47 C.F.R. Subpart B—Applications and Licenses
Title 47 - Telecommunication
Source: 56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, unless otherwise noted.
(a) You can obtain application forms for this part by going online at www.fcc.gov/ibfs, where you may complete the form prior to submission via IBFS, the IB electronic filing system. (b) Submitting your application. All space station applications and all earth station applications must be filed electronically on Form 312. In this part, any party permitted or required to file information on Form 312 must file that information electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. (c) All correspondence and amendments concerning any application must identify: (1) The satellite radio service; (2) The applicant's name; (3) Station location; (4) The call sign or other identification of the station; and (5) The file number of the application involved. (d) Copies. Applications must be filed electronically though IBFS. The Commission will not accept any paper version of any application. (e) Signing. Upon filing an application electronically, the applicant must print out the filed application, obtain the proper signatures, and keep the original in its files. (f) The applicant must pay the appropriate fee for its application and submit it in accordance with part 1, subpart G of this chapter. [69 FR 47793, Aug. 6, 2004] (a) The Commission may request from any party at any time additional information concerning any application, or any other submission or pleading regarding an application, filed under this part. (b) Applicants, permittees and licensees of radio stations governed by this part shall provide the Commission with all information it requires for the Advance Publication, Coordination and Notification of frequency assignments pursuant to the international Radio Regulations. No protection from interference caused by radio stations authorized by other Administrations is guaranteed unless coordination procedures are timely completed or, with respect to individual administrations, by successfully completing coordination agreements. Any radio station authorization for which coordination has not been completed may be subject to additional terms and conditions as required to effect coordination of the frequency assignments with other Administrations. (c) In the Direct Broadcast Satellite service, applicants and licensees shall also provide the Commission with all information it requires in order to modify the Appendix 30 Broadcasting-Satellite Service (“BSS”) Plans and associated Appendix 30A feeder-link Plans, if the system uses technical characteristics differing from those specified in the Appendix 30 BSS Plans, the Appendix 30A feederlink Plans, Annex 5 to Appendix 30 or Annex 3 to Appendix 30A. For such systems, no protection from interference caused by radio stations authorized by other Administrations is guaranteed until the agreement of all affected Administrations is obtained and the frequency assignment becomes a part of the appropriate Region 2 BSS and feeder-link Plans. Authorizations for which coordination is not completed and/or for which the necessary agreements under Appendices 30 and 30A have not been obtained may be subject to additional terms and conditions as required to effect coordination or obtain the agreement of other Administrations. Applicants and licensees shall also provide the Commission with the necessary Appendix 4 information required by the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau to advance publish, coordinate and notify the frequencies to be used for tracking, telemetry and control functions of DBS systems. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 67 FR 51113, Aug. 7, 2002; 68 FR 63997, Nov. 12, 2003] (a) An application will be unacceptable for filing and will be returned to the applicant with a brief statement identifying the omissions or discrepancies if: (1) The application is defective with respect to completeness of answers to questions, informational showings, internal inconsistencies, execution, or other matters of a formal character; or (2) The application does not substantially comply with the Commission's rules, regulations, specific requests for additional information, or other requirements. (3) The application requests authority to operate a space station in a frequency band that is not allocated internationally for such operations under the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union. (b) Applications for space station authority found defective under paragraph (a)(3) of this section will not be considered. Applications for authority found defective under paragraphs (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section may be accepted for filing if: (1) The application is accompanied by a request which sets forth the reasons in support of a waiver of (or an exception to), in whole or in part, any specific rule, regulation, or requirement with which the application is in conflict; (2) The Commission, upon its own motion, waives (or allows an exception to), in whole or in part, any rule, regulation or requirement. (c) If an applicant is requested by the Commission to file any additional information or any supplementary or explanatory information not specifically required in the prescribed application form or these rules, a failure to comply with the request within a specified time period will be deemed to render the application defective and will subject it to dismissal. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 68 FR 51502, Aug. 27, 2003] (a) Construction permits are not required for satellite earth stations. Construction of such stations may commence prior to grant of a license at the applicant's own risk. Applicants must comply with the provisions of 47 CFR 1.1312 relating to environmental processing prior to commencing construction. (b) [Reserved] (c) FAA notification. Before the construction of new antenna structures or alteration in the height of existing antenna structures is authorized by the FCC, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) determination of “no hazard” may be required. To apply for this determination, the FAA must be notified of the planned construction. Criteria used to determine whether FAA notification is required for a particular antenna structure are contained in part 17 of this chapter. Applications proposing construction of one or more new antenna structures or alteration of the overall height of one or more existing antenna structures, where FAA notification prior to such construction or alteration is not required by part 17 of this chapter, must indicate such and, unless the reason is obvious (e.g. structure height is less than 6.10 meters AGL) must contain a statement explaining why FAA notification is not required. (d) Painting and lighting. The owner of each antenna structure required to be painted and/or illuminated under the provisions of Section 303(q) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, shall operate and maintain the antenna structure painting and lighting in accordance with part 17 of this chapter. In the event of default by the owner, each licensee or permittee shall be individually responsible for conforming to the requirements pertaining to antenna structure painting and lighting. (e) Antenna Structure Registration Number. Applications proposing construction of one or more new antenna structures or alteration of the overall height of one or more existing structures, where FAA notification prior to such construction or alteration is required by part 17 of this chapter, must include the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number(s) for the affected structure(s). If no such number has been assigned at the time the application is filed, the applicant must state in the application whether or not the antenna structure owner has notified the FAA of the proposed construction or alteration and applied to the FCC for an Antenna Structure Registration Number in accordance with part 17 of this chapter for the antenna structure in question. (f) Construction permits are not required for U.S.-licensed space stations. Construction of such stations may commence, at the applicant's own risk, prior to grant of a license. Prior to commencing construction, however, applicants must notify the Commission in writing they plan to begin construction at their own risk. (g) Except as set forth in paragraph (h) of this section, a launch authorization and station license (i.e., operating authority) must be applied for and granted before a space station may be launched and operated in orbit. Request for launch authorization may be included in an application for space station license. However, an application for authority to launch and operate an on-ground spare satellite will be considered pursuant to the following procedures: (1) Applications for launch and operation of an on-ground spare NGSO-like satellite will be considered pursuant to the procedures set forth in §25.157, except as set forth in paragraph (g)(3) of this section. (2) Applications for launch and operation of an on-ground spare GSO-like satellite will be considered pursuant to the procedures set forth in §25.158, except as set forth in paragraph (g)(3) of this section. (3) Neither paragraph (g)(1) nor (g)(2) of this section will apply in cases where the space station to be launched is determined to be an emergency replacement for a previously authorized space station that has been lost as a result of a launch failure or a catastrophic in-orbit failure. (h) Licensees of Non-Geostationary Satellite Orbit (NGSO) satellite systems need not file separate applications to operate technically identical in-orbit spares authorized as part of a blanket license pursuant to §25.114(e) or any other satellite blanket licensing provision in this part. However, the licensee shall notify the Commission within 30 days of bringing the in-orbit spare into operation, and certify that operation of this space station did not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission, and that the licensee will operate the space station within the applicable terms and conditions of its license. These notifications must be filed electronically on FCC Form 312. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 61 FR 4366, Feb. 6, 1996; 61 FR 9951, Mar. 12, 1996; 61 FR 55582, Oct. 28, 1996; 62 FR 5927, Feb. 10, 1997; 62 FR 64172, Dec. 4, 1997; 68 FR 51502, Aug. 27, 2003; 69 FR 47794, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005] (a) A comprehensive proposal shall be submitted for each proposed space station on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule S, together with attached exhibits as described in paragraph (d) of this section. (b) Each application for a new or modified space station authorization must constitute a concrete proposal for Commission evaluation. Each application must also contain the formal waiver required by section 304 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 304. The technical information for a proposed satellite system specified in paragraph (c) of this section must be filed on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule S. The technical information for a proposed satellite system specified in paragraph (d) of this section need not be filed on any prescribed form but should be complete in all pertinent details. Applications for all new space station authorizations must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. (c) The following information shall be filed on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule S: (1) Name, address, and telephone number of the applicant; (2) Name, address, and telephone number of the person(s), including counsel, to whom inquiries or correspondence should be directed; (3) Type of authorization requested (e.g., launch authority, station license, modification of authorization); (4)(i) Radio frequencies and polarization plan (including beacon, telemetry, and telecommand functions), center frequency and polarization of transponders (both receiving and transmitting frequencies), (ii) Emission designators and allocated bandwidth of emission, final amplifier output power (identify any net losses between output of final amplifier and input of antenna and specify the maximum EIRP for each antenna beam), (iii) Identification of which antenna beams are connected or switchable to each transponder and TT&C function, (iv) Receiving system noise temperature, (v) The relationship between satellite receive antenna gain pattern and gain-to-temperature ratio and saturation flux density for each antenna beam (may be indicated on antenna gain plot), (vi) The gain of each transponder channel (between output of receiving antenna and input of transmitting antenna) including any adjustable gain step capabilities, and (vii) Predicted receiver and transmitter channel filter response characteristics. (5) For satellites in geostationary-satellite orbit, (i) Orbital location, or locations if alternatives are proposed, requested for the satellite, (ii) The factors that support the orbital assignment or assignments proposed in paragraph (c)(5)(i) of this section, (iii) Longitudinal tolerance or east-west station-keeping capability; (iv) Inclination incursion or north-south station-keeping capability. (6) For satellites in non-geostationary-satellite orbits, (i) The number of space stations and applicable information relating to the number of orbital planes, (ii) The inclination of the orbital plane(s), (iii) The orbital period, (iv) The apogee, (v) The perigee, (vi) The argument(s) of perigee, (vii) Active service arc(s), and (viii) Right ascension of the ascending node(s). (7) For satellites in geostationary-satellite orbit, accuracy with which the orbital inclination, the antenna axis attitude, and longitudinal drift will be maintained; (8) Calculation of power flux density levels within each coverage area and of the energy dispersal, if any, needed for compliance with §25.208, for angles of arrival of 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, and 25° above the horizontal; (9) Arrangement for tracking, telemetry, and control; (10) Physical characteristics of the space station including weight and dimensions of spacecraft, detailed mass (on ground and in-orbit) and power (beginning and end of life) budgets, and estimated operational lifetime and reliability of the space station and the basis for that estimate; (11) A clear and detailed statement of whether the space station is to be operated on a common carrier basis, or whether non-common carrier transactions are proposed. If non-common carrier transactions are proposed, describe the nature of the transactions and specify the number of transponders to be offered on a non-common carrier basis; (12) Dates by which construction will be commenced and completed, launch date, and estimated date of placement into service. (13) The polarization information specified in §§25.210(a)(1), (a)(3), and (i), to the extent applicable. (d) The following information in narrative form shall be contained in each application: (1) General description of overall system facilities, operations and services; (2) If applicable, the feeder link and inter-satellite service frequencies requested for the satellite, together with any demonstration otherwise required by this chapter for use of those frequencies (see, e.g., §§25.203(j) and (k)); (3) Predicted space station antenna gain contour(s) for each transmit and each receive antenna beam and nominal orbital location requested. These contour(s) should be plotted on an area map at 2 dB intervals down to 10 dB below the peak value of the parameter and at 5 dB intervals between 10 dB and 20 dB below the peak values, with the peak value and sense of polarization clearly specified on each plotted contour. For applications for geostationary orbit satellites, this information must be provided in the .gxt format. (4) A description of the types of services to be provided, and the areas to be served, including a description of the transmission characteristics and performance objectives for each type of proposed service, details of the link noise budget, typical or baseline earth station parameters, modulation parameters, and overall link performance analysis (including an analysis of the effects of each contributing noise and interference source); (5) Calculation of power flux density levels within each coverage area and of the energy dispersal, if any, needed for compliance with §25.208; Calculation of power flux density levels within each coverage area and of the energy dispersal, if any, needed for compliance with §25.208, for angles of arrival other than 5°, 10°, 15°, 20°, and 25° above the horizontal. (6) Public interest considerations in support of grant; (7) Applications for authorizations for fixed-satellite space stations shall also include the information specified in §25.140; (8) Applications for authorizations in the Mobile-Satellite Service in the 1545–1559/1646.5–1660.5 MHz frequency bands shall also provide all information necessary to comply with the policies and procedures set forth in Rules and Policies Pertaining to the Use of Radio Frequencies in a Land Mobile Satellite Service, 2 FCC Rcd 485 (1987) (Available at address in §0.445 of this chapter.); (9) Applications to license multiple space station systems in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service under blanket operating authority shall also provide all information specified in §25.142; and (10) Applications for authorizations in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service shall also provide all information specified in §25.143. (11) In addition to a statement of whether the space station is to be operated on a common carrier basis, or whether non-common carrier transactions are proposed, as specified in paragraph (c)(11) of this section, satellite applications in the Direct Broadcast Satellite service must provide a clear and detailed statement of whether the space station is to be operated on a broadcast or non-broadcast basis. (12) Applications for authorizations in the non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz shall also provide all information specified in §25.146. (13) For satellite applications in the Direct Broadcast Satellite service, if the proposed system's technical characteristics differ from those specified in the Appendix 30 BSS Plans, the Appendix 30A feeder link Plans, Annex 5 to Appendix 30 or Annex 3 to Appendix 30A, each applicant shall provide: (i) The information requested in Appendix 4 of the ITU's Radio Regulations. Further, applicants shall provide sufficient technical showing that the proposed system could operate satisfactorily if all assignments in the BSS and feeder link Plans were implemented. (ii) Analyses of the proposed system with respect to the limits in Annex 1 to Appendices 30 and 30A. (14) A description of the design and operational strategies that will be used to mitigate orbital debris, including the following information: (i) A statement that the space station operator has assessed and limited the amount of debris released in a planned manner during normal operations, and has assessed and limited the probability of the space station becoming a source of debris by collisions with small debris or meteoroids that could cause loss of control and prevent