‘Practical ability’ to get international satellite access indepen...
“Practical ability” to get international satellite access independent of Intelsat “has been painfully limited” since direct access was allowed 2-1/2 years ago, Worldcom and Sprint said in petition to FCC to condition Comsat’s authority to assign satellite licenses to…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Intelsat (IB 02- 87). Despite direct access, they said, “Comsat has been able to use its control over Intelsat capacity… to maintain large and unjustifiable markups on wholesale Intelsat services without losing significant market share,” they said. Companies said FCC should require nondiscriminatory pricing and keep Intelsat subject to incentive-based regulation. AT&T, in separate petition to deny, said FCC should allow license transfers only on condition that Intelsat capacity be available to U.S. users at same rates, terms and conditions as former Comsat World Systems (CWS). It also said former CWS should operate separately from Intelsat entity providing space segment capacity, and that Intelsat entity should provide service on common carrier basis. Litigation Recovery Trust (LRT), meanwhile, said joint petition of Lockheed, Comsat and Intelsat should be withdrawn as defective because it “misrepresents the current status of the Lockheed/Comsat licenses, and further fails to disclose information critical to assessing the qualifications of Lockheed and Comsat to continue as Commission licensees.” LRT represents entities involved in long-running business dispute with Comsat. Group’s basic argument is that “Lockheed does not possess a final grant of authority to the Comsat licenses, which it is seeking to assign to Intelsat.” LRT also said “fraud, misrepresentations, failure to disclose and violation of public interest standards” raised qualification issues.