Government Earth Stations Should Face Same Rules as Commercial, EchoStar Says

NTIA's push for some exemptions for government earth stations operating in the C-, Ka- and Ku-bands wouldn't achieve what it wants and doesn't incorporate FCC Part 25 rules into NITA federal radio frequency management rules, EchoStar representatives told the commission. An ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 13-115 said the company urged the FCC to reject the NTIA exemptions and instead make federal earth station operations subject to the same licensing, coordination, interference protection and technical requirements as commercial earth stations. They also should be subject to public notice and public comment, EchoStar said. It said commercial licensees shouldn't have to operate under NTIA coordination requirements, and federal earth station operators instead should have to monitor FCC PNs and comment on applications that might affect their operations the way commercial licensees must. The commission also should have sole jurisdiction over enforcement actions for federal earth station use of nonfederal spectrum, EchoStar said. Co-primary use of fixed satellite service spectrum by government earth station operators without such regulatory parity "would result in preferential treatment of one class of applicants over another with no public interest basis," said the satellite company. The filing recapped meetings that included Senior Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Jennifer Manner and FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Deputy Chief Ronald Repasi. NTIA in a letter in the docket to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler last month said the communications agency should add primary federal allocations or remove restrictions in the 3700-4200 MHz, 5925-6425 MHz, 11.7-12.2 GHz, 13.75-14.5 GHz, 18.3-19.3 GHz, 19.7-20.2 GHz, 28.35-29.1 GHz and 29.25-30 GHz bands