Intelsat, SES and Telesat committed to clear the C band on the FCC's incentivized accelerated timeline days before the deadline. SES said it's also filing a petition for review and notice of appeal in federal court to protect itself if the accelerated payments regime falls through. Other C-band satellite operators are expected to do likewise. The elections deadline is Friday.
Cable, state and consumer officials say legal fights in Maine and New Jersey with cable operators challenging state prorating laws aren't likely to be replicated elsewhere because momentum is unlikely for other statehouses to adopt such rules and many states lack cable authority. Not offering pro rata refunds is a relatively new cable practice, and Maine and New Jersey losing their fights with Charter and Altice, respectively, could be "a green light" for other cable operators to follow suit, said Consumers Union (CU) Senior Policy Counsel Jon Schwantes.
Many small and mid-sized broadband and voice providers quickly signed up for the Keep Americans Connected pledge extension (see 2005140063). Now, some said in interviews, expenses associated with KAC could start to become serious if it goes beyond its current June 30 span. Some don't expect the FCC pledge to get another extension.
Several petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's Ligado L-band plan approval were filed, as expected, (see 2004200039). The company's backers told us the likely audience is Capitol Hill, with the aim of trying to generate interest in a legislative solution. Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., said in an interview he's siding with the FCC amid continued headwinds from the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees and some other lawmakers (see 2005080043).
Other non-voice non-geostationary operators are urging the FCC to reject Swarm's petition for U.S. market access for its NVNG mobile satellite services in the 400 MHz band, saying it didn't justify getting a waiver, after missing by months the deadline for consideration in the 400 MHz band processing round. In an International Bureau petition to defer Monday, Myriota said Swarm hasn't established it can fully protect systems authorized as part of the NVNG UHF processing round. Hiber in a petition to defer or dismiss said waiving the cut-off deadline would cause regulatory and business uncertainty. Kineis said the NVNG processing round public notice effectively rejected waivers Hiber and Myriota sought on grounds similar to Swarm's request, and reopening the round now and accepting a petition months later would prejudice the rights of parties that acted in reliance on that PN. Swarm outside counsel didn't comment Tuesday.
Cable distributor interests and independent programmers are on opposite sides on the FCC's proposed amendments to program carriage dispute rules, in docket 20-70 comments posted Tuesday. An NPRM and Further NPRM were adopted in March (see 2003310066). The proposed program carriage and good faith negotiation complaint procedural rules changes would give more certainty to parties and a more consistent framework to adjudications, NCTA said. Clarifying statute of limitations language for program access, open video system and good faith negotiation complaints will encourage timely dispute resolution, it said. Having administrative law judge decisions in MVPD cases follow the same guidelines as other ALJ cases, such as when they take effect and automatic stays, will give due weight to the First Amendment implications of the decisions, it said. Also backing the FCC was Comcast (see here). AMC Networks said it's still important indie programmers get fair and nondiscriminatory carriage opportunities compared with competitors that may be affiliated with MVPDs. The programmer said the statute of limitations language should include a provision allowing complaints to be filed within a year of the content provider learning a distributor exercised a contractual right in a discriminatory manner. It said ALJ decision rules should include a six-month timeline for FCC review of those decisions once it's been appealed. And it urged a prohibition on retaliation against program carriage complainants. Ride TV, Newsmax, HDNet, KSE Outdoor Sportsman Group and WeatherNation TV said the current program carriage framework is woeful protection when dealing with MVPDs with all the leverage, and the FNPRM would curtail that protection further. Instead, promulgate good faith rules for MVPDs and programmers that prevent use of most-favored nation clauses, they asked. The statute of instantiations language in the FNPRM ignores that pay TV providers generally don't decline or refuse carriage proposals but never answer until indies acquiesce to one-sided terms, they said. Program carriage rules "have ... lost almost all of their deterrent effect," with an MVPD's claimed business justification becoming a major obstacle at the prima facie stage, said beIN Sports. It said the FCC needs to codify an anti-retaliation provision, good faith negotiation obligations and the automatic production of certain documents upon making a prima facie case, and clarify that the defendant holds the burden of proof and production after the complainant makes a prima facie case. It opposed adopting the ALJ proposal, saying immediate enforcement of a favorable ALJ decision is needed to avoid economic and reputational harm of not being carried.
Small satellite operators (SSO) challenging the FCC's C-band clearing order (see 2005050047) asked the agency to delay acting further pending judicial review before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Proceeding watchers said the agency is unlikely to accede. The commission didn't comment.
The FCC was close but not spot-on in its preliminary cost category schedule for C-band relocation expenses, said numerous interested parties in docket 18-122 filings posted Friday, suggesting additions and changes. There was some opposition to reimbursements for gold-plated upgrades and support for not finalizing the cost category schedule until after the FCC has filed, reviewed and approved satellite operator transition plans.
Scrambling to fill programming hours amid canceled community events and having to train public officials on the use of videoconferencing platforms are among challenges public, educational and government channels face during the pandemic, operators and officials told us. The smallest operations had the toughest time, and there are funding concerns the longer the pandemic goes on, said Alliance for Community Media President Mike Wassenaar.
COVID-19 effects this fiscal year should be "limited," Eutelsat CEO Rodolphe Belmer said Thursday as the company announced Q3 results. Revenue of about $348 million in the quarter ended March 31, down from about $364 million last year, was in line with expectations. It said it's "confident" it will meet the 2021 and 2023 C-band clearing deadlines that would make it eligible for $507 million in acceleration payments. It said the planned launch this year of its Eutelsat Quantum satellite likely will be delayed by the pandemic's effect on satellite manufacturers and launchers. The company said its Konnect satellite, launched in January, should start providing service by year's end, but deployment of ground gateways will likely be partially delayed due to the pandemic. Intelsat, in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Wednesday, aimed for the C-band accelerated deadlines (see 2005140028).