post-mission disposal; (ii) A statement that the space station operator has assessed and limited the probability of accidental explosions during and after completion of mission operations. This statement must include a demonstration that debris generation will not result from the conversion of energy sources on board the spacecraft into energy that fragments the spacecraft. Energy sources include chemical, pressure, and kinetic energy. This demonstration should address whether stored energy will be removed at the spacecraft's end of life, by depleting residual fuel and leaving all fuel line valves open, venting any pressurized system, leaving all batteries in a permanent discharge state, and removing any remaining source of stored energy, or through other equivalent procedures specifically disclosed in the application; (iii) A statement that the space station operator has assessed and limited the probability of the space station becoming a source of debris by collisions with large debris or other operational space stations. Where a space station will be launched into a low-Earth orbit that is identical, or very similar, to an orbit used by other space stations, the statement must include an analysis of the potential risk of collision and a description of what measures the space station operator plans to take to avoid in-orbit collisions. If the space station operator is relying on coordination with another system, the statement must indicate what steps have been taken to contact, and ascertain the likelihood of successful coordination of physical operations with, the other system. The statement must disclose the accuracy—if any—with which orbital parameters of non-geostationary satellite orbit space stations will be maintained, including apogee, perigee, inclination, and the right ascension of the ascending node(s). In the event that a system is not able to maintain orbital tolerances, i.e., it lacks a propulsion system for orbital maintenance, that fact should be included in the debris mitigation disclosure. Such systems must also indicate the anticipated evolution over time of the orbit of the proposed satellite or satellites. Where a space station requests the assignment of a geostationary-Earth orbit location, it must assess whether there are any known satellites located at, or reasonably expected to be located at, the requested orbital location, or assigned in the vicinity of that location, such that the station keeping volumes of the respective satellites might overlap. If so, the statement must include a statement as to the identities of those parties and the measures that will be taken to prevent collisions; (iv) A statement detailing the post-mission disposal plans for the space station at end of life, including the quantity of fuel—if any—that will be reserved for post-mission disposal maneuvers. For geostationary-Earth orbit space stations, the statement must disclose the altitude selected for a post-mission disposal orbit and the calculations that are used in deriving the disposal altitude. The statement must also include a casualty risk assessment if planned post-mission disposal involves atmospheric re-entry of the space station. In general, an assessment should include an estimate as to whether portions of the spacecraft will survive re-entry and reach the surface of the Earth, as well as an estimate of the resulting probability of human casualty. (e) Applicants requesting authority to launch and operate a system comprised of technically identical, non-geostationary satellite orbit space stations may file a single “blanket” application containing the information specified in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section for each representative space station. [68 FR 63997, Nov. 12, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 29901, May 26, 2004; 69 FR 47794, Aug. 6, 2004; 69 FR 54587, Sept. 9, 2004] (a)(1) Transmitting earth stations. Commission authorization must be obtained for authority to operate a transmitting earth station. Applications shall be filed electronically on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and include the information specified in §25.130, except as set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. (2) Applicants for licenses for transmitting earth station facilities are required to file on Form 312EZ, to the extent that form is available, in the following cases: (i) The earth station will transmit in the 3700–4200 MHz and 5925–6425 MHz band, and/or the 11.7–12.2 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz band; and (ii) The earth station will meet all the applicable technical specifications set forth in part 25 of this chapter. (iii) The earth station is not an ESV. (3) If Form 312EZ is not available, earth station license applicants specified in paragraph (a)(2) must file on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and include the information specified in §25.130. (4) Applications for earth station authorizations must be filed in accordance with the pleading limitations, periods and other applicable provisions of §§1.41 through 1.52 of this chapter, except that such earth station applications must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter; (b) Receive-only earth stations. Applications to license or register receive only earth stations shall be filed on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and conform to the provisions of §25.131. (c)(1) Large Networks of Small Antennas operating in the 11.7–12.2 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz frequency bands with U.S.-licensed or non-U.S.-licensed satellites for domestic or international services. Applications to license small antenna network systems operating in the 11.7–12.2 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz frequency band under blanket operating authority shall be filed on FCC Form 312 and Schedule B, for each large (5 meters or larger) hub station, and Schedule B for each representative type of small antenna (less than 5 meters) operating within the network. (c)(2) Large Networks of Small Antennas operating in the 4/6 GHz frequency bands with U.S.-licensed or non-U.S. licensed satellites for domestic services (CSATs). Applications to license small antenna network systems operating in the standard C-Band, 3700–4200 MHz and 5925–6425 MHz frequency band shall be filed electronically on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B. (i) An initial lead application providing a detailed overview of the complete network shall be filed. Such lead applications shall fully identify the scope and nature of the service to be provided, as well as the complete technical details of each representative type of small antenna (less than 4.5 meters) that will operate within the network. Such lead applications for a single CSAT system must identify: (A) No more than three discrete geostationary satellites to be accessed; (B) The amount of frequency bandwidth sought, up to a maximum of 20 MHz of spectrum in each direction at each of the satellites (The same 20 MHz of uplink and 20 MHz of downlink spectrum at each satellite would be accessible by all CSAT earth stations in the system. The 20 MHz of uplink and 20 MHz of downlink spectrum need not be the same at each satellite location); (C) The maximum number of earth station sites; (ii) Following the issuance of a license for the lead application, the licensee shall notify the Commission of the complete technical parameters of each individual earth station site before that site is bought into operation under the lead authorization. Full frequency coordination of each individual site (e.g., for each satellite and the spectrum associated therewith) shall be completed prior to filing Commission notification. The coordination must be conducted in accordance with §25.203. Such notification shall be done by electronic filing and shall be consistent with the technical parameters of Schedule B of FCC Form 312. (iii) Following successful coordination of such an earth station, if the earth station operator does not file a lead application or a Schedule B within six months after it successfully completes coordination, it will be assumed that such frequency use is no longer desired, unless a second notification has been received within ten days prior to the end of the six month period. Such renewal notifications must be sent to all parties concerned. If the lead application or Schedule B, or renewal notification, is not timely received, the coordination will lapse and the licensee must re-coordinate the relevant earth stations if it still wishes to bring them into operation. (iv) Operation of each individual site may commence immediately after the public notice is released that identifies the notification sent to the Commission and if the requirements of paragraph (c)(2)(vi) of this section are met. Continuance of operation of each station for the duration of the lead license term shall be dependent upon successful completion of the normal public notice process. If any objections are received to the new station prior to the end of the 30 day comment period of the Public Notice, the licensee shall immediately cease operation of those particular stations until the coordination dispute is resolved and the CSAT licensee informs the Commission of the resolution. If the requirements of paragraph (c)(2)(vi) of this section are not met, operation may not commence until the Commission issues the public notice acting on the CSAT terminal authorization. (v) Each CSAT licensee shall annually provide the Commission an updated list of all operational earth stations in its system. The annual list shall also include a list of all earth stations deactivated during the year and identification of the satellites providing service to the network as of the date of the report. (vi) Conditional authorization. (A) An applicant for a new CSAT radio station or modification of an existing CSAT station authorized under paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section in the 3700–4200; or 5925–6425 MHz bands may operate the proposed station during the pendency of its application after the release of the public notice accepting the notification for filing that complies with paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section. The applicant, however, must first certify that the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The frequency coordination procedures of §25.203 have been successfully completed; (2) The antenna structure has been previously studied by the Federal Aviation Administration and determined to pose no hazard to aviation safety as required by subpart B of part 17 of this chapter; or the antenna or tower structure does not exceed 6.1 meters above ground level or above an existing man-made structure (other than an antenna structure), if the antenna or tower has not been previously studied by the Federal Aviation Administration and cleared by the FCC; (3) The grant of the application(s) does not require a waiver of the Commission's rules (with the exception of a request for waiver pertaining to fees); (4) The applicant has determined that the facility(ies) will not significantly affect the environment as defined in §1.1307 of this chapter; (5) The station site does not lie within 56.3 kilometers of any international border or within a radio “Quiet Zone” identified in §1.924 of this chapter; and (6) The filed application is consistent with the proposal that was coordinated pursuant to §25.251. (B) Conditional authority ceases immediately if the Schedule B is returned by the Commission because it is not accepted for filing. (C) A conditional authorization pursuant to paragraphs (c)(2)(vi)(A) and (c)(2)(vi)(B) of this section is evidenced by retaining a copy of the Schedule B notification with the station records. Conditional authorization does not prejudice any action the Commission may take on the subject application(s) or the Schedule B notifications. (D) Conditional authority is accepted with the express understanding that such authority may be modified or cancelled by the Commission at any time without hearing if, in the Commission's discretion, the need for such action arises. An applicant operating pursuant to this conditional authority assumes all risks associated with such operation, the termination or modification of the conditional authority, or the subsequent dismissal or denial of its application(s). (E) The copy of the Schedule B notification form must be posted at each station operating pursuant to this section. (vii) Period of construction. Construction of each earth station must be completed and the station must be brought into regular operation within twelve months from the date that action is taken to authorize that station to operate under the lead authorization, except as may be otherwise determined by the Commission for any particular application. (d) User transceivers in the NVNG, 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service, and 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service need not be individually licensed. Service vendors may file blanket applications for transceivers units using FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and specifying the number of units to be covered by the blanket license. Each application for a blanket license under this section shall include the information described in §25.136. (e) Earth stations operating in the 20/30 GHz Fixed-Satellite Service with U.S.-licensed or non-U.S. licensed satellites: Applications to license individual earth stations operating in the 20/30 GHz band shall be filed on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and shall also include the information described in §25.138. Earth stations belonging to a network operating in the 18.3–18.8 GHz, 19.7–20.2 GHz, 28.35–28.6 GHz or 29.25–30.0 GHz bands may be licensed on a blanket basis. Applications for such blanket authorization may be filed using FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and specifying the number of terminals to be covered by the blanket license. Each application for a blanket license under this section shall include the information described in §25.138. (f) User transceivers in the non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service in the 11.7–12.2 GHz, 12.2–12.7 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz bands need not be individually licensed. Service vendors may file blanket applications for transceiver units using FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, and shall specify the number of terminals to be covered by the blanket license. Each application for a blanket license under this section shall include the information described in §25.146. Any earth stations that are not user transceivers, and which transmit in the non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service in the 10.7–11.7 GHz, 12.75–13.15 GHz, 13.2125–13.25 GHz, and 13.75–14.0 GHz bands must be individually licensed, pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section. [62 FR 5928, Feb. 10, 1997, as amended at 62 FR 64172, Dec. 4, 1997; 65 FR 54169, Sept. 7, 2000; 65 FR 59142, Oct. 4, 2000; 66 FR 31559, June 12, 2001; 67 FR 53510, Aug. 16, 2002; 68 FR 16966, Apr. 8, 2003; 68 FR 63998, Nov. 12, 2003; 69 FR 29901, May 26, 2004; 69 FR 47794, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 4783, Jan. 31, 2005; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005] (a) Unless otherwise specified, any pending application may be amended until designated for hearing, a public notice is issued stating that a substantive disposition of the application is to be considered at a forthcoming Commission meeting, or a final order disposing of the matter is adopted by the Commission. (b) Major amendments submitted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section are subject to the public notice requirements of §25.151. An amendment will be deemed to be a major amendment under the following circumstances: (1) If the amendment increases the potential for interference, or changes the proposed frequencies or orbital locations to be used. (2) If the amendment would convert the proposal into an action that may have a significant environmental effect under §1.1307 of this chapter. (3) [Reserved] (4) If the amendment, or the cumulative effect of the amendment, is determined by the Commission otherwise to be substantial pursuant to section 309 of the Communications Act. (5) Amendments to “defective” space station applications, within the meaning of §25.112 will not be considered. (c) Any application for an NGSO-like satellite license within the meaning of §25.157 will be considered to be a newly filed application if it is amended by a major amendment (as defined by paragraph (b) of this section) after a “cut-off” date applicable to the application, except under the following circumstances: (1) The amendment resolves frequency conflicts with authorized stations or other pending applications but does not create new or increased frequency conflicts; (2) The amendment reflects only a change in ownership or control found by the Commission to be in the public interest and, for which a requested exemption from a “cut-off” date is granted; (3) The amendment corrects typographical, transcription, or similar clerical errors which are clearly demonstrated to be mistakes by reference to other parts of the application, and whose discovery does not create new or increased frequency conflicts; or (4) The amendment does not create new or increased frequency conflicts, and is demonstrably necessitated by events which the applicant could not have reasonably foreseen at the time of filing. (d) Any application for a GSO-like satellite license within the meaning of §25.158 will be considered to be a newly filed application if it is amended by a major amendment (as defined by paragraph (b) of this section), and will cause the application to lose its status relative to later-filed applications in the “queue” as described in §25.158. (e) Any amendment to an application shall be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. Amendments to space station applications must be filed on Form 312 and Schedule S. Amendments to space station applications must be filed on Form 312 and Schedule B. