Adelstein Talks Satellite, Raises a Few Regulatory Concerns

To Adelstein, serving the public interest as it relates to satellite “means securing access” and opening new frequencies for additional capacity. The Commission is working on both in several active proceedings, he said, including one that’s on an FCC fast track: The 17/24 GHz “reverse DBS band” proceeding. The reverse band proceeding would open up about 400 MHz of new DBS frequencies, and it’s “on a quick schedule,” he said. The Commission heard this month from FSS and DBS operators on technical and licensing questions it posed in the rulemaking, he said. “While there has been a little disagreement between satellite companies on some of these questions… it’s clear that all parties agree the new spectrum should be made available as quickly as possible,” he said.

The Commission has “had a particularly busy few months looking at ways to improve spectrum availability for DBS and other broadcast satellite systems,” Adelstein said. A separate but related DBS question on the Commission’s plate is how to license empty 12/17 GHz DBS spectrum post- NorthPoint decision. The FCC this summer launched a rulemaking on how to license the DBS frequencies, after the U.S. Appeals Court, D.C. said the Commission couldn’t auction them. The 12/17 GHz rulemaking also formally raised the “tweener” debate over opening orbital spaces between existing DBS satellites.

“The tweener question is an important and complex one, and I was glad the Commission agreed to consider it through a comprehensive rulemaking process rather than simply rule on the applications,” Adelstein said. DirecTV and EchoStar, once at odds on tweeners, now agree that they raise significant interference concerns, Adelstein said.

Adelstein encouraged satellite attendees to “keep an eye” on the tweener and reverse band DBS proceedings. “While I supported the rulemaking, I did have a concern with a portion of the item that stated the Commission ‘may’ grant pending tweener applications before completing the rulemaking.” That struck Adelstein and Comr. Copps as “putting the proverbial cart before the horse,” he said: “We believe the better course would be to refrain from approving any applications until the Commission can develop a comprehensive framework for these matters.” The FCC’s job is to protect existing DBS subscribers first, he said.

Adelstein said a DirecTV-EchoStar merger wouldn’t necessarily sail through the FCC. Video competition from telcos is still nascent, he said. Though antitrust decisions do always depend on the definition of the market, “at first blush it’s kind of hard to justify” a DBS combination, he said.

The FCC really wants to see ATC succeed, especially for rural and public safety services, Adelstein said. The commissioner noted that the FCC’s ATC rules require the terrestrial aspect of an ATC network to truly “be ancillary” to its space segment. “I'm hopeful that this is going to work out, and that it’s going to work out as intended with the terrestrial component being truly ancillary,” he said. Meantime, USF is also on the Commission’s mind, particularly as USF reformers mull the prospect of reverse auctions. Satellite broadband interests have been pushing to see satellite play a role in USF’s future. “Inevitably, USF support must move toward broadband,” Adelstein said. “We want it to be technology neutral, and available for wireline and wireless alike.”

Adelstein said has been concerned about satellite radio and broadcasters’ lobbying efforts against it. XM and Sirius have been in a bad regulatory phase on 2 major fronts: (1) FM modulators for plug & play devices were exceeding emissions limits. (2) The operators’ terrestrial repeater networks were built differently from the way the FCC originally set out in repeater STAs. “We've had 2 rounds of tests and remodulations,” on the FM modulators, and XM and Sirius have fixed their manufacturing standards, Adelstein said. Broadcasters have lingering concerns, but the Enforcement Bureau and the parties involved are working them out, he said. As far as XM and Sirius’s variant ground networks go: “We're looking at this now and working with all the parties to try to resolve these problems once and for all… We want to see that our rules are complied with and that repeaters are operating according to their licenses.”

Adelstein expressed concern about XM’s failed attempt to acquire WCS Wireless and its WCS licenses. The firms broke off the deal in May, after waiting almost a year for FCC approval. “It should have been pretty noncontroversial,” Adelstein said: “But ten months went by and I never got an item to review… because, I presume, of strong opposition from the broadcasters.” Adelstein said situations like that make him wary: “I get nervous when a company is trying to innovate in wide open spectrum and for some reason it gets killed because of concerns from a competitor.” That’s not the way the FCC should do business, he said. It wasn’t even a partisan issue, he said: “Satellite issues usually aren’t.”