[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 19, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7287-7288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3722]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 25 and 101

[IB Docket No. 00-203; FCC-02-17]


Partial Band Licensing and Loading Standards for Earth Stations 
in the FSS That Share Spectrum With Terrestrial Services, Blanket 
Licensing for Small Aperture Terminals in the C-Band, Routine Licensing 
of 3.7 Meter Transmit and Receive Stations at C-Band, and Deployment of 
Geostationary-Orbit FSS Earth Stations in the Shared Portion of the Ka-
Band

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; termination of consideration.

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SUMMARY: This document terminates the consideration of issues related 
to the FWCC request for declaratory ruling and petition for rulemaking 
in the proceeding in IB Docket No. 00-203. We conclude that the record 
in this proceeding provides an insufficient basis to impose the 
proposed conditions upon Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) earth stations 
in bands that are shared on a co-primary basis with Fixed Service (FS) 
operations. Additionally, we defer to a future Order the petition for 
reconsideration and the request contained in the ex parte letter filed 
by Hughes concerning deployment of geostationary orbit fixed-satellite 
service earth stations in the shared portion of the Ka-band.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward R. Jacobs, Planning & 
Negotiations Division, International Bureau. (202) 418-0624 or via 
electronic mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Second 
Report and Order in IB Docket No. 00-203, adopted January 23, 2002 and 
released January 30, 2002. The full text of this Commission decision is 
available for inspection and copying during normal business hours in 
the FCC Reference Center, (Room CY-A257), 445 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC and may also be purchased from the Commission copy 
contractor, International Transcription Services (ITS), Inc., (202) 
857-3800, 1231 20th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036.

Summary of the Second Report and Order

    1. In this Order the Commission terminates its consideration of the 
issues raised by the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition (FWCC). We 
conclude that the record in this proceeding provides an insufficient 
basis to impose the FWCC proposed conditions upon Fixed-Satellite 
Service (FSS) earth stations in bands that are shared on a co-primary 
basis with Fixed Service (FS) operations.
    2. Specifically, the Commission finds that the record lacks 
necessary information on how to achieve more equitable sharing of the 
spectrum. As previously noted, the FWCC/Onsat/Hughes NPRM, 65 FR 7051, 
November 24, 2000, rejected FWCC's specific proposals to achieve more 
equitable sharing. Instead, the FWCC/Onsat/Hughes NPRM proposed in 
essence to achieve greater equity in the sharing of spectrum by 
amending Sec. 25.203 of the Commission's rules to indicate that, under 
certain circumstances an FSS earth station licensee must demonstrate 
that it is using, has recently used, or has plans to use the requested 
spectrum in the near future. Both the FS and the FSS commenters, 
however, rejected the proposed rule. The FWCC rejected it because it 
believed that such procedures may result in disputes over an earth 
station's ``demonstrated use'' of frequencies at the worst possible 
time, that is, when an FS applicant is attempting to finalize 
coordination and begin operations. The FWCC also rejected the proposal 
in the FWCC/Onsat/Hughes NPRM because it would not allow an earth 
station to reserve specific frequencies to use in the event of 
satellite or transponder failure. The FSS commenters rejected the 
proposed rule for other reasons, including that there was no data to 
back up the claims of problems; that the proposed rules would impose 
burdensome administrative requirements while decreasing flexibility; 
and that the proposed rules constrain the provision of emergency 
services, and provide no relief in the event of satellite failure. The 
comments of the FWCC include additional proposals for how to achieve 
more equitable sharing of the spectrum. The Commission agrees, however, 
with the reply comments of the FSS operators, and concludes that these 
counter-proposals are unsuitable for substantially the same reasons 
articulated in the FWCC/Onsat/Hughes NPRM for denying the FWCC 
Petition. That is, FWCC's proposals fail to fully and properly take 
into account the fact that the FSS and FS services have significantly 
different requirements for access to the electromagnetic spectrum in 
order to meet their business needs, and these needs must be recognized 
and accommodated in the context of the entire interference environment, 
in any rules that we adopt to address the perceived ``inequities.'' 
Thus, the Commission finds that this record presents no effective 
solution that addresses the concerns raised in this proceeding.
    3. The Commission is, nonetheless, open to new proposals or 
approaches that could effectively address concerns that have been 
raised regarding the equitable sharing of the spectrum. We, therefore, 
do not foreclose the possibility that changes to our rules could 
improve the sharing environment and licensing processes for both the FS 
and FSS services.
    4. Finally, the Commission defers to a future Order the petition 
for reconsideration and the request contained in the ex parte letter 
filed by Hughes concerning deployment of geostationary orbit fixed-
satellite service earth stations in the shared portion of the Ka-band.

[[Page 7288]]

Ordering Clauses

    Pursuant to sections 4(i), 7(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r) 
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 
157(a), 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), and 303(r), this Second Report and 
Order is hereby ADOPTED. The Commission's Consumer Information Bureau, 
Reference Information Center, SHALL SEND a copy of this Second Report 
and Order to the Chief, Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-3722 Filed 2-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P