SES/O3b Pitch NGSO Rules Changes

A new in-line event trigger should be between 2 and 5 degrees, and band segmentation should be the last recourse for dealing with such events, SES and O3b officials told aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, according to a docket 16-408 filing posted Monday. SES and O3b staff said geostationary operations shouldn't be co-primary with non-geostationary satellite orbit systems in 18.8-19.3 GHz and 28.6-29.1 GHz bands since that's the only spectrum where NGSO systems have primary status and NGSO operators relied on that when developing business plans and systems. The companies backed NGSO milestone rules that would require 33 percent of an authorized constellation be launched within six years of license grant, and 75 percent within nine years. They recommended that after milestones are satisfied, licensees should be required to keep at least 75 percent of their authorized constellation in orbit, with at least one operational satellite in each authorized orbital plane, or face FCC punitive actions.