The FCC International Bureau appears intent on getting at least some non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite constellation applications processed and before the commissioners for approval before year's end, industry officials told us. Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday his office circulated U.S. market access applications of Space Norway and Telesat Canada, among 11 companies that submitted Ka- and Ku-band constellation plans in a processing round in November (see 1611160010). Asked after Tuesday's commissioners' meeting about the timing of processing and approving those NGSO applications, he said the agency will get them out "as we have the facts before us."
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking any analyses done by or for the FCC of public comments during the 2014-2015 open internet proceeding, the Wireline Bureau last week gave us 25 pages of various blog posts and said it was withholding the remaining responsive records. It said it was withholding reports, emails, memos and other materials on the analysis of docket 14-28 comments because releasing them through the FOIA process would cause competitive harm to the entity that created them. It cited the exemption of interagency and intra-agency records, saying since they reflect staff analysis, thought processes and recommendations, they "would impair candid discussions about the subject-matter [of the docket] and thereby diminish the deliberative process" that goes with agency orders. It also said such nonexempt information is so intertwined with exempt information that "reasonable segregation is not possible." The blog posts the FCC provided were on NPR in 2014, looking at a breakdown done by data analysis firm Quid, and a series of 2014 blog posts by social media analysis firm Textifter -- three about open internet comments and a variety of unrelated blog posts. How the agency is handling public comments in the current net neutrality proceeding has been questioned (see 1707180019).
Two items were removed Friday from Tuesday's commissioners' meeting agenda after being approved, the FCC said. Adopted was a requirement that QAM-based cable operators comply with the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers 40 standard for cable signal quality, and a draft item on relaxing certification and measurement requirements for AM broadcasters that use directional arrays. Both items were considered non-controversial and unanimous approval was expected (see 1709150003) and 1709150058). An FCC spokesman confirmed that both votes were unanimous.
Venture capital aversion to space startups is increasingly going by the wayside, speakers said at a Friday Women in Aerospace forum. "Space and venture capital would never be in the same room five years ago," but now most of the money behind the array of new launch startups is coming from VC, Quilty Analytics President Chris Quilty said. Euroconsult U.S.A. Managing Director Sima Fishman said in the commercial launch universe, it's generally thought there will be more private investors, but also fewer but larger commercial satellite operators due to mergers and acquisitions.
Despite questions about President Donald Trump's receptiveness to telco and media mergers and acquisitions, the administration likely showed less hostility to larger horizontal or vertical M&A, Comcast Senior Executive Vice President David Cohen said in an interview on C-SPAN's The Communicators to be televised starting Saturday and put online. At the same time, Cohen said, Trump's populist streak "could be a bit of a governor on M&A policy."
Satellite operators in low Earth orbit are falling behind geostationary orbit operators in preventing orbital debris, due to the age of some LEO satellites and less-rigorous regulation and enforcement by some nations, said Aerospace Space Innovation Directorate Senior Project Engineer Marlon Sorge during a panel Thursday. Global agreement and coordination on debris issues seems unlikely now, given the struggle international space rules face in general, said Michiru Nishida, the Japanese embassy's special adviser-arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation policy.
FCC International Bureau and eighth-floor staffers had meetings with satellite operators in recent days on the draft non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellite rules on next week's meeting agenda, show filings in docket 16-408. Some experts forecast 5-0 commissioner approval (see 1709110030).
The Ajit Pai FCC's top wireless priorities are making more spectrum available for flexible use in the low, mid- and high bands, policies that identify and eliminate barriers to infrastructure deployment, and policies that extend wireless to unserved and underserved areas, Wireless Bureau Chief Donald Stockdale said at an FCBA event Wednesday. He said barriers are "one of the critical issues" the agency is facing in 5G deployment, with the other chief hurdle being the freeing up of more spectrum for fifth generation.
The FCC proposal to replace avoidance angle rules with a trigger based on system noise temperature in the draft non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites rules order on next week's commissioners' meeting agenda (see 1709110030) is coming under fire from some operators. SpaceX in docket 16-408 filings posted Monday (see here and here) recapped meetings with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai and with International Bureau staff at which the company said the agency's proposed definition of in-line events "could be workable," though with uplinks it could result in "unintended but detrimental consequences" due to the wide variety of NGSO system architectures being proposed. It said any "one size fits all" approach to in-line events will raise the likelihood of having to resort to band splitting for uplinks. SpaceX said the FCC should add a topic to the Further NPRM, specifically defining in-line uplink event parameters, which would minimize those events and promote spectral efficiency. Also raising red flags about the fixed separation angle issue is Telesat Canada, which in a filing in the docket posted Monday recapped discussions with aides to Pai and to Commissioners Brendan Carr, Mignon Clyburn, Mike O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel (see here, here, here, here and here). It said the agency's proposed separation standard is as unworkable as its current fixed avoidance angle rules. It also said operators can't exchange information on many of the data items needed to make a trigger based on system noise temperature calculations in advance or in real time. Telesat Canada said "the only workable solution" is through ITU coordination. Intelsat said it's concerned geostationary orbit satellites wouldn't be adequately protected from harmful interference due to some NGSO operators seemingly not meeting equivalent power flux density (EPFD) limits required by the ITU. The company said the FCC needs to independently check the data of NGSO constellation applications it's reviewing and ask for corrections to ensure EPFD requirements, or, at least require the NGSO applicants to provide a set of input information for EPFD showing that third parties could verify. In a filing posted Tuesday, Space Norway said it particularly backed the draft order's proposed elimination of the global and domestic coverage requirements.
Localities hope the FCC cable signal performance quality draft order on commissioners' Sept. 26 agenda could resolve issues that have plagued some public, educational and government access channels, communications lawyers said. A 5-0 vote is likely since there doesn't seem to be any particular political opposition or issues, cable industry officials told us.