NGSO Reg Fee Subcategories Unchallenged -- for Now

The FCC got pushback from some satellite operators for creating different subcategories of non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) regulatory fees, with different fee amounts. Any challenge to that aspect of the FY 2021 regulatory fee order adopted late last month (see 2108270072) is in limbo, satellite industry officials told us last week. Industry lawyers said there's no impetus to mount a protest or rejoinder now since it seemingly won't affect payments this cycle because the fees are due later this month. Challenge to the NGSO subcategories could after the order's publication.

The fees are due Sept. 24, and the FY 2021 regulatory fees will be effective after Federal Register publication. That's also the deadline for seeking an FY 2021 regulatory fee waiver, deferral, reduction or installment payment plan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said a public notice. Also Friday, the agency laid out exemptions to FY 2021 fees, in a fact sheet. They include regulated entities that would owe $1,000 or less, noncommercial educational FM station licensees and full-service NCE TV station licensees.

The FCC told us Friday it's working to expedite publication in the FR, and it's expected close to the fees' due date. It said companies can submit payments before the due date at their own discretion. It said this is largely the same process as previous years.

Even if operators think the NGSO subcategories and amounts are inappropriate, challenging that now is a questionable use of time since the FCC will proceed anyway, a satellite company lawyer said. The agency wouldn't be able to take any arguments against the subcategories into account before the fees are due, she said. The Office of Managing Director said comments will be due 30 days after FR publication, with replies 45 days after.

A satellite official said a reconsideration petition is possible, but the agency has discretion to allocate fees in proportion to its effort. An attempt at a petition or litigation challenging the subcategories order would be a long shot, she said.

Under the FY 2021 order, the agency said NGSO systems planning to communicate with 20 or fewer U.S. authorized earth stations and used mostly for earth exploration satellite service or automatic identification systems are "less complex" to regulate than other types of NGSO systems and thus require fewer resources for oversight. The commission then set up a 20/80 NGSO fee allocation, with “less complex” NGSO systems responsible for 20% of NGSO regulatory fees and the remaining NGSO systems responsible for the remaining 80%. An earth station blanket license application for technically identical user terminals might be relatively easy to process, it said: Ongoing regulatory activities "will be more intensive, because the number of earth stations is an indicator that the space system itself is more complex."