FCC Sets New Rules for Satellite Broadband Services

The FCC adopted a new licensing process aimed at accelerating the rollout of satellite Internet services. The new rules create a queue for satellite applications whereby each application will be considered under the Commission’s public interest standard in the order in which it is filed. The new framework also establishes different procedures for licensing nongeostationary-like satellite systems (NGSOs) and geostationary–like systems (GSOs). In order to discourage companies from speculating in the market by acquiring licenses and then holding them indefinitely, the FCC is including a requirement that licensees post a $5 million to $7.5 million bond within 30 days after receiving a license, payable upon revocation of the license for missing a milestone; a limit of five pending GSO applications and unbuilt GSO satellites and one pending NGSO application or unbuilt NGSO system in a particular frequency band; an attribution rule so that licensees cannot evade these limits; and additional implementation milestones and stronger enforcement of milestones. Finally, to prevent a “land rush,” the Commission imposed a freeze on satellite applications (except for next-generation replacement satellites) effective immediately. The new rules do not apply to Direct Broadcast Satellite Service or the Digital Audio Radio Satellite Service.
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