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 68 FR 51503, Aug. 27, 2003; 69 FR 47794, Aug. 6, 2004] (a) Except as provided for in §25.118 (Modifications not requiring prior authorization), no modification of a radio station governed by this part which affects the parameters or terms and conditions of the station authorization shall be made except upon application to and grant of such application by the Commission. (b) [Reserved] (c) Applications for modification of earth station authorizations shall be submitted on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B. Applications for modification of space station authorizations shall be submitted on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule S. Both earth station and space station modification applications must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. In addition, any application for modification of authorization to extend a required date of completion, as set forth in §25.133 for earth station authorization or §25.164 for space stations, or included as a condition of any earth station or space station authorization, must include a verified statement from the applicant: (1) That states the additional time is required due to unforeseeable circumstances beyond the applicant's control, describes these circumstances with specificity, and justifies the precise extension period requested; or (2) That states there are unique and overriding public interest concerns that justify an extension, identifies these interests and justifies a precise extension period. (d)(1) Except as set forth in §25.118(e), applications for modifications of space station authorizations shall be filed in accordance with §25.114, but only those items of information listed in §25.114 that change need to be submitted, provided the applicant certifies that the remaining information has not changed. (2) Applications for modifications of space station authorizations will be granted except under the following circumstances: (i) Granting the modification would make the applicant unqualified to operate a space station under the Commission's rules. (ii) Granting the modification request would not serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. (iii) Except as set forth in paragraph (d)(2)(iv) of this section, applications for modifications of GSO-like space station authorizations granted pursuant to the procedure set forth in §25.158, which seek to relocate a GSO satellite or add a frequency band to the authorization, will be placed in a queue pursuant to §25.158 and considered only after previously filed space station license applications or space station modification applications have been considered. (iv) Applications for modifications of space station authorizations to increase the authorized bandwidth will not be considered in cases in which the original space station authorization was granted pursuant to the procedures set forth in §25.157(e) or §25.158(c)(4). (3) In the event that a space station licensee provides notification of a planned license modification pursuant to §25.118(e), and the Commission finds that the proposed modification does not meet the requirements of §25.118(e), the Commission will issue a public notice announcing that the proposed license modification will be considered pursuant to the procedure specified in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section. (e) [Reserved] (f) An application for modification of a space station license to add an ancillary terrestrial component to an eligible satellite network will be treated as a request for a minor modification if the particulars of operations provided by the applicant comply with the criteria specified in §25.149. Notwithstanding the treatment of such an application as a minor modification, the Commission shall place any initial application for the modification of a space station license to add an ancillary terrestrial component on notice for public comment. Except as provided for in §25.149(f), no application for authority to add an ancillary terrestrial component to an eligible satellite network shall be granted until the applicant has demonstrated actual compliance with the criteria specified in §25.149(b). (g) In cases where an earth station licensee proposes additional transmitters, facilities, or modifications, the resulting transmissions of which can reasonably be expected to cause the power density to exceed the RF exposure limits specified in part 1, subpart I of this chapter by five percent, the licensee must submit an environmental assessment pursuant to §1.1307(b)(3)(i) of this chapter as an attachment to its modification application. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 61 FR 9952, Mar. 12, 1996; 62 FR 5928, Feb. 10, 1997; 68 FR 33649, June 5, 2003; 68 FR 47858, Aug. 12, 2003; 68 FR 51503, Aug. 27, 2003; 68 FR 62248, Nov. 3, 2003; 68 FR 63998, Nov. 12, 2003; 69 FR 47794, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005] (a) Earth station license modifications, notification required. Authorized earth station operators may make the following modifications to their licenses without prior Commission authorization, provided that the operators notify the Commission, using FCC Form 312 and Schedule B, within 30 days of the modification. This notification must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter: (1) Licensees may make changes to their authorized earth stations without obtaining prior Commission authorization, provided that they have complied with all applicable frequency coordination procedures in accordance with §25.251, and the modification does not involve: (i) An increase in EIRP or EIRP density (both main lobe and side lobe); (ii) An increase in transmitted power; (iii) A change in coordinates of more than 1 second in latitude or longitude for stations operating in frequency bands that are shared with terrestrial systems; or (iv) A change in coordinates of 10 seconds or greater in latitude or longitude for stations operating in frequency bands that are not shared with terrestrial systems. (2) Except for replacement of equipment where the new equipment is electrically identical to the existing equipment, an authorized earth station licensee may add, change or replace transmitters or antenna facilities without prior authorization, provided: (i) The added, changed, or replaced facilities conform to §25.209; (ii) The particulars of operations remain unchanged; (iii) Frequency coordination is not required; and (iv) The maximum power and power density delivered into any antenna at the earth station site shall not exceed the values calculated by subtracting the maximum antenna gain specified in the license from the maximum authorized e.i.r.p. and e.i.r.p. density values. (3) Authorized VSAT earth station operators may add VSAT remote terminals without prior authorization, provided that they have complied with all applicable frequency coordination procedures in accordance with §25.251. (4) A licensee providing service on a private carrier basis may change its operations to common carrier status without obtaining prior Commission authorization. The licensee must notify the Commission using Form 312 within 30 days after the completed change to common carrier status. (5) Earth station operators may change their points of communication without prior authorization, provided that the change results from a space station license modification described in paragraph (e) of this section, and the earth station operator does not repoint its antenna. Otherwise, any modification of an earth station license to add or change a point of communication will be considered under §25.117. (b) Earth station license modifications, notification not required. Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(2) of this section, equipment in an authorized earth station may be replaced without prior authorization and without notifying the Commission if the new equipment is electrically identical to the existing equipment. (c)–(d) [Reserved] (e) Space station modifications. A space station operator may modify its license without prior authorization, but upon 30 days prior notice to the Commission and any potentially affected licensed spectrum user, provided that the operator meets the following requirements. This notification must be filed electronically on Form 312 through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter: (1) The space station licensee will relocate a Geostationary Satellite Orbit (GSO) space station to another orbit location that is assigned to that licensee; (2) The relocated space station licensee will operate with the same technical parameters as the space station initially assigned to that location, or within the original satellite's authorized and/or coordinated parameters; (3) The space station licensee certifies that it will comply with all the conditions of its original license and all applicable rules after the relocation; (4) The space station licensee certifies that it will comply with all applicable coordination agreements at the newly occupied orbital location; (5) The space station licensee certifies that it has completed any necessary coordination of its space station at the new location with other potentially affected space station operators; (6) The space station licensee certifies that it will limit operations of the space station to Tracking, Telemetry, and Control (TT&C) functions during the relocation and satellite drift transition period; and (7) The space station licensee certifies that the relocation of the space station does not result in a lapse of service for any current customer. (8) For DBS licensees, the space station licensee must certify that it will not cause greater interference than that which would occur from the current U.S. assignments in the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Region 2 BSS Plan and its associated Feeder Link Plan. (9) For DBS licensees, the space station licensee must certify that it will meet the geographic service requirements in §25.148(c). [62 FR 5928, Feb. 10, 1997, as amended at 68 FR 62248, Nov. 3, 2003; 68 FR 63999, Nov. 12, 2003; 69 FR 47794, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005] (a) You must file an application for Commission authorization before you can transfer, assign, dispose of (voluntarily or involuntarily, directly or indirectly, or by transfer of control of any corporation or any other entity) your station license or accompanying rights. The Commission will grant your application only if it finds that doing so will serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. (b) For purposes of this section, transfers of control requiring Commission approval shall include any and all transactions that: (1) Change the party controlling the affairs of the licensee, or (2) Affect any change in a controlling interest in the ownership of the licensee, including changes in legal or equitable ownership. (c) Assignment of license. You must submit an FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule A to voluntarily assign (e.g., as by contract or other agreement) or involuntarily assign (e.g., as by death, bankruptcy, or legal disability) your station authorization. You must file these forms electronically through IBFS. (d) Transfer of control of corporation holding license. If you want to transfer control of a corporation, which holds one or more licenses voluntarily or involuntarily (de jure or de facto), you must submit an FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule A. You must file these forms electronically through IBFS. For involuntary transfers, you must file your application within 10 days of the event causing the transfer of control. You can also use FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule A for non-substantial (pro forma) transfers of control. (e) Whenever a group of station licenses in the same radio service for the same class of facility licensed to the same entity is to be assigned or transferred to a single assignee or transferee, a single application may be filed to cover the entire group, if the application identifies in an exhibit each station by call sign, station location and expiration date of license. (f) Assignments and transfers of control shall be completed within 60 days from the date of authorization. Within 30 days of consumation, the Commission shall be notified by letter of the date of consummation and the file numbers of the applications involved in the transaction. (g) The Commission retains discretion in reviewing assignments and transfers of control of space station licenses to determine whether the initial license was obtained in good faith with the intent to construct a satellite system. [56 FR 24016, May 20, 1991; 56 FR 29757, June 20, 1991. Redesignated and amended at 62 FR 5928, 5929, Feb. 10, 1997; 68 FR 51503, Aug. 27, 2003; 69 FR 29901, May 26, 2004] (a) In circumstances requiring immediate or temporary use of facilities, request may be made for special temporary authority to install and/or operate new or modified equipment. The request must contain the full particulars of the proposed operation including all facts sufficient to justify the temporary authority sought and the public interest therein. No request for temporary authority will be considered unless it is received by the Commission at least 3 working days prior to the date of proposed construction or operation or, where an extension is sought, the expiration date of the existing temporary authorization. A request received within less than 3 working days may be accepted only upon due showing of extraordinary reasons for the delay in submitting the request which could not have been earlier foreseen by the applicant. A copy of the request for special temporary authority also shall be forwarded to the Commission's Columbia Operations Center, 9200 Farm House Lane, Columbia, MD 21046–1609. (b)(1) The Commission may grant a temporary authorization only upon a finding that there are extraordinary circumstances requiring temporary operations in the public interest and that delay in the institution of these temporary operations would seriously prejudice the public interest. Convenience to the applicant, such as marketing considerations or meeting scheduled customer in-service dates, will not be deemed sufficient for this purpose. (2) The Commission may grant a temporary authorization for a period not to exceed 180 days, with additional periods not exceeding 180 days, if the Commission has placed the special temporary authority (STA) request on public notice. (3) The Commission may grant a temporary authorization for a period not to exceed 60 days, if the STA request has not been placed on public notice, and the applicant plans to file a request for regular authority for the service. (4) The Commission may grant a temporary authorization for a period not to exceed 30 days, if the STA request has not been placed on public notice, and an application for regular authority is not contemplated. (c) Each application proposing construction of one or more earth station antennas or alteration of the overall height of one or more existing earth station antenna structures, where FAA notification prior to such construction or alteration is required by part 17 of this chapter, must include the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number(s) for the affected satellite earth station antenna(s). If no such number has been assigned at the time the application(s) is filed, the applicant must state in the application whether the satellite earth station antenna owner has notified the FAA of the proposed construction or alteration and applied to the FCC for an Antenna Structure Registration Number in accordance with part 17 of this chapter. Applications proposing construction of one or more earth station antennas or alteration of the overall height of one or more existing earth station antennas, where FAA notification prior to such construction or alteration is not required by part 17 of this chapter, must indicate such and, unless the satellite earth station antenna is 6.10 meters or less above ground level (AGL), must contain a statement explaining why FAA notification is not required. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 61 FR 4367, Feb. 6, 1996. Redesignated and amended at 62 FR 5928, 5929, Feb. 10, 1997; 66 FR 9973, Feb. 13, 2001; 68 FR 51503, Aug. 27, 2003] (a) License Term. Except for licenses for DBS facilities, licenses for facilities governed by this part will be issued for a period of 15 years. Licenses for DBS space stations licensed as broadcast facilities will be issued for a period of 8 years. Licenses for DBS space stations not licensed as broadcast facilities will be issued for a period of 10 years. (b) The Commission reserves the right to grant or renew station licenses for less than 15 years if, in its judgment, the public interest, convenience and necessity will be served by such action. (c) For earth stations, the license term will be specified in the instrument of authorization. (d) Space stations. (1) For geostationary satellite orbit satellites, the license term will begin at 3 a.m. EST on the date the licensee certifies to the Commission that the satellite has been successfully placed into orbit and that the operations of the satellite fully conform to the terms and conditions of the space station radio authorization. (2) For non-geostationary satellite orbit satellites, the license term will begin at 3 a.m. EST on the date that the licensee certifies to the Commission that its initial space station has been successfully placed into orbit and that the operations of that satellite fully conform to the terms and conditions of the space station system authorization. All space stations launched and brought into service during the 15-year license term shall operate pursuant to the system authorization, and the operating authority for all space stations will terminate upon the expiration of the system license. (e) Renewal of licenses. Applications for renewals of earth station licenses must be submitted on FCC Form 312R no earlier than 90 days, and no later than 30 days, before the expiration date of the license. Applications for space station system replacement authorization for non-geostationary orbit satellites shall be filed no earlier than 90 days, and no later than 30 days, prior to the end of the twelfth year of the existing license term. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 68059, Dec. 23, 1993; 59 FR 53327, Oct. 21, 1994. Redesignated and amended at 62 FR 5928, 5929, Feb. 10, 1997; 65 FR 59142, Oct. 4, 2000; 67 FR 12485, Mar. 19, 2002; 67 FR 51113, Aug. 7, 2002; 68 FR 51503, Aug. 27, 2003; 68 FR 63999, Nov. 12, 2003] (a) Except as expressly permitted by §2.803 or §2.1204 of this chapter, prior authorization must be obtained pursuant to the equipment certification procedure in part 2, Subpart J of this chapter for importation, sale or lease in the United States, or offer, shipment, or distribution for sale or lease in the United States of portable earth-station transceivers subject to regulation under part 25. This requirement does not apply, however, to devices imported, sold, leased, or offered, shipped, or distributed for sale or lease before November 20, 2004. (b) For purposes of this section, an earth-station transceiver is portable if it is a “portable device” as defined in §2.1093(b) of this chapter, i.e., if its radiating structure(s) would be within 20 centimeters of the operator's body when the transceiver is in operation. (c) In addition to the information required by §1.1307(b) and §2.1033(c) of this chapter, applicants for certification required by this section shall submit any additional equipment test data necessary to demonstrate compliance with pertinent standards for transmitter performance prescribed in §25.138, §25.202(f), §25.204, §25.209, and §25.216 and shall submit the statements required by §2.1093(c) of this chapter. (d) Applicants for certification required by this section must submit evidence that the devices in question are designed for use with a satellite system that may lawfully provide service to users in the United States pursuant to an FCC license or order reserving spectrum. [69 FR 5709, Feb. 6, 2004]
Title 47: Telecommunication
PART 25—SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS
Subpart B—Applications and Licenses
General Application Filing Requirements
§ 25.110 Filing of applications, fees, and number of copies.
