The Satellite Industry Association repeated that the FCC...

docket 13-115 (http://bit.ly/16UH9Gz). The proceeding is to determine whether federal earth stations are to have full protection from interference when operating with commercial satellites (CD May 6 p5). The FCC should adopt SIA’s proposal for enhancing the current status of federal earth stations, it said: Because the FCC would have sole regulatory authority over the space segment of satellite systems operating in the fixed satellite services and mobile satellite services bands, “it can establish conclusively at the outset that its rules will apply to federal government operations, and that the bands will not be shared for regulatory purposes.” Boeing suggested that, to improve non-federal operators’ access to launch spectrum, the FCC should issue two-year experimental licenses instead of six-month special temporary authorizations, it said (http://bit.ly/GzJEIK). The company agreed it isn’t necessary for the FCC to re-engineer the current process by introducing a new co-primary non-federal allocation and associated rules, it said. Engineers for the Integrity of Broadcast Auxiliary Services Spectrum agreed with Comsearch’s concern that federal use of the extended satellite bands “should not be upgraded from secondary to co-primary, because these bands are extensively used by point-to-point terrestrial microwave stations,” it said (http://bit.ly/16e9onZ). Allowing federal downlinks in these bands that were no longer secondary “would give those sites super primary status because of the commission policy of protecting downlinks on all possible channels and all possible look angles,” EIBASS said. The group objects to allowing federal stations co-primary status in the extended Ku-band segment of 10.7-11.7 GHz, which is heavily used by Part 101 terrestrial FSS stations, it said. The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition doesn’t object to federal access to non-federal satellite spectrum as long as federal users comply with all established frequency coordination procedures and industry practices, it said (http://bit.ly/171vIhd). FWCC supported Comsearch’s proposals, including requiring federal earth station users seeking to operate in shared non-federal bands to follow the same frequency coordination procedures and industry best practices currently required for non-federal users, it said. The FCC also should delete the extended Ku downlink band “from its proposed policy to provide federal earth stations with protected status, so as to preserve the 10.7-11.7 GHz band for badly needed FSS links,” it said.