FCC 'Stuck in Punxsutawney' With ORBIT Act Requirements, Pai Says

The FCC -- like Groundhog Day weatherman Phil Connors -- is stuck in a never-ending time loop as it yearly has to put out pointless status reports on the privatization status of Inmarsat and Intelsat, though those two former intergovernmental satellite organizations long have been privatized, Commissioner Ajit Pai said. The FCC posted its 16th annual Open-Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act report to Congress Wednesday. The report was unanimously approved by commissioners, with Pai issuing a separate statement. Over the past year, the agency noted that Inmarsat launched a pair of Inmarsat-5 satellites as it expands its Global Xpress system operating in the Ka-band, though a third set to launch last month has been delayed. Meanwhile, Intelsat signed operational agreements with numerous satellite operators licensed by 15 separate nations and submitted numerous license authorizations and requests to the FCC. Intelsat spin-off New Skies Satellites -- today part of SES -- has five satellites operating on the C- and Ku-bands, and the FCC has given multiple permits to stations to earth stations to communicate with them, the report said. Several past reports have stated that Inmarsat and Intelsat have fully transitioned to privatized operations. "Unfortunately, the FCC's annual ORBIT Act report is our Groundhog Day," Pai said. "A decade ago, we were able to report success -- the privatization was complete. Yet ten years, ten reports and more than 200 pages later, the FCC is still stuck in Punxsutawney." The House passed the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act in February, and similar legislation now in the Senate would eliminate the ORBIT Act report, Pai said.