§ 25.111 Additional information.
§ 25.112 Defective applications.
§ 25.113 Station licenses and launch authority.
§ 25.114 Applications for space station authorizations.
§ 25.115 Application for earth station authorizations.
§ 25.116 Amendments to applications.
§ 25.117 Modification of station license.
§ 25.118 Modifications not requiring prior authorization.
§ 25.119 Assignment or transfer of control of station authorization.
§ 25.120 Application for special temporary authorization.
§ 25.121 License term and renewals.
§ 25.129 Equipment authorization for portable earth-station transceivers.
Earth Stations
§ 25.130 Filing requirements for transmitting earth stations.
(a) Applications for a new or modified transmitting earth station facility shall be submitted on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, accompanied by any required exhibits, except for those earth station applications filed on FCC Form 312EZ pursuant to §25.115(a). All such earth station license applications must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. Additional filing requirements for ESVs are described in §§25.221 and 25.222. In addition, applicants not required to submit applications on Form 312EZ, other than ESV applicants, must submit the following information to be used as an “informative” in the public notice issued under §25.151 as an attachment to their application:
(1) A detailed description of the service to be provided, including frequency bands and satellites to be used. The applicant must identify either the specific satellite(s) with which it plans to operate, or the eastern and western boundaries of the arc it plans to coordinate.
(2) The diameter or equivalent diameter of the antenna.
(3) Proposed power and power density levels.
(4) Identification of any random access technique, if applicable.
(5) Identification of a specific rule or rules for which a waiver is requested.
(b) A frequency coordination analysis in accordance with §25.203 shall be provided for earth stations transmitting in the frequency bands shared with equal rights between terrestrial and space services, except that applications for user transceiver units associated with the NVNG mobile-satellite service shall instead provide the information required by §25.135 and applications for user transceiver units associated with the 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service shall demonstrate that user transceiver operations comply with the requirements set forth in §25.213.
(c) In those cases where an applicant is filing a number of essentially similar applications, showings of a general nature applicable to all of the proposed stations may be submitted in the initial application and incorporated by reference in subsequent applications.
(d) Transmissions of signals or programming to non-U.S. licensed satellites, and to and/or from foreign points by means of U.S.-licensed fixed satellites may be subject to restrictions as a result of international agreements or treaties. The Commission will maintain public information on the status of any such agreements.
(e) Each application proposing construction of one or more earth station antennas or alteration of the overall height of one or more existing earth station antennas, where FAA notification prior to such construction or alteration is required by part 17 of this chapter, must include the FCC Antenna Structure Registration Number(s) for the affected satellite earth station antenna(s). If no such number has been assigned at the time the application(s) is filed, the applicant must state in the application whether the satellite earth station antenna owner has notified the FAA of the proposed construction or alteration and applied to the FCC for an antenna Structure Registration Number in accordance with part 17 of this chapter. Applications proposing construction of one or more earth station antennas or alteration of the overall height of one or more existing earth station antennas, where FAA notification prior to such construction or notification or alteration is not required by part 17 of this chapter, must indicate such and, unless the satellite earth station antenna is 6.10 meters or less above ground level (AGL), must contain a statement explaining why FAA notification is not required.
(f) Applicants seeking to operate in a shared government/non-government band must provide the half-power beam width of their proposed earth station antenna, as an attachment to their applications.
[56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 68059, Dec. 23, 1993; 59 FR 53327, Oct. 21, 1994; 61 FR 4367, Feb. 6, 1996; 61 FR 9952, Mar. 12, 1996; 62 FR 5929, Feb. 10, 1997; 62 FR 64172, Dec. 4, 1997; 69 FR 29901, May 26, 2004; 69 FR 47795, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 4783, Jan. 31, 2005; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005]
§ 25.131 Filing requirements for receive-only earth stations.
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (j) of this section, and §25.115(a), applications for a license for a receive-only earth station shall be submitted on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, accompanied by any required exhibits and the information described in §§25.130(a)(1) through 25.130(a)(5). All such earth station license applications must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter.
(b) Except as provided in paragraph (j) of this section, receive-only earth stations in the fixed-satellite service that operate with U.S.-licensed satellites may be registered with the Commission in order to protect them from interference from terrestrial microwave stations in bands shared co-equally with the fixed service in accordance with the procedures of §§25.203 and 25.251.
(c) Licensing or registration of receive-only earth stations with the Commission confers no authority to receive and use signals or programming received from satellites. See section 705 of the Communications Act. 47 U.S.C. 605.
(d) Applications for registration shall be filed on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B, accompanied by the coordination exhibit required by §25.203, and any other required exhibits. Any application that is deficient or incomplete in any respect shall be immediately returned to the applicant without processing.
(e) Complete applications for registration will be placed on public notice for 30 days and automatically granted if no objection is submitted to the Commission and served on the applicant. Additional pleadings are authorized in accordance with §1.45 of this chapter.
(f) The registration of a receive-only earth station results in the listing of an authorized frequency band at the location specified in the registration. Interference protection levels are those agreed to during coordination.
(g) Reception of signals or programming from non-U.S. satellites may be subject to restrictions as a result of international agreements or treaties. The Commission will maintain public information on the status of any such agreements.
(h) Registration term: Registrations for receive-only earth stations governed by this section will be issued for a period of 15 years from the date on which the application was filed. Applications for renewals of registrations must be submitted on FCC Form 312R (Application for Renewal of Radio Station License in Specified Services) no earlier than 90 days and no later than 30 days before the expiration date of the registration.
(i) Applications for modification of license or registration of receive-only earth stations shall be made in conformance with §§25.117 and 25.118. In addition, registrants are required to notify the Commission when a receive-only earth station is no longer operational or when it has not been used to provide any service during any 6-month period.
(j)(1) Except as set forth in paragraph (j)(2) of this section, receive-only earth stations operating with non-U.S. licensed space stations shall file an FCC Form 312 requesting a license or modification to operate such station.
(2) Receive-only earth stations used to receive transmissions from non-U.S.-licensed space stations on the Permitted Space Station List need not file for licenses, provided that:
(i) The earth station antenna meets the antenna performance standards set forth in §§25.209(a) and (b), and
(ii) The space station operator and earth station operator comply with all applicable rules set forth in this chapter, and the conditions on the Permitted Space Station List applicable to that space station.
[56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 61 FR 9952, Mar. 12, 1996; 62 FR 5929, Feb. 10, 1997; 62 FR 64172, Dec. 4, 1997; 65 FR 58466, Sept. 29, 2000; 67 FR 12485, Mar. 19, 2002; 68 FR 62249, Nov. 3, 2003; 68 FR 63999, Nov. 12, 2003; 69 FR 29901, May 26, 2004; 69 FR 47795, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005]
§ 25.132 Verification of earth station antenna performance standards.
(a)(1) All applications for transmitting earth stations, except for earth stations operating in the 20/30 GHz band, must be accompanied by a certificate pursuant to §2.902 of this chapter from the manufacturer of each antenna that the results of a series of radiation pattern tests performed on representative equipment in representative configurations by the manufacturer demonstrates that the equipment complies with the performance standards set forth in §25.209. The licensee must be prepared to demonstrate the measurements to the Commission on request.
(2) All applications for transmitting earth stations operating in the 20/30 GHz band must be accompanied by the measurements specified in §§25.138(d) and (e).
(b)(1) In order to demonstrate compliance with §25.209 (a) and (b), the following measurements on a production antenna performed on calibrated antenna range, as a minimum, shall be made at the bottom, middle and top of each allocated frequency band and submitted to the Commission:
(i) Co-polarized patterns for each of two orthogonal senses of polarizations in two orthogonal cuts of the antenna.
(A) In the azimuth plane, plus and minus 7 degrees and plus and minus 180 degrees.
(B) In the elevation plane, zero to forty-five degrees.
(ii) Cross-polarization patterns in the E- and H-planes, plus and minus 9 degrees.
(iii) Main beam gain.
(2) The FCC envelope specified in §25.209 shall be superimposed on each pattern. The minimum tests specified above are recognized as representative of the performance of the antenna in most planes although some increase in sidelobe levels should be expected in the spar planes and orthogonal spar planes.
(3) Applicants seeking authority to use an antenna that does not meet the standards set forth in §25.209(a) and (b), pursuant to the procedure set forth in §25.220, are required to submit a copy of the manufacturer's range test plots of the antenna gain patterns specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(c) The tests specified in paragraph (b) of this section are normally performed at the manufacturer's facility; but for those antennas that are very large and only assembled on-site, on-site measurements may be used for product qualification data. If on-site data is to be used for qualification, the test frequencies and number of patterns should follow, where possible, the recommendations in paragraph (b) of this section, and the test data is to be submitted in the same manner as described in paragraph (a) of this section.
(d) For each new or modified transmitting antenna over 3 meters in diameter, the following on-site verification measurements must be completed at one frequency on an available transponder in each frequency band of interest and submitted to the Commission.
(1) Co-polarized patterns in the elevation plane, plus and minus 7 degrees, in the transmit band.
(2) Co-polarized patterns in the azimuth and elevation planes, plus and minus 7 degrees, in the receive band.
(3) System cross-polarization discrimination on-axis. The FCC envelope specified in §25.209 shall be superimposed on each pattern. The transmit patterns are to be measured with the aid of a co-operating earth station in coordination with the satellite system control center under the provisions of §25.272.
(e) Certification that the tests required by paragraph (c) of this section have been satisfactorily performed shall be provided to the Commission in notification that construction of the facilities has been completed as required by §25.133.
(f) Antennas less than 3 meters in diameter and antennas on simple (manual) drive mounts that are operated at a fixed site are exempt from the requirements of paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section provided that a detailed technical showing is made that confirms proper installation, pointing procedures, and polarization alignment and manufacturing quality control. These showing must also include a plan for periodic testing and field installation procedures and precautions.
(g) Records of the results of the tests required by this section must be maintained at the antenna site or the earth station operator's control center and be available for inspection.
[58 FR 13419, Mar. 11, 1993, as amended at 69 FR 5710, Feb. 6, 2004; 70 FR 32253, June 2, 2005]
§ 25.133 Period of construction; certification of commencement of operation.
(a)(1) Each license for an earth station governed by this part, except for mobile satellite earth station terminals (METs), shall specify as a condition therein the period in which construction of facilities must be completed and station operation commenced. Construction of the earth station must be completed and the station must be brought into operation within 12 months from the date of the license grant except as may be determined by the Commission for any particular application.
(2) Each license for mobile satellite earth station terminals (METs) shall specify as a condition therein the period in which station operation must be commenced. The networks in which the METs will be operated must be brought into operation within 12 months from the date of the license grant except as may be determined by the Commission for any particular application.
(b)(1) Each license for a transmitting earth station included in this part, except for earth stations licensed under a blanket licensing provision, shall also specify as a condition therein that upon the completion of construction, each licensee must file with the Commission a certification containing the following information:
(i) The name of the licensee;
(ii) File number of the application;
(iii) Call sign of the antenna;
(iv) Date of the license;
(v) A certification that the facility as authorized has been completed and that each antenna facility has been tested and is within 2 dB of the pattern specified in §25.209, §25.135 (NVNG MSS earth stations), or §25.213 (1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service earth stations);
(vi) The date on which the earth station became operational; and
(vii) A statement that the station will remain operational during the license period unless the license is submitted for cancellation.
(2) For earth stations authorized under any blanket licensing provision in this chapter, a certification containing the information in paragraph (b)(1) of this section must be filed when the network is put into operation.
(c) If the facility does not meet the technical parameters set forth in §25.209, a request for a waiver must be submitted and approved by the Commission before operations may commence.
(d) Each receiving earth station licensed or registered pursuant to §25.131 must be constructed and placed into service within 6 months after coordination has been completed. Each licensee or registrant must file with the Commission a certification that the facility is completed and operating as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, with the exception of certification of antenna patterns.
[56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 68059, Dec. 23, 1993; 59 FR 53327, Oct. 21, 1994; 65 FR 59142, Oct. 4, 2000; 70 FR 32254, June 2, 2005]
§ 25.134 Licensing provisions of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) and C-band Small Aperture Terminal (CSAT) networks.
