More Earth Stations Added to Eutelsat C-Band Plan

Another 26 earth stations are involved in Eutelsat's portion of the C-band clearing than originally thought, it said Monday in docket 18-122, updating its transition plan. It said the changed list of earth stations reflects the FCC International Bureau's refinement of its list of eligible incumbent earth stations, Eutelsat outreach to earth station operators and coordination with other C-band satellite operators. The company said it's possible it might discover a small number of earth stations that need to be added to the list for the Phase II transition. It put its total relocation cost estimates at $8 million, up about $600,000 (see 2107080060), and cited changes in the number of antennae included in the transition plan and the necessary services to be provided for the earth stations. The bureau released a list of earth station antennas on the C-band incumbent list that are possibly inactive or not operational in the band. It said Monday the deadline is Dec. 27 for operators of those earth stations to inform the bureau they're operating in the band or be removed from the incumbent earth station list.