NORTHPOINT-DBS DEBATE CONTINUES WITH NEW FILINGS
Northpoint-DBS debate continued Mon. with Satellite Bcstg. & Communications Assn. (SBCA) ex parte filing at FCC again claiming terrestrial startup wasn’t entitled to free publicly owned spectrum or pioneer’s preference. Northpoint had argued in earlier filing that SBCA was hypocritical because its members obtained legislation from Congress exempting them from auction. Industry sources continued to predict final Commission decision is weeks away. “A decision isn’t imminent,” source said: “We haven’t heard anything. They seem to be plodding through a proceeding. A lot of people are still on pins and needles.”
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SBCA accused Northpoint Mon. of “bitter round of name- calling” in reply comments to Jan. 28 filing. “Material attached to the name calling reveals that being called a hypocrite [by Northpoint attorney] J.C. Rozendaal is best compared to being called ugly by a frog,” SBCA said. Assn. said Northpoint continued to misrepresent meaning of Open- Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act. ORBIT doesn’t exempt domestic satellite services such as DBS from normal auction process and it most certainly doesn’t exempt terrestrial service such as Northpoint, SBCA said.
Northpoint’s claims of creating new spectrum are false, SBCA argued. It said Northpoint’s new technology boiled down to “you come from the south, we'll come from the north.” Mitre report proved that technical approach is flawed, SBCA said. In separate filing, SBCA also opposed plan by Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition A (FWCC) to allow point-to- point service within 12.2-12.7 GHz band. SBCA said spectrum sharing presented “significant interference threat.” As it did in Northpoint proceeding, SBCA asked FCC to hold off on decision until independent tests could be conducted.