(a)(1) VSAT networks operating in the 12/14 GHz bands. All applications for digital VSAT networks granted on or before September 15, 2005, with a maximum outbound downlink EIRP density of +10.0 dBW/4 kHz per carrier and earth station antennas with maximum input power density of -14 dBW/4 kHz will be processed routinely. All applications for analog VSAT networks with maximum outbound downlink power densities of +17.0 dBW/4 kHz per carrier and maximum antenna input power densities of -8.0 dBW/4 kHz shall be processed routinely in accordance with Declaratory Order in the Matter of Routine Licensing of Earth Stations in the 6 GHz and 14 GHz Bands Using Antennas Less than 9 Meters and 5 Meters in Diameter, Respectively, for Both Full Transponder and Narrowband Transmissions, 2 FCC Rcd 2149 (1987) (Declaratory Order).
(a)(2) Large Networks of Small Antennas operating in the 4/6 GHz frequency bands. All applications for digital and/or analog operations will be routinely processed provided the network employs antennas that are 4.5 meter or larger in diameter, that are consistent with §25.209, the power levels are consistent with §§25.211(d) and 25.212(d), and frequency coordination has been satisfactorily completed. The use of smaller antennas or non-consistent power levels require the filing of an initial lead application (§25.115(c)(2)) that includes all technical analyses required to demonstrate that unacceptable interference will not be caused to any and all affected adjacent satellite operators by the operation of the non-conforming earth station.
(b) VSAT networks operating in the 11.7–12.2 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz band. Each applicant for digital and/or analog VSAT network authorization proposing to use transmitted satellite carrier EIRP densities and/or maximum antenna input power in excess of those specified in paragraph (a) of this Section must comply with the procedures set forth in §25.220.
(c) [Reserved]
(d) An application for VSAT authorization shall be filed on FCC Form 312, Main Form and Schedule B.
(e) VSAT operators in the 11.7–12.2 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz frequency bands are permitted to use more than one hub earth station in their networks.
(f) VSAT operators in the 11.7–12.2 GHz and 14.0–14.5 GHz frequency bands are permitted to use temporary fixed earth stations as either hub earth stations or remote earth stations in their networks, but must specify the number of temporary fixed earth stations they plan to use in their networks at the time of their applications.
(g) Starting March 10, 2005, all applications for VSAT service in the 12/14 GHz band that meet the following requirements will be routinely processed: (1) The maximum transmitter power spectral density of a digital modulated carrier into any GSO FSS earth station antenna shall not exceed −14.0 − 10log(N) dB(W/4 kHz). For a VSAT network using frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or time division multiple access (TDMA) technique, N is equal to one. For a VSAT network using code division multiple access (CDMA) technique, N is the maximum number of co-frequency simultaneously transmitting earth stations in the same satellite receiving beam.
(2) The maximum GSO FSS satellite EIRP spectral density of the digital modulated emission shall not exceed 10 dB (W/4kHz) for all methods of modulation and accessing techniques.
(3) The maximum transmitter power spectral density of an analog carrier into any GSO FSS earth station antenna shall not exceed −8.0 dB(W/4kHz) and the maximum GSO FSS satellite EIRP spectral density shall not exceed +17.0 dB(W/4kHz).
(h) VSAT operators licensed pursuant to this section are prohibited from using remote earth stations in their networks that are not designed to stop transmissions from their remote earth stations when synchronization with the target satellite fails.
[56 FR 66001, Dec. 20, 1991, as amended at 62 FR 5929, Feb. 10, 1997; 66 FR 31560, June 12, 2001; 70 FR 32254, June 2, 2005; 70 FR 33376, June 8, 2005]
§ 25.135 Licensing provisions for earth station networks in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service.
(a) Each applicant for a blanket earth station license in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service shall demonstrate that transceiver operations will not cause unacceptable interference to other authorized users of the spectrum, based on existing system information publicly available at the Commission at the time of filing, and will comply with operational conditions placed upon the systems with which they are to operate in accordance with §25.142(b). This demonstration shall include a showing as to all the technical parameters, including duty cycle and power limits, under which the individual user transceivers will operate.
(b) Transceiver units associated with the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service may not be operated on civil aircraft. All portable or hand-held transceiver units (including transceiver units installed in other devices that are themselves portable or hand-held) having a receiver operating in the 137–138 MHz band shall bear the following statement in a conspicuous location on the device: “This device may not be operated while on board a civil aircraft. It must be turned off at all times while on board such an aircraft.” This subsection shall not apply to transceiver units whose receivers are incapable of radiating in the 108–137 MHz frequency bands.
(c) Transceiver units in this service are authorized to communicate with and through U.S. authorized space stations only. No person without an FCC license for such operation may transmit to a space station in this service from anywhere in the United States except to receive service from the holder of a pertinent FCC blanket license or from another party with the permission of such a blanket licensee.
(d) The holder of an FCC blanket license for operation of transceivers for communication via a non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite system shall be responsible for operation of any such transceiver to receive service provided by the blanket licensee or provided by another party with the blanket licensee's consent. Operators of non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite systems shall not transmit communications to or from user transceivers in the United States unless such communications are authorized under a service contract with the holder of a pertinent FCC blanket license or under a service contract another party with authority for such transceiver operation delegated by such a blanket licensee.
[58 FR 68059, Dec. 23, 1993, as amended at 69 FR 5710, Feb. 6, 2004]
§ 25.136 Licensing provisions for user transceivers in the 1.6/2.4 GHz, 1.5/1.6 GHz, and 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Services.
In addition to the technical requirements specified in §25.213, earth stations operating in the 1.6/2.4 GHz and 1.5/1.6 GHz Mobile Satellite Services are subject to the following operating conditions:
(a) User transceiver units associated with the 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service or 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service may not be operated on civil aircraft unless the earth station has a direct physical connection to the aircraft cabin or cockpit communication system.
(b) No person without an FCC license for such operation may transmit to a space station in this service from anywhere in the United States except to receive service from the holder of a pertinent FCC blanket license or from another party with the permission of such a blanket licensee.
(c) The holder of an FCC blanket license for operation of transceivers for communication via a 1.6/2.4 GHz, 1.5/1.6 GHz, or 2 GHz Mobile Satellite Service system shall be responsible for operation of any such transceiver to receive service provided by that licensee or provided by another party with the blanket licensee's consent. Operators of such satellite systems shall not transmit communications to or from user transceivers in the United States unless such communications are authorized under a service contract with the holder of a pertinent FCC blanket license for transceiver operation or under a service contract with another party with authority for such transmission delegated by such a blanket licensee.
(d) Any mobile earth station (MES) associated with the Mobile Satellite Service operating in the 1530–1544 MHz and 1626.5–1645.5 MHz bands shall have the following minimum set of capabilities to ensure compliance with Footnote S5.353A and the priority and real-time preemption requirements imposed by Footnote US315.
(1) All MES transmissions shall have a priority assigned to them that preserves the priority and preemptive access given to maritime distress and safety communications sharing the band.
(2) Each MES with a requirement to handle maritime distress and safety data communications shall be capable of either:
(i) Recognizing message and call priority identification when transmitted from its associated Land Earth Station (LES) or
(ii) Accepting message and call priority identification embedded in the message or call when transmitted from its associated LES and passing the identification to shipboard data message processing equipment.
(3) Each MES shall be assigned a unique terminal identification number that will be transmitted upon any attempt to gain access to a system.
(4) After an MES has gained access to a system, the mobile terminal shall be under control of a LES and shall obtain all channel assignments from it.
(5) All MESs that do not continuously monitor a separate signalling channel or signalling within the communications channel shall monitor the signalling channel at the end of each transmission.
(6) Each MES shall automatically inhibit its transmissions if it is not correctly receiving separate signalling channel or signalling within the communications channel from its associated LES.
(7) Each MES shall automatically inhibit its transmissions on any or all channels upon receiving a channel-shut-off command on a signalling or communications channel it is receiving from its associated LES.
(8) Each MES with a requirement to handle maritime distress and safety communications shall have the capability within the station to automatically preempt lower precedence traffic.
(e) Any Land Earth Station (LES) associated with the Mobile Satellite Service operating in the 1530–1544 MHz and 1626.5–1645.5 MHz bands shall have the following minimum set of capabilities to ensure that the MSS system complies with Footnote S5.353A and the priority and real-time preemption requirements imposed by Footnote US315. It should be noted that the LES operates in the Fixed-Satellite Service (“FSS”) as a feeder-link for the MSS (Radio Regulations 71) and that the following capabilities are to facilitate the priority and preemption requirements. The FSS feeder-link stations fulfilling these MSS requirements shall not have any additional priority with respect to FSS stations operating with other FSS systems.
(1) All LES transmissions to mobile earth stations (MESs) shall have a priority assigned to them that preserves the priority and preemptive access given to maritime distress and safety communications.
(2) The LES shall recognize the priority of calls to and from MES and make channel assignments taking into account the priority access that is given to maritime distress and safety communications.
(3) The LES shall be capable of receiving the MES identification number when transmitted and verifying that it is an authorized user of the system to prohibit unauthorized access.
(4) The LES shall be capable of transmitting channel assignment commands to the MESs.
(5) The communications channels used between the LES and the MES shall have provision for signalling within the voice/data channel, for an MES, which does not continuously monitor the LES signalling channel during the time of a call.
(6) The LES shall transmit periodic control signalling signals to MES, which do not continuously monitor the LES signalling channel.
(7) The LES shall automatically inhibit all transmissions to MESs to which it is not transmitting a signalling channel or signalling within the communications channel.
(8) The LES shall be capable of transmitting channel-shut-off commands to the MESs on signalling or communications channels.
(9) Each LES shall be capable of interrupting, and if necessary, preempting ongoing routine traffic from an MES in order to complete a maritime distress, urgency or safety call to that particular MES.
(10) Each LES shall be capable of automatically turning off one or more of its associated channels in order to complete a maritime distress, urgency or safety call.
(f) Incorporation of ancillary terrestrial component base station into an L-band mobile-satellite service system. Any licensee authorized to construct and launch an L-band mobile-satellite system may construct ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) base stations as defined in §25.201 at its own risk and subject to the conditions specified in this subpart any time after commencing construction of the mobile-satellite service system.
(g) Pre-operational build-out and testing. An MSS licensee may, without further authority from the Commission and at its own risk engage in pre-operational build-out and, conduct equipment tests for the purpose of making such adjustments and measurements as may be necessary to assure compliance with the terms of the technical provisions of its MSS license, ATC operation requirements, the rules and regulations in this Part and the applicable engineering standards. Prior to engaging in such pre-operational build-out and testing, an MSS licensee must notify the Commission concerning the initiation of MSS system satellite construction and the MSS operator's intent to construct and test ATC facilities. This notification must take the form of a letter formally filed with the Commission in the appropriate MSS license docket. Such letter shall specify the frequencies on which the MSS licensee proposes to engage in pre-operational testing and shall specify the name, address, telephone number and other such information as may be necessary to contact a MSS licensee representative for the reporting and mitigation of any interference that may occur as a result of such pre-operational testing and build-out. MSS licensees engaging in pre-operational build-out and testing must also comply with §§5.83, 5.85(c), 5.111, and 5.117 of this chapter relating to experimental operations. An MSS licensee may not offer ATC service to the public for compensation during pre-operational testing. In order to operate any ATC base stations, such a licensee must meet all the requirements set forth in §25.147 and must have been granted ATC authority.
(h) Aircraft. All portable or hand-held transceiver units (including transceiver units installed in other devices that are themselves portable or hand-held) having operating capabilities in the 1626.5–1660.5 MHz and 1525–1559 MHz bands shall bear the following statement in a conspicuous location on the device: “This device may not be operated while on board aircraft. It must be turned off at all times while on board aircraft.”
[65 FR 59142, Oct. 4, 2000, as amended at 67 FR 46604, July 16, 2002; 67 FR 51110, Aug. 7, 2002; 68 FR 43645, July 24, 2003; 68 FR 47858, Aug. 12, 2003; 69 FR 5710, Feb. 6, 2004]
§ 25.137 Application requirements for earth stations operating with non-U.S. licensed space stations.
(a) Earth station applicants or entities filing a “letter of intent” or “Petition for Declaratory Ruling” requesting authority to operate with a non-U.S. licensed space station to serve the United States must attach an exhibit with their FCC Form 312 application with information demonstrating that U.S.-licensed satellite systems have effective competitive opportunities to provide analogous services in:
(1) The country in which the non-U.S. licensed space station is licensed; and
(2) All countries in which communications with the U.S. earth station will originate or terminate. The applicant bears the burden of showing that there are no practical or legal constraints that limit or prevent access of the U.S. satellite system in the relevant foreign markets. The exhibit required by this paragraph must also include a statement of why grant of the application is in the public interest. This paragraph shall not apply with respect to requests for authority to operate using a non-U.S. licensed satellite that is licensed by or seeking a license from a country that is a member of the World Trade Organization for services covered under the World Trade Organization Basic Telecommunications Agreement.
(b) Earth station applicants, or entities filing a “letter of intent,” or “Petition for Declaratory Ruling,” requesting authority to operate with a non-U.S. licensed space station must attach to their FCC Form 312 an exhibit providing legal and technical information for the non-U.S. licensed space station in accordance with part 25. Applications addressed in this paragraph must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS).
