Satellite EAS Rules Recon Petition Denied, Approved in Part
The FCC partially rejected and partially granted a 2005 petition for reconsideration by satellite operators on the agency's emergency alert system report and order (see 0601040124). In an order in Wednesday's Daily Digest, commissioners rejected the ask by Intelsat, SES…
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and the former PanAmSat, which was acquired by Intelsat, that EAS obligations for Ku-band fixed satellite service licensees move to the video programming distributors that lease transponder capacity from the licensees. It rejected an alternative ask that it not apply FSS EAS rules to FSS operations covered by lease agreements already in place when the EAS requirements took effect. It said over the past decade in which the rules have been in effect, it hasn't heard from FSS licensees about big problems with rules implementation. But the agency said it adopts more specific criteria for determining when EAS obligations are triggered for FSS licensees whose satellites provide programming aimed primarily at consumers outside the U.S. The FCC said another pending petition for partial reconsideration of the EAS order by the former XM Radio seeks reconsideration of unrelated issues and will be addressed separately.