COMMISSION ADOPTS SPECTRUM-SHARING PLAN FOR KU-BAND

Avoidance of In-Line Interference Events sharing option, 3rd of 4 considered, provides necessary regulation while allowing market forces to direct course of service, Commission said. FCC said it wanted to select sharing plan that would provide equal access to available spectrum, avoid spectrum warehousing, encourage system flexibility. Order involves FCC rulemaking that started in 1998 when Skybridge filed application. Boeing, Denali, Hughes, Skybridge, Teledesic and Virtual GEO are seeking licenses to use service and have 30 days to file amendments. Once applicants have done so, licenses will be awarded expeditiously so new service can start, Commission said.

Licensed companies will have equal access to shared spectrum, but operating conditions will be less than optimal in instances when Earth stations and space stations are so aligned they create in-line interference event. Commission described in-line interference event as unintentional transmission in either direction between an Earth station of one system and satellite of another caused by physical alignment. When that occurs, NGSO FSS Earth station would receive highest interference level from other NGSO FSS systems transmitting satellite when satellite mainbeam transmission was aligned with Earth station antenna. Conversely, other NGSO FSS system’s satellite would receive highest interference level by in-line transmission path of Earth station’s mainbeam transmission.

Potential for interference increases with number of NGSO FSS systems. By adopting 10 degrees avoidance angle between satellites of different networks, impact on systems that are more susceptible to interference should be reduced while not overly constraining them, R&O said.

In-Line Interference sharing plan was adopted despite opposition from Virtual GEO, which proposed homogenous constellation designs, Commission said. If Virtual GEO’s projections are correct, its constellation design holds promise of re-creating capacity of GEO orbit, in new locations in northern and southern hemispheres, and in multiple frequency bands, FCC said. It said it didn’t want to impose design on other applicants. It also said various plans submitted by Virtual GEO wouldn’t ameliorate lack of support for its proposal. In first proposal, Virtual GEO sought to evenly split all available Ku-band spectrum. Virtual GEO would have received half of spectrum and remaining applicants half that would have “been extremely favorable authorization,” Commission said. Assertion that future operators could be accommodated in its constellation design did little to mitigate favoritism of proposal, FCC said.

Commission set one-year milestone for satellite manufacturing contracts, 2 years for critical design review, 2-1/2 years to begin physical construction of satellites and 3-1/2 years to complete construction and launch of first 2 satellites. Each licensed NGSO FSS system must be launched within 6 years of authorization. Certificates of milestone requirements are to be filed within 10 days. Each licensee also must file annual report with FCC on June 30 of each year detailing progress on satellite construction and launch along with any potential problems they have encountered.

FCC struck blow for spectrum efficiency, Virtual GEO said. CEO David Castiel said decision would advance new, competitive services “unconstrained by interference and spectrum shortage.” He also was pleased Commission had rejected what he called “limited and costly technique of satellite diversity” as means to avoid interference. Default sharing will allow Virtual GEO network to flourish, Castiel said. He said company would begin work on high-speed Internet, video-on-demand and digital cinema. However, order still left doubt “if more than 2 companies will ever launch service,” industry source said: “Virtual GEO is the least expensive and Skybridge is the only other company that has potential. Boeing and the others will probably be happy with construction contracts.”