(c) A non-U.S. licensed NGSO-like satellite system seeking to serve the United States can be considered contemporaneously with other U.S. NGSO-like satellite system pursuant to §25.157 and considered before later-filed applications of other U.S. satellite system operators, and a non-U.S.-licensed GSO-like satellite system seeking to serve the United States can have its request placed in a queue pursuant to §25.158 and considered before later-filed applications of other U.S. satellite system operators, if the non-U.S. licensed satellite system is:
(1) In orbit and operating;
(2) Has a license from another administration; or
(3) Has been submitted for coordination to the International Telecommunication Union.
(d) Earth station applicants requesting authority to operate with a non-U.S.-licensed space station and non-U.S.-licensed satellite operators filing letters of intent or petitions for declaratory ruling to access the U.S. market must demonstrate that the non-U.S.-licensed space station has complied with all applicable Commission requirements for non-U.S. licensed systems to operate in the United States, including but not limited to the following:
(1) Milestones;
(2) Reporting requirements;
(3) Any other applicable service rules;
(4) For non-U.S.-licensed satellites that are not in orbit and operating, a bond must be posted. This bond must be in the amount of $5 million for NGSO satellite systems, or $3 million for GSO satellites, denominated in U.S. dollars, and compliant with the terms of §25.165 of this chapter. The party posting the bond will be permitted to reduce the amount of the bond upon a showing that a milestone has been met, in accordance with the terms of §25.165(d) of this chapter.
(5) Non-U.S. licensed GSO-like space station operators with a total of five requests for access to the U.S. market in a particular frequency band, or a total of five previously granted requests for access to the U.S. market with unbuilt GSO-like space stations in a particular frequency band, or a combination of pending GSO-like requests and granted requests for unbuilt GSO-like space stations in a particular frequency band that equals five, will not be permitted to request access to the U.S. market with another GSO-like space station license in that frequency band. In addition, non-U.S.-licensed NGSO-like satellite system operators with one request on file with the Commission in a particular frequency band, or one granted request for an unbuilt NGSO-like satellite system in a particular frequency band, will not be permitted to request access to the U.S. market with another NGSO-like satellite system in that frequency band.
(e) A non-U.S.-licensed satellite operator that is seeking to serve the United States pursuant to a Letter of Intent may amend its request by submitting an additional Letter of Intent. Such additional Letters of Intent will be treated as amendments filed by U.S. space station applicants for purposes of determining the order in which the Letters of Intent will be considered relative to other pending applications.
(f) A non-U.S.-licensed satellite operator that has been permitted to serve the United States pursuant to a Letter of Intent or Petition for Declaratory Ruling, may modify its U.S. operations under the procedures set forth in §25.117(d). In addition, a non-U.S.-licensed satellite operator that has been permitted to serve the United States pursuant to a Petition for Declaratory Ruling, may modify its U.S. operations under the procedures set forth in §25.118(e).
(g) A non-U.S.-licensed satellite operator that has been permitted to serve the United States pursuant to a Petition for Declaratory Ruling must notify the Commission if it plans to transfer control or assign its license to another party, so that the Commission can afford interested parties an opportunity to comment on whether the proposed transaction affects any of the considerations we made when we allowed the satellite operator to enter the U.S. market. If the transferee or assignee is not licensed by or seeking a license from a country that is a member of the World Trade Organization for services covered under the World Trade Organization Basic Telecommunications Agreement, the non-U.S.-licensed satellite operator will be required to make the showing described in paragraph (a) of this section.
[62 FR 64172, Dec. 4, 1997, as amended at 64 FR 61792, Nov. 15, 1999; 65 FR 16327, Mar. 28, 2000; 65 FR 59143, Oct. 4, 2000; 68 FR 51503, Aug. 27, 2003; 68 FR 62249, Nov. 3, 2003; 69 FR 51587, Aug. 20, 2004]
§ 25.138 Blanket Licensing provisions of GSO FSS Earth Stations in the 18.3–18.8 GHz (space-to-Earth), 19.7–20.2 GHz (space-to-Earth), 28.35–28.6 GHz (Earth-to-space), and 29.25–30.0 GHz (Earth-to-space) bands.
(a) All applications for a blanket earth station license in the GSO FSS in the 18.3–18.8 GHz, 19.7–20.2 GHz, 28.35–28.6 GHz, and 29.25–30.0 GHz bands that meet the following requirements shall be routinely processed:
(1) GSO FSS earth station antenna off-axis EIRP spectral density for co-polarized signals shall not exceed the following values, within ±3° of the GSO arc, under clear sky conditions:
18.5-25log(Θ)- dBW/40kHz........... for 2.0° [le] 10log(N). Θ [le] 7°-2.63-10log(N).............. dBW/40kHz........... for 7° [le] Θ [le] 9.23°21.5-25log(Θ)- dBW/40kHz........... for 9.23° [le] 10log(N). Θ [le] 48°-10.5-10log(N).............. dBW/40kHz........... for 48° < Θ [le] 180°
|
Where: Θ is the angle in degrees from the axis of the main lobe; for systems where more than one earth station is expected to transmit simultaneously in the same bandwidth, e.g., CDMA systems, N is the likely maximum number of simultaneously transmitting co-frequency earth stations in the receive beam of the satellite; N=1 for TDMA and FDMA systems. (2) GSO FSS earth station antenna off-axis EIRP spectral density for co-polarized signals shall not exceed the following values, for all directions other than within ±3° of the GSO arc, under clear sky conditions: |
21.5-25log(Θ)- dBW/40kHz........... for 3.5° [le] 10log(N). Θ [le] 7°0.37-10log(N)............... dBW/40kHz........... for 7° < Θ [le] 9.23°24.5-25log(Θ)- dBW/40kHz........... for 9.23° < 10log(N). Θ [le] 48°-7.5-10log(N)............... dBW/40kHz........... for 48° < Θ [le] 180°
|
Where: Θ: is the angle in degrees from the axis of the main lobe; for systems where more than one earth station is expected to transmit simultaneously in the same bandwidth, e.g., CDMA systems. N: is the likely maximum number of simultaneously transmitting co-frequency earth stations in the receive beam of the satellite; N=1 for TDMA and FDMA systems. (3) The values given in paragraphs (a) (1) and (2) of this section may be exceeded by 3 dB, for values of Θ >10°, provided that the total angular range over which this occurs does not exceed 20° when measured along both sides of the GSO arc. (4) GSO FSS earth station antenna off-axis EIRP spectral density for cross-polarized signals shall not exceed the following values, in all directions relative to the GSO arc, under clear sky conditions: |
8.5-25log(Θ)-10log(N) dBW/40kHz........... for 2.0° [le] Θ [le] 7°12.63-10log(N).............. dBW/40kHz........... for 7° < Θ [le] 9.23°
|
Where: Θ: is the angle in degrees from the axis of the main lobe; for systems where more than one earth station is expected to transmit simultaneously in the same bandwidth, e.g., CDMA systems. N: is the likely maximum number of simultaneously transmitting co-frequency earth stations in the receive beam of the satellite; N=1 for TDMA and FDMA systems. (5) For earth stations employing uplink power control, the values in paragraphs (a) (1), (2), and (4) of this section may be exceeded by up to 20 dB under conditions of uplink fading due to precipitation. The amount of such increase in excess of the actual amount of monitored excess attenuation over clear sky propagation conditions shall not exceed 1.5 dB or 15 % of the actual amount of monitored excess attenuation in dB, whichever is larger, with a confidence level of 90 percent except over transient periods accounting for no more than 0.5% of the time during which the excess is no more than 4.0 dB. (6) Power flux-density (PFD) at the Earth's surface produced by emissions from a space station for all conditions, including clear sky, and for all methods of modulation shall not exceed a level of −118 dBW/m2 /MHz, in addition to the limits specified in §25.208 (d). (b) Each applicant for earth station license(s) that proposes levels in excess of those defined in paragraph (a) of this section shall submit link budget analyses of the operations proposed along with a detailed written explanation of how each uplink and each transmitted satellite carrier density figure is derived. Applicants shall also submit a narrative summary which must indicate whether there are margin shortfalls in any of the current baseline services as a result of the addition of the applicant's higher power service, and if so, how the applicant intends to resolve those margin short falls. Applicants shall certify that all potentially affected parties (i.e., those GSO FSS satellite networks that are 2, 4, and 6 degrees apart) acknowledge and do not object to the use of the applicant's higher power densities. (c) Licensees authorized pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section shall bear the burden of coordinating with any future applicants or licensees whose proposed compliant operations at 6 degrees or smaller orbital spacing, as defined by paragraph (a) of this section, is potentially or actually adversely affected by the operation of the non-compliant licensee. If no good faith agreement can be reached, however, the non-compliant licensee shall reduce its earth station and space station power density levels to be compliant with those specified in paragraph (a) of this section. (d) The applicant shall provide for each earth station antenna type, a series of radiation patterns measured on a production antenna performed on a calibrated antenna range and, as a minimum, shall be made at the bottom, middle, and top frequencies of the 30 GHz band. The radiation patterns are: (1) Co-polarized patterns for each of two orthogonal senses of polarizations in two orthogonal planes of the antenna. (i) In the azimuth plane, plus and minus 10 degrees and plus and minus 180 degrees. (ii) In the elevation plane, zero to 30 degrees. (2) Cross-polarization patterns in the E- and H-planes, plus and minus 10 degrees. (3) Main beam gain. (e) Protection of receive earth stations from adjacent satellite interference is based on either the antenna performance specified in §25.209 (a) and (b), or the actual receiving earth station antenna performance, if actual performance provides greater isolation from adjacent satellite interference. For purposes of insuring the correct level of protection, the applicant shall provide, for each earth station antenna type, the antenna performance plots for the 20 GHz band, including the format specified in paragraph (d) of this section. (f) The earth station licensee shall not transmit towards a GSO FSS satellite unless it has prior authorization from the satellite operator or a space segment vendor authorized by the satellite operator. The specific transmission shall be conducted in accordance with the operating protocol specified by the satellite operator. The holder of an FCC blanket license pursuant to this section shall be responsible for operation of any transceiver to receive GSO FSS service provided by that licensee or provided by another party with the blanket licensee's consent. Operators of GSO FSS systems shall not transmit communications to or from user transceivers in the United States unless such communications are authorized under a service contract with the holder of a pertinent FCC blanket license or under a service contract with another party with authority for such transceiver operation delegated by such a blanket licensee. (g) A licensee applying to renew its license must include on FCC Form 405 the number of constructed earth stations. [65 FR 54169, Sept. 7, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 63515, Dec. 7, 2001; 68 FR 16966, Apr. 8, 2003; 69 FR 5710, Feb. 6, 2004] § 25.139 NGSO FSS coordination and information sharing between MVDDS licensees in the 12.2 GHz to 12.7 GHz band.(a) NGSO FSS licensees shall maintain a subscriber database in a format that can be readily shared with MVDDS licensees for the purpose of determining compliance with the MVDDS transmitting antenna spacing requirement relating to qualifying existing NGSO FSS subscriber receivers set forth in §101.129 of this chapter. This information shall not be used for purposes other than set forth in §101.129 of this chapter. Only sufficient information to determine compliance with §101.129 of this chapter is required. (b) Within ten business days of receiving notification of the location of a proposed MVDDS transmitting antenna, the NGSO FSS licensee shall provide sufficient information from the database to enable the MVDDS licensee to determine whether the proposed MVDDS transmitting site meets the minimum spacing requirement. (c) If the location of the proposed MVDDS transmitting antenna site does not meet the separation requirements of §101.129 of this chapter, then the NGSO FSS licensee shall also indicate to the MVDDS licensee within the same ten day period specified in paragraph (b) of this section whether the proposed MVDDS transmitting site is acceptable at the proposed location. (d) Nothing in this section shall preclude NGSO FSS and MVDDS licensees from entering into an agreement to accept MVDDS transmitting antenna locations that are shorter-spaced from existing NGSO FSS subscriber receivers than the distance set forth in §101.129 of this chapter. [67 FR 43037, June 26, 2002, as amended at 68 FR 43945, July 25, 2003] Space Stations§ 25.140 Qualifications of fixed-satellite space station licensees.(a) New fixed-satellites shall comply with the requirements established in Report and Order, CC Docket No. 81–704 (available at address in §0.445 of this chapter.) Applications must also meet the requirements in paragraphs (b) through (d) of this section. The Commission may require additional or different information in the case of any individual application. Applications will be unacceptable for filing and will be returned to the applicant if they do not meet the requirements referred to in this paragraph. (b) Each applicant for a space station authorization in the fixed-satellite service must demonstrate, on the basis of the documentation contained in its application, that it is legally, technically, and otherwise qualified to proceed expeditiously with the construction, launch and/or operation of each proposed space station facility immediately upon grant of the requested authorization. Each applicant must provide the following information: (1) The information specified in §25.114; and (2) An interference analysis to demonstrate the compatibility of its proposed system 2 degrees from any authorized space station. An applicant should provide details of its proposed r.f. carriers which it believes should be taken into account in this analysis. At a minimum, the applicant must include, for each type of r.f. carrier, the link noise budget, modulation parameters, and overall link performance analysis. (See, e.g., appendices B and C to Licensing of Space Stations in the Domestic Fixed-Satellite Service (available at address in §0.445)). (c)–(g) [Reserved] [62 FR 5929, Feb. 10, 1997, as amended at 68 FR 51504, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.142 Licensing provisions for the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service.(a) Space station application requirements. (1) Each application for a space station system authorization in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service shall describe in detail the proposed non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite system, setting forth all pertinent technical and operational aspects of the system, and the technical and legal qualifications of the applicant. In particular, each application shall include the information specified in §25.114. Applicants must also file information demonstrating compliance with all requirements of this section, and showing, based on existing system information publicly available at the Commission at the time of filing, that they will not cause unacceptable interference to any non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service system authorized to construct or operate. (2) Applicants for a non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite must identify the power flux density produced at the Earth's surface by each space station of their system in the frequency bands 137–138 MHz and 400.15–401 MHz, to allow determination of whether coordination with terrestrial services is required under international footnotes 599A and 647B of §2.106 of the Commission's Rules. In addition, applicants must identify the measures they would employ to protect the radio astronomy service in the 150.05–153 MHz and 406.1–410 MHz bands from harmful interference from unwanted emissions. (3) Emission limitations. (i) Applicants in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service shall show that their space stations will not exceed the emission limitations of §25.202(f) (1), (2) and (3), as calculated for a fixed point on the Earth's surface in the plane of the space station's orbit, considering the worst-case frequency tolerance of all frequency determining components, and maximum positive and negative Doppler shift of both the uplink and downlink signals, taking into account the system design. (ii) Applicants in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service shall show that no signal received by their satellites from sources outside of their system shall be retransmitted with a power flux density level, in the worst 4 kHz, higher than the level described by the applicants in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. (4) [Reserved] (5) Replacement of space stations within the system license term. The licensee need not file separate applications to construct, launch and operate technically identical replacement satellites within the term of the system authorization. