Tim Warren

Outgoing FCC Office of Strategic Policy Chief Paul de Sa is a new target of Sen. Charles Grassley’s push for insight into the FCC’s process in conditionally approving LightSquared’s terrestrial use of its frequencies. De Sa, who has said he will leave in February, is seen by many as playing a key role in making the case for LightSquared’s merits at the highest levels at the FCC. Grassley, R-Iowa, asked FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a letter Wednesday to make de Sa available to answer questions before he leaves government.

Hosted payloads seem unlikely to become the norm in the satellite industry in the near future and the lack of government involvement is worrisome, Iridium CEO Matt Desch told the Washington Space Business Roundtable. While there’s hope for the hosted payloads in the future, the idea remains very much nascent, he said Thursday. Iridium, which had advertised a significant amount of space on its coming IridiumNEXT constellation but has so far been unable to fill it, likely has found a solution, he said. Iridium and the mobile satellite service (MSS) industry is fraught with misperceptions, he said.

A letter from the Space-Based Positioning Navigation and Timing (PNT) Executive Committee to the NTIA released Friday is raising questions about the FCC’s ability to allow LightSquared to move forward, said industry executives. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2012, signed New Year’s Eve, which prevents the agency from lifting conditions on LightSquared without resolving Defense Department concerns, could be in play due to the letter, the executives said. LightSquared said the PNT process for review was deeply flawed and the NTIA should assert itself to take over the next testing phase. The PNT committee, co-chaired by the DOT and DOD deputy secretaries, works to “advise and coordinate federal departments and agencies on matters concerning,” according to the PNT website.

The fight between the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) and the city of Philadelphia at the FCC over a city ordinance restricting satellite antenna placement is bringing out some larger issues on the federal government’s role in municipality governance, said communications lawyers we spoke to. The SBCA, the longtime watchdog for violations of Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rules, filed a complaint with the FCC last year that the city had violated those rules. The comment cycle on the proceeding finished recently and has included filings from several major cities and associations, plus DirecTV and Dish Network.

Efforts to standardize carrier ID in satellite broadcast uplinks are moving forward quickly, though there’s some disagreement among satellite operators about the timing, said industry executives. There are two standards being considered for the service, one that is more likely for use in the immediate future and another that’s in development.

LightSquared’s petition for declaratory ruling Tuesday (CD Dec 21 p8) seeks to hold the FCC’s and the GPS industry’s feet to the fire by dealing with the unresolved issue of L-band and GPS spectrum rights, said LightSquared Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle in an interview Wednesday. The LightSquared filing seemed to show a new tone in dealing with the agency, perhaps reflecting frustration with the continued regulatory uncertainty and a coming network agreement deadline with Sprint, said industry executives. A GPS industry group accused LightSquared of constructing “revisionist” history, during a conference call with reporters.

Congress seems likely to eventually pass incentive auction authority for mobile satellite service S-band spectrum, though the issue may be moot once Dish Network takes control of the spectrum, said industry executives. While there are several pieces of legislation in Congress which differ between authorizing general incentive auction authority or specifying MSS spectrum, either way would have the effect of giving the FCC the ability to auction the spectrum, they said.

An FCC International Bureau draft report on the competitiveness of the satellite market points to competitive concerns in the marketplace, said industry executives and an agency official. The report, which analyzes three years -- 2008, 2009 and 2010 -- is expected to voice some agency worry on satellite operator capacity pricing, they said. The report, which will be considered as part of the FCC’s Tuesday open meeting, is on circulation and could still see modification.

LightSquared will soon file its own proposal to help define the future for the upper 10 MHz of the L-band, said Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle during a company press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday. GPS interests recently filed a request at the FCC for the agency to declare the upper 10 MHz out of bounds for terrestrial services forever (CD Nov 9 p7). LightSquared also said independent testing of newly designed precision GPS filters show that coexistence of GPS and LightSquared’s terrestrial service is possible, and urged the government to begin the required further testing.

The FCC has a chance to clear the way for foreign investment in U.S. satellite and other communications companies by eliminating unnecessary licensing barriers, said satellite interests in filings at the FCC in docket 11-133. The FCC issued a proposed rulemaking in August on potential changes to foreign ownership rules and the licensing requirements of section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act (CD Aug 10 p11).