 17.8-18.3 GHz band for fixed satellite service (FSS) systems on a secondary basis, said a proposal approved unanimously and earlier set for a vote at Thursday's commissioners' meeting (see 1612140067 and 1612150048) and then OK'ed instead on circulation. In an NPRM adopted Wednesday and released Thursday on proposed updates to Part 2 and Part 25 rules to accommodate the boom in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation plans (see 1610210055), it said it also is considering more flexibility in the 18.3-18.6 GHz, 18.8-19.4 GHz, 19.6-20.2 GHz and 29.3-29.5 GHz bands, though they would be subject to terrestrial coordination. The NPRM also proposes rationalizing agency rules with international power limits on NGSO FSS operations in parts of the 17.8-20.2 GHz and 27.5-30 GHz bands and amending satellite milestone and geographic coverage rules. And the agency said it wanted comment on different criteria for spectrum sharing among NGSO FSS systems. The agency said the proposed updates to NGSO FSS rules were prompted by the proposed Boeing (see 1607110043) and OneWeb (see 1604290016) constellations highlighting a need for updating rules instituted more than a decade ago. It said allowing secondary FSS use in the 17.8-20.2 GHz band and new FSS operations in the 19.3-19.4 GHz, 19.6-19.7 GHz, and 29.3-29.5 GHz bands would codify existing practices and formally allow OneWeb's proposed spectrum use. The agency said rules allow spectrum sharing by letting NGSO FSS systems operate throughout its authorized band except during in-line events -- when the topocentric angle between the satellites is less than 10 degrees -- but it wanted comment on whether the separation-angle trigger should be increased or decreased. It wants comment on possible adoption of effective isotropic radiated power density limits for NGSO FSS uplink transmissions. And it proposed changing the six-year milestone obligation for NGSO systems so having 75 percent of an authorized constellation launched and in operation would be sufficient to meet the requirement. Comments are due 45 days after Federal Register publication.

The satellite industry is shoving back on wireless industry arguments against Boeing's plans for 2,900-plus V-band satellite constellation. "Authorizing V-band service does not require the Commission to choose between terrestrial and satellite services," the company said in an International Bureau filing Monday, taking aim at various wireless interest arguments that Boeing's proposed satellite constellation would hamper V-band use for 5G (see 1612020002). Satellite Industry Association said wireless arguments that the spectrum frontiers proceeding should supersede Boeing's application are flawed since the agency isn't required to complete more work on the frontiers before the bureau takes substantive action on the Boeing request.

The U.S. hopes to incorporate more commercial satellite capabilities into its national defense architecture, but changes first need to made in federal procurement rules to allow longer-term contracts, said Robert Tarleton, director-Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate, Air Force Space Command, at a satellite industry panel Tuesday. Tarleton said the Air Force is looking at issuing a Pathfinder that would let it buy transponder space on commercial satellites before launch, letting the agency be part of the design of the satellite architecture. Pathfinder is a DOD business model that lets the agency commit to using commercial satellite transponders for multiple years instead of shorter-term operations and maintenance leases. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is considering experimenting with an acquisition model where it would put out unclassified orders for imagery of specific areas or incidents -- such as troop placements in foreign countries -- and earth imaging companies could compete to provide the pixels, data and/or analysis, rather than its traditional approach of long-term acquisition contracts, said NGA Director-Source Strategies Chirag Parikh. He also said with capabilities from earth imaging satellite operators like DigitalGlobe and Planet Labs, imagery acquisition is no longer a challenge but data processing and analysis are, with the U.S. considering outsourcing more routine analysis work to commercial operators.

As some former opponents to Globalstar's terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) broadband plans sign off on its revised structure, some interested parties and observers tell us the proceeding could be at the stage where it's considered uncontroversial. It thus could see FCC action, if some commissioners' "no" votes change to "yes." House and Senate Republican Commerce committee chairmen had urged the agency not to act on any controversial items before the administration transition (see 1611150052). Meanwhile, another TLPS critic, Wi-Fi Alliance, may be changing its mind.

Independent programmers might have gained a bit of leverage in carriage talks with a few major multichannel video programming distributors after last month's FCC administrative law judge advisory ruling that Cablevision discriminated when it retiered Game Show Network in 2011 (see 1611230046), some cable industry insiders and experts told us. The ruling has ramifications for only a select group of MVPDs that also own content, such as Comcast and -- if its bid to buy Time Warner goes through -- AT&T, said one independent network executive. But those pay-TV operators are likely going to take extra steps to rationalize and justify retiering indie networks, and networks might be emboldened to be slightly more aggressive in their asks, the executive said. Cablevision in its purchase by Altice USA agreed to sever common control between its distribution operations and programming interests (see 1605040010).