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, at least thirty days prior to launch of such replacement(s) that: (i) The licensee intends to launch a space station that is technically identical to those authorized in its system license, and (ii) Launch of this space station will not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. (b) Operating conditions. In order to ensure compatible operations with authorized users in the frequency bands to be utilized for operations in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service, non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service systems must operate in accordance with the conditions specified in this section. (1) Service limitation. Voice services may not be provided. (2) Coordination requirements with Federal government users. (i) The frequency bands allocated for use by the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service are also authorized for use by agencies of the Federal government. The Federal use of frequencies in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service frequency bands is under the regulatory jurisdiction of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). (ii) The Commission will use its existing procedures for liaison with NTIA to reach agreement with respect to achieving compatible operations between Federal government users under the jurisdiction of NTIA and non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service systems (including user transceivers subject to blanket licensing under §25.115(d)) through the frequency assignment and coordination practices established by NTIA and the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC). In order to facilitate such frequency assignment and coordination, applicants shall provide the Commission with sufficient information to evaluate electromagnetic compatibility with the Federal government use of the spectrum, and any additional information requested by the Commission. As part of the coordination process, applicants shall show that they will not cause unacceptable interference to authorized Federal government users, based upon existing system information provided by the Government. The frequency assignment and coordination of the satellite system with Federal government users shall be completed prior to grant of construction authorization. (iii) The Commission shall also coordinate with NTIA/IRAC with regard to the frequencies to be shared by those earth stations of non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service systems that are not subject to blanket licensing under §25.115(d), and authorized Federal government stations in the fixed and mobile services, through the exchange of appropriate systems information. (3) Coordination among non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service systems. Applicants for authority to establish non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service systems are encouraged to coordinate their proposed frequency usage with existing permittees and licensees in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service whose facilities could be affected by the new proposal in terms of frequency interference or restricted system capacity. All affected applicants, permittees, and licensees shall, at the direction of the Commission, cooperate fully and make every reasonable effort to resolve technical problems and conflicts that may inhibit effective and efficient use of the radio spectrum; however, the permittee or licensee being coordinated with is not obligated to suggest changes or re-engineer an applicant's proposal in cases involving conflicts. (4) Safety and distress communications. Stations operating in the non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service that are used to comply with any statutory or regulatory equipment carriage requirements may also be subject to the provisions of sections 321(b) and 359 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Licensees are advised that these provisions give priority to radio communications or signals relating to ships in distress and prohibit a charge for the transmission of maritime distress calls and related traffic. (c) Reporting requirements. All operators of non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service systems shall, on June 30 of each year, file a report with the International Bureau and the Commission's Columbia Operations Center in Columbia, Maryland, containing the following information current as of May 31st of that year: (1) A listing of any non-scheduled space station outages for more than thirty minutes and the cause(s) of such outages; (2) A detailed description of the utilization made of the in-orbit satellite system. That description should identify the percentage of time that the system is actually used for domestic transmission, the amount of capacity (if any) sold but not in service, and the amount of unused system capacity; and (3) Identification of any space stations not available for service or otherwise not performing to specifications, the cause(s) of these difficulties, and the date any space station was taken out of service or the malfunction identified. (d) Prohibition of certain agreements. No license shall be granted to any applicant for a non-voice, non-geostationary mobile-satellite service system if that applicant, or any companies controlling or controlled by the applicant, shall acquire or enjoy any right, for the purpose of handling traffic to or from the United States, its territories or possessions, to construct or operate space segment or earth stations in the non-voice, non-geosynchronous mobile-satellite service, or to interchange traffic, which is denied to any other United States company by reason of any concession, contract, understanding, or working arrangement to which the licensee or any persons or companies controlling or controlled by the licensee are parties. (e) Spectrum priority. (1) The non-voice, non-geosynchronous mobile-satellite service system that is authorized in the second application processing round to operate in the 148–148.25 MHz, 148.75–148.855 MHz, 148.905–149.81 MHz and 150–150.05 MHz uplink frequency bands and the 400.505–400.5517 MHz, 400.5983–400.645 MHz, 137.025–137.175 MHz, 137.333–137.4125 MHz, 137.475–137.525 MHz, 137.595–137.645 MHz, 137.753–137.787 MHz and 137.825–138 MHz downlink frequency bands (the “System 2 licensee”) will have a first priority to apply for and use a limited amount of downlink spectrum duly allocated worldwide and domestically to the non-voice, non-geosynchronous mobile-satellite service by the ITU, at WRC–97 or a subsequent World Radiocommunication Conference, and by the Commission, respectively (the “Future Spectrum”). The System 2 licensee will be eligible to apply for and use the first 210 kHz of Future Spectrum plus spectrum sufficient to account for Doppler frequency shift in the Future Spectrum (the “Supplemental Spectrum”) to implement its non-voice, non-geosynchronous mobile-satellite service system. The System 2 licensee's application for and use of the Supplemental Spectrum is subject to the Commission's Rules and policies, such reasonable operating conditions as may be imposed by the Commission, and international spectrum coordination requirements. For so long as the System 2 licensee is permitted by the Government of France to operate in the 400.5517–400.5983 MHz band coordinated with the French system S80–1, the Supplemental Spectrum shall be reduced to an amount equivalent to 150 kHz of Future Spectrum plus spectrum sufficient to account for Doppler frequency shift in the Future Spectrum. (2) The System 2 licensee's priority to apply for and use the Supplemental Spectrum is conditioned on the System 2 licensee's compliance with the terms and conditions of its second processing round authorization, including, but not limited to, its system construction, launch and operation milestones, and any modifications thereto, and the Commission's Rules. The System 2 licensee's priority to apply for and use the Supplemental Spectrum shall automatically terminate upon the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) The System 2 licensee being permitted to operate in the Supplemental Spectrum; (ii) The expiration or revocation of the System 2 licensee's second processing round authorization; (iii) The discontinuance of use of the spectrum assigned to the System 2 licensee under its second processing round authorization; or (iv) The surrender of the System 2 licensee's second processing round authorization to the Commission. [58 FR 68060, Dec. 23, 1993, as amended at 62 FR 5930, Feb. 10, 1997; 62 FR 59295, Nov. 3, 1997; 68 FR 51504, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.143 Licensing provisions for the 1.6/2.4 GHz mobile-satellite service and 2 GHz mobile-satellite service.(a) System license. Applicants authorized to construct and launch a system of technically identical satellites will be awarded a single “blanket” license. In the case of non-geostationary satellites, the blanket license will cover a specified number of space stations to operate in a specified number of orbital planes. In the case of geostationary satellites, as part of a geostationary-only satellite system or a geostationary/non-geostationary hybrid satellite system, an individual license will be issued for each satellite to be located at a geostationary orbital location. (b) Qualification Requirements—(1) General Requirements. Each application for a space station system authorization in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service or 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service shall describe in detail the proposed satellite system, setting forth all pertinent technical and operational aspects of the system, and the technical and legal qualifications of the applicant. In particular, each application shall include the information specified in §25.114. Non-U.S. licensed systems shall comply with the provisions of §25.137. (2) Technical qualifications. In addition to providing the information specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, each applicant and letter of intent filer shall demonstrate the following: (i) That a proposed system in the 1.6/2.4 GHz MSS frequency bands employs a non-geostationary constellation or constellations of satellites; (ii) That a system proposed to operate using non-geostationary satellites be capable of providing mobile satellite services to all locations as far north as 70 deg. North latitude and as far south as 55 deg. South latitude for at least 75% of every 24-hour period, i.e., that at least one satellite will be visible above the horizon at an elevation angle of at least 5 deg. for at least 18 hours each day within the described geographic area; (iii) That a system proposed to operate using non-geostationary satellites be capable of providing mobile satellite services on a continuous basis throughout the fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, i.e., that at least one satellite will be visible above the horizon at an elevation angle of at least 5 deg. at all times within the described geographic areas; and (iv) That a system only using geostationary orbit satellites, at a minimum, be capable of providing mobile satellite services on a continuous basis throughout the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, if technically feasible. (v) That operations will not cause unacceptable interference to other authorized users of the spectrum. In particular, each application in the 1.6/2.4 GHz frequency bands shall demonstrate that the space station(s) comply with the requirements specified in §25.213. (3) [Reserved] (c) Replacement of Space Stations Within the System License Term. Licensees of 1.6/2.4 GHz mobile-satellite systems authorized through a blanket license pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section need not file separate applications to construct, launch and operate technically identical replacement satellites within the term of the system authorization. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, at least thirty days prior to launch of such replacement(s) that: (1) The licensee intends to launch a space station that is technically identical to those authorized in its system authorization, and (2) Launch of this space station will not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. (d) In-Orbit Spares. Licensees need not file separate applications to operate technically identical in-orbit spares authorized as part of the blanket license pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, within 10 days of bringing the in-orbit spare into operation, that operation of this space station did not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. (e) Reporting requirements. (1) All operators of 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service systems and 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service systems shall, on October 15 of each year, file with the International Bureau and the Commission's Columbia Operations Center, Columbia, Maryland, a report containing the following information current as of September 30 of that year: (i) Status of satellite construction and anticipated launch dates, including any major problems or delays encountered; (ii) A listing of any non-scheduled space station outages for more than 30 minutes and the cause or causes of the outage; (iii) A detailed description of the utilization made of the in-orbit satellite system. That description should identify the percentage of time that the system is actually used for U.S. domestic or transborder transmission, the amount of capacity (if any) sold but not in service within U.S. territorial geographic areas, and the amount of unused system capacity. 2 GHz Mobile Satellite systems receiving expansion spectrum as part of the unserved areas spectrum incentive must provide a report on the actual number of subscriber minutes originating or terminating in unserved areas as a percentage of the actual U.S. system use; and (iv) Identification of any space stations not available for service or otherwise not performing to specifications, the cause or causes of these difficulties, and the date any space station was taken out of service or the malfunction identified. (2) All operators of 1.6/2.4 GHz mobile-satellite systems shall, within 10 days after a required implementation milestone as specified in the system authorization, certify to the Commission by affidavit that the milestone has been met or notify the Commission by letter that it has not been met. At its discretion, the Commission may require the submission of additional information (supported by affidavit of a person or persons with knowledge thereof) to demonstrate that the milestone has been met. (3) All operators of 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service systems must begin system construction upon award of a service link license to U.S.-based applicants, or upon designation of spectrum for non-U.S.-based systems, in accordance with milestones set forth in the respective system's authorization. All operators of 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service systems shall, within 10 days after a required implementation milestone as specified in the system authorization, certify to the Commission by affidavit that the milestone has been met or notify the Commission by letter that it has not been met. At its discretion, the Commission may require the submission of additional information (supported by affidavit of a person or persons with knowledge thereof) to demonstrate that the milestone has been met. Failure to file timely certification of milestones, or filing disclosure of non-compliance, will result in automatic cancellation of the authorization with no further action required on the Commission's part. (f) Safety and distress communications. (1) Stations operating in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service and 2 GHz Mobile-Satellite Service that are voluntarily installed on a U.S. ship or are used to comply with any statute or regulatory equipment carriage requirements may also be subject to the requirements of sections 321(b) and 359 of the Communications Act of 1934. Licensees are advised that these provisions give priority to radio communications or signals relating to ships in distress and prohibits a charge for the transmission of maritime distress calls and related traffic. (2) Licensees offering distress and safety services should coordinate with the appropriate search and rescue organizations responsible for the licensees service area. (g) [Reserved] (h) Prohibition of certain agreements. No license shall be granted to any applicant for a space station in the mobile satellite service operating at 1610–1626.5/2483.5–2500 MHz if that applicant, or any persons or companies controlling or controlled by the applicant, shall acquire or enjoy any right, for the purpose of handling traffic to or from the United States, its territories or possession, to construct or operate space segment or earth stations, or to interchange traffic, which is denied to any other United States company by reason of any concession, contract, understanding, or working arrangement to which the Licensee or any persons or companies controlling or controlled by the Licensee are parties. (i) Incorporation of ancillary terrestrial component base stations into a 1.6/2.4 GHz mobile-satellite service network or a 2 GHz mobile-satellite service network. Any licensee authorized to construct and launch a 1.6/2.4 GHz or a 2 GHz mobile-satellite system may construct ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) base stations as defined in §25.201 at its own risk and subject to the conditions specified in this subpart any time after commencing construction of the mobile-satellite service system. (j) Pre-operational build-out and testing. An MSS licensee may, without further authority from the Commission and at its own risk, engage in pre-operational build-out and conduct equipment tests for the purpose of making such adjustments and measurements as may be necessary to assure compliance with the terms of the technical provisions of its MSS license, ATC operation requirements, the rules and regulations in this Part and the applicable engineering standards. Prior to engaging in such pre-operational build-out and testing, an MSS licensee must notify the Commission concerning the initiation of MSS system satellite construction and the MSS operator's intent to construct and test ATC facilities. This notification must take the form of a letter formally filed with the Commission in the appropriate MSS license docket. Such letter shall specify the frequencies on which the MSS licensee proposes to engage in pre-operational testing and shall specify the name, address, telephone number and other such information as may be necessary to contact a MSS licensee representative for the reporting and mitigation of any interference that may occur as a result of such pre-operational testing and build-out. MSS licensees engaging in pre-operational build-out and testing must also comply with §§5.83, 5.85(c), 5.111, and 5.117 of this chapter relating to experimental operations. An MSS licensee may not offer ATC service to the public for compensation during pre-operational testing. In order to operate any ATC base stations, such a licensee must meet all the requirements set forth in §25.149 and must have been granted ATC authority. (k) Aircraft. ATC mobile terminals must be operated in accordance with 25.136(a). All portable or hand-held transceiver units (including transceiver units installed in other devices that are themselves portable or hand-held) having operating capabilities in the 2000–2020/2180–2200 MHz or 1610–1626.5 MHz/2483.5–2500 MHz bands shall bear the following statement in a conspicuous location on the device: “This device may not be operated while on board aircraft. It must be turned off at all times while on board aircraft.” [59 FR 53328, Oct. 21, 1994, as amended at 61 FR 9945, Mar. 12, 1996; 62 FR 5930, Feb. 10, 1997; 65 FR 59143, Oct. 4, 2000; 68 FR 33649, June 5, 2003; 68 FR 47858, Aug. 12, 2003; 68 FR 51504, Aug. 27, 2003; 70 FR 59277, Oct. 12, 2005] § 25.144 Licensing provisions for the 2.3 GHz satellite digital audio radio service.