Iridium continues to have profound worries about Ligado's proposed broadband terrestrial low-power service, CEO Matt Desch said in an interview. He said there needs to be industry-driven discussion on tackling space debris management. The company, meanwhile, expects this year to be in a position to start paying down debt and generating free cash flow instead of investing vast fortunes on building and launching satellites, he said.
MVPDs and broadcasters largely backed the FCC in its NPRM proposing changes to its Part 76 rules to allow more use of electronic delivery of MVPD communications. Broadcasters in docket 17-317 comments also called the proceedings good opportunities for changes in triennial carriage election rules. Replies are due March 2.
Despite a spate of programming blackouts coming with claims of cable operators violating the FCC's rule on 30-day notices of cable lineup changes, and Charter Communications pushes for clarity on that rule, it's not clear whether there's appetite or interest at the FCC, experts and insiders told us.
Video distributors and allies are in lockstep wanting the FCC to eliminate Form 325 reporting requirements. ITTA and the American Cable Association in docket 17-290 comments this week said most of the information requested by 325 hasn't been recently used in any major policy decisions, and the information the agency has used is available from other sources. ACA said the form's data -- asked only of cable operators -- is of shrinking value to evaluating the video market given cable's shrinking slice of that pie. It said short of eliminating the reporting requirements, the FCC should no longer require it of cable operators with fewer than 20,000 subscribers. ITTA said supports the NPRM tentative conclusions (see 1711160054) the form no longer should include channel lineup information, available elsewhere, or modem and telephony data, also being collected on Form 477. ITTA said if the agency retains the document, it could "alleviate its burdensomeness" by staggering the filings so smaller systems file only every five years rather than via random sampling and by establishing a fixed filing date so as to give abundant notice. ITTA said if 325 is retained, the FCC should automatically designate some sections as confidential since the information often has confidentiality requests. NCTA said 325 is "a prime example of unnecessary regulatory burden." Verizon said if the FCC needs similar information for a regulatory or reporting purpose, it can ask providers on an as-needed basis. Replies are due Feb. 27 (see 1712110009).
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's championing U.S. market access for SpaceX's planned broadband constellation probably reflects him wanting to elevate forward-looking satellite related items, an FCC official told us. Several said the SpaceX item circulated Wednesday doesn't seem to raise any obvious red flags that might result in eighth-floor opposition. Pai, announcing Wednesday the draft was circulated, said SpaceX and other non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite operators seeking licenses or U.S. market access are one potential way to bridge the digital divide. Satellite technology can reach rural or unserved areas that fiber and cell towers don't reach and provide more competition in areas that have terrestrial Internet access, he said. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel in a statement said, “The next generation of satellites will multiply the number of stations in our skies, creating extraordinary new opportunities for connectivity. The FCC will need to move quickly to facilitate these services and at the same time address new challenges with coordination and debris.” The FCC, Pai's office and SpaceX didn't comment. The commissioners at their June meeting approved OneWeb's application for U.S. market access for its 720-satellite NGSO constellation (see 1706220039). Space Norway and Telesat Canada NGSO applications were approved on circulation (see 1711030063). In a letter to the Office of Engineering and Technology earlier this month, SpaceX said it's planning for an upcoming launch of two test NGSOs, Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b.
From ensuring localism to redefining media markets amid shifting industry dynamics, the FCC's eighth floor has a variety of media priorities, media aides to the five commissioners said at a FCBA panel Tuesday. Mike O'Rielly aide Brooke Ericson said with the 2018 quadrennial review of ownership rules this year (see 1801080059), her boss hopes for a redefinition of media markets that better reflects the market. Chairman Ajit Pai aide Alison Nemeth said he has been clear about his goals of either modernizing or eliminating regulations, especially given how media rules often have gone long without any review. Mignon Clyburn aide David Grossman said she continues to push her independent programming NPRM, though the issue hasn't moved since its 3-2 approval in 2016 (see 1609290036). She also remains focused on localism and diversity, he said. While the media market has changed, that doesn't necessarily translate into greater accessibility, since many over-the-top services are out of reach to some consumers due to broadband unavailability or finances, he added. Asked about the effect of publicly releasing items in advance of monthly meetings, Jessica Rosenworcel aide Kate Black said it gives more time for finding compromise on items. Aides said it also reduces the amount of guesswork in ex parte meetings on what's in items, making for more-focused meetings. Nemeth said along with front loading bureaus' work, leaving less time for last-minute tweaks, it resulted in people increasingly skipping meetings with bureaus and trying to set up meetings with the eighth floor, "a bad move." Commissioner Brendan Carr aide Evan Swarztrauber said parties shouldn't skip meeting offices they think will disagree with then, since eighth-floor offices want to hear an array of viewpoints. Asked about the broadcast TV repacking time frame and financing, Nemeth said Pai's office has no reason to think it will go beyond 39 months, but the $1.75 billion fund is likely insufficient. She and Ericson said neither commissioner is interested in revisiting the OTT-as-MVPD proceeding. Asked about last month's false missile alert in Hawaii, Ericson said O'Rielly was happy with how the emergency alert system worked in distribution, and problems came in the alert generation.
Pointing to FCC Section 25.159(b) rules aimed at preventing spectrum speculation, non-geostationary orbit satellite constellation operators oppose Boeing's ask to substitute OneWeb Chairman Greg Wyler and his SOM1101 for two of its pending NGSO applications (see 1801020007). A satellite lawyer said the FCC likely will dispose of the Boeing petitions quickly as it tries to move on the pending applications, with the agency highly unlikely to go along given how approval goes against rules and implications for other proceedings that involve attributable interest issues, like spectrum auctions. Boeing and Wyler didn't comment Tuesday. The company argued Wyler doesn't have attributable interest in OneWeb (see 1801020007).
Geostationary satellites likely soon will be made with mission extension features built in, and in-orbit servicing capabilities will likely be the first of a variety of in-orbit capabilities like swapping out of payloads, experts said at a Washington Space Business Roundtable talk Monday. Payload upgrade "is a game changer," said SSL Vice President-Space Infrastructure and Civil Space Al Tadros.
Facing another year of swiftly growing retransmission consent fees paid to broadcasters, the cable industry and experts say it's unclear when, or if, that rate of increase will begin to moderate. That broadcasters have been able to keep those rates of increases this long is surprising, given declining broadcaster ratings and the proliferation of other content sources like over the top, said Duke University Shepley professor of public policy Philip Napoli.
SES' signing onto the joint Intelsat/Intel plan for clearing portions of the C-band downlink spectrum for sharing with terrestrial mobile operations (see 1710020047) greatly increases the likelihood of that proposal moving forward at the FCC, satellite industry insiders told us. Citing a "duty and mission" to protect satellite C-band operations from disruption, SES CEO Karim Sabbagh said Friday the aim is to "ensure that the expansion of the C-band ecosystem in the U.S. will protect the interests of hundreds of established services and millions of American end-users, while at the same time paving the way for the creation of next-generation 5G terrestrial services.”