Comcast doesn't see its broadband subscriber growth slowing in the near future, Chief Financial Officer Mike Cavanagh said at a UBS investor conference Wednesday. Comcast has added a million-plus broadband subscribers annually the past 10 years, and expects to ultimately add about 1.3 million this year, roughly the same as 2015, Cavanagh said, saying it still has big potential markets such as the roughly 6 million DSL homes in its footprint. Asked about the likelihood of the Trump administration undoing FCC Communications Act Title II reclassification of broadband, Cavanagh said opposition to that change was about "the overhang of where it could go" in new regulations. "Hopefully, that chilling effect is gone" with any Title II rollback, he said. Meanwhile, 5G is "plenty of opportunity" for Comcast but also potential threat if there are use cases that impinge on the company's offerings, he said. Cavanagh said penetration of Comcast's X1 video platform is about 45 percent of its footprint and that growth isn't expected to top out soon.

AT&T and Time Warner possibly could structure a deal that doesn't require FCC oversight, but their executives likely are still grappling with the issue of whether it's worth the difficulty, some deal watchers say. Not everyone is convinced such terms are in the offing, given the plethora of licenses TW has for broadcast auxiliary services and other operations. "You can't cancel them all," broadcast lawyer Peter Tannenwald of Fletcher Heald told us, saying if the FCC has the political will to get involved, it will find a way. Whether the FCC would have a hand in reviewing the deal has been a question mark (see 1610260022).

The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 conference report adopted by the House last week and expected to be voted on this week by the Senate includes language directing the FCC to protect the Defense Department's GPS network from terrestrial commercial operations in the L-band. A lawyer with satellite and spectrum clients told us the language cements the status quo of the FCC as the chief spectrum regulator. The FCC didn't comment Monday. Section 1698 of the bill, regarding interference to DOD's GPS system, requires that the FCC not allow commercial terrestrial operations in the 1525-1559 MHz or 1626.5-1660.5 MHz bands until at least 90 days after it "resolves concerns of widespread harmful interference by such operations ... to [DOD] GPS devices." The section also directs the agency, if it makes a decision to allow terrestrial operations in the band, to notify the House committees on Commerce and on Armed Services and the Senate committees on Commerce and on Armed Services. That notification is to include an explanation of how various concerns have been resolved. The bill also requires the defense secretary to assess quarterly the ability of DOD GPS devices to receive GPS satellite signals without widespread harmful interference and to determine if commercial communications systems are interfering or will interfere. Any such interference is to be reported to Congress, the bill said, with the notification to include a list of the devices at risk, the source of the interference, descriptions of the manner of the interference and the magnitude of its harm. The interference report also is required to spell out the duration of the interference or expected interference, including the conditions and circumstances of its occurrence; how that interference would or could affect national security; and DOD plans to address it. The reports are required for two years after the bill is enacted or until the defense secretary determines there's no widespread harmful interference from commercial services. The GPS Innovation Alliance didn't comment. Those provisions came from the House version of the bill, as the Senate version had no similar language, according to the joint explanatory statement of the Conference Committee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filed cloture Monday on the conference report. CTIA challenged some aspects of the House version of NDAA that would have seen the DOD supersede FCC oversight of spectrum (see 1605130054), the lawyer said. CTIA didn't comment. The lawyer also said the Senate likely will vote on the bill Tuesday.

The FCC Wireless Bureau preliminarily concluded AT&T's Data Free TV sponsored data service hurts competition and consumers and "interfere[s] with the 'virtuous cycle' needed to assure the continuing benefits of the Open Internet," it said in a letter to the company Thursday. A parallel letter to Verizon indicates the bureau has many of the same concerns about its FreeBee Data 360 zero-rating offering. The agency's two Republican commissioners lambasted the missives, with Commissioner Mike O'Rielly in a statement saying FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler "should direct the Bureau to halt this wild goose chase at once."

The pay-TV industry hopes to see the coming FCC make regulatory parity a priority, since cable is heavily regulated and its over-the-top competition is unregulated, said Cristina Pauze, ex-Time Warner Cable vice president-regulatory, at a Practising Law Institute conference Friday. Some parity might also require congressional action, but the deregulatory agenda of the incoming Republican-controlled Congress and White House "provides a lot of opportunity," she said.