Eutelsat Talks Upper C-Band Clearing Timelines With FCC
Clearing as much as 60 MHz in the upper C band could happen within 12 months of an FCC order initiating an upper C-band transition, Eutelsat told agency officials. The company recapped its meetings with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's office…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
and with Commissioner Olivia Trusty in a docket 25-59 filing posted Tuesday. Eutelsat said it could get that 60 MHz free through compression and wouldn't need new satellite launches. It alternately could clear as much as 130 MHz within three years of an FCC order, it said, with two additional C-band satellites and all services compressed. Eutelsat urged the FCC to use the 2020 C-band transition framework as the foundation for any further reallocation of upper C-band spectrum. That would include a satellite-operator-led transition, structured financial incentives and reimbursement, it noted. Clearing meaningful additional C-band spectrum would require "significant" financial investment by Eutelsat, and financial incentives "should appropriately align with this effort," the company told the commission.