Intelsat Pushes ITU Advantages Over Two-Degree Spacing

Despite what EchoStar says, relying on ITU coordination instead of FCC two-degree spacing rules to mitigate signal interference issues "would help, not hurt, satellite competition," Intelsat said in a filing posted Monday in docket 12-267. Intelsat and EchoStar have been at loggerheads over Intelsat's recommendation to end two-degree spacing and go with ITU filing priority as the basis for coordination requirements (see 1508050034). As numerous new national satellite operators emerged in recent years in multiple areas, "it therefore hardly seems as if the ITU’s processes are hindering new entrants seeking to provide communications satellite services," Intelsat said. "ITU coordination procedures facilitate market entry because they require good faith negotiations between sovereigns/operators -- even by the senior rights holder." Meanwhile, relatively few geostationary satellites have been licensed by the FCC in that time, Intelsat said. Relying on ITU coordination "would allow U.S. licensees to better meet the demand for services utilizing small antennas, such as mobility services," Intelsat said.