Broadband Access Coalition Wants FCC to Combine Midband Plans

a filing in docket 17-183. “The Commission can achieve this win-win-win solution by combining the Intelsat/Intel and BAC proposals. These proposals are not inconsistent with one another.” BAC said the Intel/Intelsat plan on its own isn’t enough. “Standing by itself, the Intelsat/Intel concept will do nothing to provide broadband service to unserved and underserved communities, and therefore, it fails to address Chairman [Ajit] Pai’s top priority: closing the digital divide.” BAC said no one knows how much spectrum fixed satellite service operators need or are using, because the federal database is inadequate. “What Intel appears to be proposing is that FSS satellite operators be given carte blanche to determine (1) how much spectrum they can make available; (2) what frequencies they can make available; and (3) how much to charge for this spectrum,” BAC said. “This is absurd.” AT&T said in a recent filing it supports BAC efforts for the FCC to obtain more information from satellite operators on their use of the band and would go even further. AT&T said, for example, FSS operators should have to provide: “Specification of earth station coordinates and receiver parameters relevant for co-existence studies, including but not limited to reliable 3D coordinates; azimuth and elevation directions of the antenna boresight; receiver antenna pattern, including gain and tilt; center frequency and bandwidth; noise figure; and information on the front end for the receiver to calculate minimum guard and power restrictions from co and adjacent channel operations.”