SES Americom Slams Intelsat's Opposition to 2-Degree Spacing Rule

SES Americom said Intelsat is wrong to want the FCC to eliminate the two-degree separation requirement. The commission should keep the spacing and "increase the baseline power levels to correspond with the typical operational levels of today’s spacecraft," SES representatives told International Bureau officials Monday, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 12-267. "Two-degree spacing facilitates new entry by providing a predictable baseline at which parties can operate prior to completing coordination with their neighbors," and without it, new entry could be "blocked indefinitely by incumbents based on conservative ITU coordination criteria," said SES. "It is not surprising that Intelsat is the sole party arguing for elimination of two-degree spacing; since Intelsat’s ITU filings are among the oldest in the world, relying on ITU priority instead of two-degree spacing would benefit Intelsat at the expense of new entry." SES wants the same spacing as for conventional C- and Ku-band spectrum for fixed satellite services in the extended, unplanned segments of those bands. Ending that separation would "remedy the competitive harm unfairly imposed on U.S. licensees and align U.S. licensing" with the ITU, Intelsat told bureau officials in March (see 1503270037). “Intelsat believes that the FCC’s two-degrees rules put U.S. licensees at a competitive disadvantage to non-U.S. licensees and make it harder for U.S. customers to enjoy the benefits of new satellite service offerings that utilize smaller antennas," the company responded Thursday. "We commend the FCC for examining the issue of whether -- in today’s satellite marketplace -- these rules continue to serve the public interest.”