FCC Eyeing 2 GHz Drafts; One Would Split Spectrum between ICO, TerreStar
A draft order equally splitting 40 MHz of 2 GHz band mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum between TMI/TerreStar and ICO is among several circulating at bureau level, we're told. The FCC earlier this year tentatively decided to give ICO and TMI/TerreStar each 1/3 of the spectrum, soliciting comment on how to allocate the other 1/3. One draft order, still at the International Bureau, would give each firm 2x10 MHz, we're told. No final draft has been circulated on the 8th floor, but that’s expected soon.
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The even-split draft reflects an Oct. 7 letter to FCC Chmn. Martin from Sens. Burns (R-Mont.) and Landrieu (D- La.), we're told. The FCC should “allocate the necessary spectrum to mobile satellite licensees as expeditiously as possible,” they said. The 2 GHz issue gained traction when hurricanes reminded regulators and lawmakers of satellite communication’s utility, championed in the Burns/Landrieu letter, which called satellite services “a critical component” of the U.S. telecom infrastructure. “But today, mobile satellite systems are starved for frequencies,” Burns and Landrieu said. Hurricane Katrina taught the U.S. that “we cannot assume the ground-based telecommunications infrastructure will survive and, therefore, it alone will not suffice,” they said.
But splitting the 40 MHz of 2 GHz spectrum evenly between ICO and TMI is only one of several proposed drafts, a source said. Other versions posit other arrangements, the source said. The Commission is trying to push through as many items as possible before Comr. Abernathy departs Dec. 9, but FCC officials we spoke with said they have no sense of whether a decision on 2 GHz will be one of those items.
“This is a very complicated decision,” said an attorney representing a firm involved in the proceeding. “I don’t think it’s the type that the Commission would push out. We're guessing the Commission is going to try to decide on 2 GHz during the first quarter of next year.” The proceeding may not be the Commission’s “highest priority” at the moment, the attorney said.
But the firms involved, particularly TerreStar, have been pushing the FCC to split the spectrum between the incumbent licensees sooner, not later. At the least, ICO and TerreStar and ICO want to know what spectrum they'll have for massive next-generation satellites under construction in anticipation of FCC action -- ICO is said to have made a $43.1 million payment to Space Systems/Loral. A timely ruling on 2 GHz division is key to MSS system financing, TerreStar has said.
The issue has the wireless and satellite industries at one another’s throats. Led by CTIA, the wireless industry has argued the FCC should reallocate the abandoned spectrum to terrestrial use and auction it. ICO and TerreStar want the agency to allocate the frequencies to them, not other MSS operations or wireless carriers. Other satellite interests want the Commission to keep the spectrum for MSS, but disagree on whether to allocate the frequencies to ICO and TerreStar.
A recent cross-industry letter urged the FCC to launch a new rulemaking proceeding on the matter, rather than dividing the band between the 2 incumbent licensees (CD Nov 18 p10). It said ICO and TerreStar “have yet to justify the need for more satellite spectrum.” The letter was signed by CTIA, Cingular, T-Mobile, the American Petroleum Institute, Inmarsat, United Telecom Council, Total RF and the Society of Bcst. Engineers.
On the satellite end, both Inmarsat and Globalstar want in on 2 GHz and have petitioned the FCC to that effect. Inmarsat wants the FCC to open up a new proceeding to divvy the extra MSS spectrum, saying ICO and TerreStar would be a “cozy duopoly” in the S-band. Globalstar wants its cancelled 2 GHz license reinstated so it can compete. The firm recently told the FCC it’s talking to 2 satellite makers about building a 2 GHz satellite. Globalstar argues that without Globalstar in 2 GHz, there won’t be a U.S.-licensed S-band MSS system.
Lawmakers saw the importance of the spectrum even before Hurricane Katrina. In fact, in mid-Aug., Sens. Burns and Clinton (D-N.Y.) asked the Homeland Security Dept. (DHS) to take the lead on the 2 GHz contest in a letter to DHS Secy. Michael Chertoff. The lawmakers cited the security benefits of a “next-generation, ubiquitous, interoperable nation-wide wireless system,” and said they favor allocating the spectrum to licensees TMI and ICO, not terrestrial wireless providers and other satellite interests seeking the spectrum (CD Aug 17 p4). Letters from the International Chiefs of Police to the American Farm Bureau echoed that view.