DOJ and FCC Seek Public Comment on Matters Concerning Earth Stations

Two agencies seek comment on space-related matters.

Department of Justice.  The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division seeks comment on a proposed final judgment, filed at the same time as the complaint described in last week’s post, requiring Communications & Power Industries to divest its subsidiary, CPI ASC Signal Division Inc., along with certain tangible and intangible assets.

Copies of the complaint, proposed final judgment, and competitive impact statement are available for inspection on the Antitrust Division’s website at http://www.justice.gov/atr and at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Comments are due within sixty days of the notice’s date.

Federal Communications Commission. The FCC seeks comment on optional lump sum payments for C-band relocation:

the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (the Bureau) invites interested parties to provide additional comment on the preliminary lump sum categories and payment amounts available to Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) incumbent earth station operators as part of the 3.7–4.2 GHz band (C-band) transition. In the 3.7 GHz Band Report and Order, the Commission adopted rules to make 280 megahertz of mid-band spectrum available for flexible use, plus a 20 megahertz guard band, throughout the contiguous United States by transitioning existing services out of the lower portion and into the upper 200 megahertz of the C-band. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order established that new 3.7 GHz Service licensees will reimburse the reasonable relocation costs of eligible incumbents, including incumbent FSS earth station operators, to transition to the upper 200 megahertz of the band. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order established that incumbent FSS earth station operators may either accept: (1) Reimbursement for their actual reasonable relocation costs by maintaining satellite reception; or (2) a lump sum reimbursement ‘‘based on the average, estimated costs of relocating all of their incumbent earth stations’’ to the upper 200 megahertz of the C-band. The 3.7 GHz Report and Order directed the Bureau to establish a cost category schedule of the types of expenses that incumbents may incur.

The Bureau has updated the classes of earth stations and developed proposed lump sum amounts for each class of earth station. The Bureau now seeks additional comment:

on the proposed earth station classes and proposed lump sum amounts. The Bureau also seeks comment on the methodology for determining average estimated costs. Do the modified categories accurately reflect the relevant classes of earth stations? Do the lump sum amounts reflect the average estimated costs of relocation for each class of earth station, as required by the 3.7 GHz Report and Order?

Updated 6/11/20 with FCC’s correction:  Comments due:  June 15, 2020 (this date has been corrected from yesterday’s post saying comments were due June 16.  The FCC released a new notice today, June 11, stating:  On page 35086, in the second column, in the DATES section, ‘‘June 16, 2020’’ should read ‘‘June 15, 2020’’.)