(a) Qualification Requirements: (1) [Reserved] (2) General Requirements: Each application for a system authorization in the satellite digital audio radio service in the 2310–2360 MHz band shall describe in detail the proposed satellite digital audio radio system, setting forth all pertinent technical and operational aspects of the system, and the technical, legal, and financial qualifications of the applicant. In particular, applicants must file information demonstrating compliance with §25.114 and all of the requirements of this section. (3) Technical Qualifications: In addition to the information specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, each applicant shall: (i) Demonstrate that its system will, at a minimum, service the 48 contiguous states of the United States (full CONUS); (ii) Certify that its satellite DARS system includes a receiver that will permit end users to access all licensed satellite DARS systems that are operational or under construction; and (iii) Identify the compression rate it will use to transmit audio programming. If applicable, the applicant shall identify the compression rate it will use to transmit services that are ancillary to satellite DARS. (b) Milestone requirements. Each applicant for system authorization in the satellite digital audio radio service must demonstrate within 10 days after a required implementation milestone as specified in the system authorization, and on the basis of the documentation contained in its application, certify to the Commission by affidavit that the milestone has been met or notify the Commission by letter that it has not been met. At its discretion, the Commission may require the submission of additional information (supported by affidavit of a person or persons with knowledge thereof) to demonstrate that the milestone has been met. The satellite DARS milestones are as follows, based on the date of authorization: (1) One year: Complete contracting for construction of first space station or begin space station construction; (2) Two years: If applied for, complete contracting for construction of second space station or begin second space station construction; (3) Four years: In orbit operation of at least one space station; and (4) Six years: Full operation of the satellite system. (c) Reporting requirements. All licensees of satellite digital audio radio service systems shall, on June 30 of each year, file a report with the International Bureau and the Commission's Laurel, Maryland field office containing the following information: (1) Status of space station construction and anticipated launch date, including any major problems or delay encountered; (2) A listing of any non-scheduled space station outages for more than thirty minutes and the cause(s) of such outages; and (3) Identification of any space station(s) not available for service or otherwise not performing to specifications, the cause(s) of these difficulties, and the date any space station was taken out of service or the malfunction identified. (d) The license term for each digital audio radio service satellite shall commence when the satellite is launched and put into operation and the term will run for eight years. [62 FR 11105, Mar. 11, 1997, as amended at 68 FR 51504, Aug. 27, 2003; 70 FR 32254, June 2, 2005] § 25.145 Licensing conditions for the Fixed-Satellite Service in the 20/30 GHz bands.(a) Except as provided in §25.210(b), in general all rules contained in this part apply to Fixed-Satellite Service in the 20/30 GHz bands. (b) System License. Applicants authorized to construct and launch a system of technically identical non-geostationary satellite orbit satellites will be awarded a single “blanket” license covering a specified number of space stations to operate in a specified number of orbital planes. (c) In addition to providing the information specified in §25.114, each non-geostationary satellite orbit applicant shall demonstrate the following: (1) That the proposed system be capable of providing fixed-satellite services to all locations as far north as 70 deg. latitude and as far south as 55 deg. latitude for at least 75% of every 24-hour period; and (2) That the proposed system is capable of providing fixed-satellite services on a continuous basis throughout the fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. (3) [Reserved] (d) [Reserved] (e) Prohibition of certain agreements. No license shall be granted to any applicant for a space station in the fixed-satellite service operating in the 20/30 GHz band if that applicant, or any persons or companies controlling or controlled by the applicant, shall acquire or enjoy any right, for the purpose of handling traffic to or from the United States, its territories or possession, to construct or operate space segment or earth stations, or to interchange traffic, which is denied to any other United States company by reason of any concession, contract, understanding, or working arrangement to which the Licensee or any persons or companies controlling or controlled by the Licensee are parties. (f)(1) Reporting Requirements. All licensees in the 20/30 GHz band shall, on June 30 of each year, file a report with the International Bureau and the Commission's Columbia Operations Center, 9200 Farm House Lane, Columbia, MD 21046 containing the following information: (i) Status of space station construction and anticipated launch date, including any major problems or delay encountered; (ii) A listing of any non-scheduled space station outages for more than thirty minutes and the cause(s) of such outages; and (iii) Identification of any space station(s) not available for service or otherwise not performing to specifications, the cause(s) of these difficulties, and the date any space station was taken out of service or the malfunction identified. (iv) All operators of NGSO FSS systems in the 18.8–19.3 GHz and 28.6–29.1 GHz bands shall, within 10 days after a required implementation milestone as specified in the system authorization certify to the Commission by affidavit that the milestone has been met or notify the Commission by letter that it has not been met. At its discretion, the Commission may require the submission of additional information (supported by affidavit of a person or person with knowledge thereof) to demonstrate that the milestone has been met. Failure to file a timely certification of milestones, or filing disclosure of non-compliance, will result in automatic cancellation of the authorization with no further action required on the Commission's part. (2) Licensees shall submit to the Commission a yearly report indicating the number of earth stations actually brought into service under its blanket licensing authority. The annual report is due to the Commission no later than the first day of April of each year and shall indicate the deployment figures for the preceding calendar year. (g) Policy governing the relocation of terrestrial services from the 18.3 to 19.3 GHz band. Frequencies in the 18.3–19.3 GHz band listed in parts 21, 74, 78, and 101 of this chapter have been reallocated for primary use by the Fixed-Satellite Service, subject to various provisions for the existing terrestrial licenses. Fixed-Satellite Service operations are not entitled to protection from the co-primary operations until after the period during which terrestrial stations remain co-primary has expired. (see §§21.901(e), 74.502(c), 74.602(g), 78.18(a)(4), and 101.147(r) of this chapter). (h) Replacement of Space Stations within the System License Term. Licensees of NGSO FSS systems in the 18.8–19.3 GHz and 28.6–29.1 GHz frequency bands authorized through a blanket license pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section need not file separate applications to launch and operate technically identical replacement satellites within the term of the system authorization. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, at least thirty days prior to launch of such replacement(s) that: (1) The licensee intends to launch a space station into the previously-authorized orbit that is technically identical to those authorized in its system authorization and (2) Launch of this space station will not cause the license to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. (i) In-Orbit Spares. Licensees need not file separate applications to operate technically identical in-orbit spares authorized as part of the blanket license pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, within 10 days of bringing the in-orbit spare into operation, that operation of this space station did not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. [62 FR 61456, Nov. 18, 1997, as amended at 65 FR 54171, Sept. 7, 2000; 66 FR 63515, Dec. 7, 2001; 67 FR 39310, June 7, 2002; 68 FR 16966, Apr. 8, 2003; 68 FR 51505, Aug. 27, 2003; 68 FR 59129, Oct. 14, 2003; 70 FR 59277, Oct. 12, 2005] § 25.146 Licensing and operating authorization provisions for the non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz.(a) A comprehensive technical showing shall be submitted for the proposed non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) system in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz. The technical information shall demonstrate that the proposed NGSO FSS system would not exceed the validation equivalent power flux-density (EPFD) limits as specified in §25.208 (g), (k), and (l) for EPFDdown, and EPFDup. If the technical demonstration exceeds the validation EPFD limits at any test points within the U.S. for domestic service and at any points outside of the U.S. for international service or at any points in the geostationary satellite orbit, as appropriate, the application would be unacceptable for filing and will be returned to the applicant with a brief statement identifying the non-compliance technical demonstration. The technical showing consists of the following: (1) Single-entry validation equivalent power flux-density, in the space-to-Earth direction, (EPFD (ii) Identify and describe in detail the assumptions and conditions used in generating the power flux-density masks. (iii) If a computer program that has been approved by the ITU for determining compliance with the single-entry EPFDdown validation limits is not yet available, the applicant shall provide a computer program for the single-entry EPFDdown validation computation, including both the source code and the executable file. This computer program shall be developed in accordance with the specification stipulated in Recommendation ITU-R S.1503 (2000). If the applicant uses the ITU approved software, the applicant shall indicate the program name and the version used. (iv) Identify and describe in detail the necessary input parameters for the execution of the computer program identified in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section. (v) Provide the result, the cumulative probability distribution function of EPFD, of the execution of the computer program described in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section by using only the input parameters contained in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(iv) of this section. (2) Single-entry validation equivalent power flux-density, in the Earth-to-space direction, EPFD (ii) Identify and describe in detail the assumptions and conditions used in generating the maximum earth station e.i.r.p. mask. (iii) If a computer program that has been approved by the ITU for determining compliance with the single-entry EPFDup validation limits is not yet available, the applicant shall provide a computer program for the single-entry EPFDup validation computation, including both the source code and the executable file. This computer program shall be developed in accordance with the specification stipulated in Recommendation ITU-R S.1503 (2000). If the applicant uses the ITU approved software, the applicant shall indicate the program name and the version used. (iv) Identify and describe in detail the necessary input parameters for the execution of the computer program identified in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section. (v) Provide the result of the execution of the computer program described in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section by using only the input parameters contained in paragraphs (a)(2)(i) and (a)(2)(iv) of this section. (b) Ninety days prior to the initiation of service to the public, the NGSO FSS system licensee shall submit a comprehensive technical showing for the non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) system in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz. The technical information shall demonstrate that the NGSO FSS system is expected not to operate in excess of the additional operational EPFDdown limits and the operational EPFDdown limits as specified in §25.208 (i), (j) and notes 2 and 3 to the table in paragraph (l). If the technical demonstration exceeds the additional operational EPFDdown limits or the operational EPFDdown limits at any test points with the U.S. for domestic service and at any test points out side of the U.S. for international service, the NGSO FSS system licensee shall not initiate service to the public until the deficiency has been rectified by reducing satellite transmission power or other adjustments. This must be substantiated by subsequent technical showings. The technical showings consist of the following: (1) Single-entry additional operational equivalent power flux-density, in the space-to-Earth direction, (additional operational EPFD (ii) Identify and describe in detail the assumptions and conditions used in generating the anticipated operational power flux-density masks. (iii) Provide a computer program for the single-entry additional operational EPFDdown verification computation, including both the source code and the executable file. This computer program could be developed by using the method specified in ITU-R Recommendation BO.1503. (iv) Identify and describe in detail the necessary input parameters for the execution of the additional operational EPFDdown verification computer program identified in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section. (v) Provide the result, the cumulative probability distribution function of EPFD, of the execution of the verification computer program described in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section by using only the input parameters contained in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (b)(1)(iv) of this section for each of the submitted test points provided by the Commission. These test points are based on information from U.S.-licensed geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service and broadcast satellite service operators in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz. Each U.S.-licensed geostationary satellite orbit fixed satellite service and broadcast satellite service operator in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz may submit up to 10 test points for this section containing the latitude, longitude, altitude, azimuth, elevation angle, antenna size, efficiency to be used by non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service licensees in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz during the upcoming year. (2) Operational equivalent power flux-density, space-to-Earth direction, (operational EPFDdown) limits. Using the information contained in (b)(1) of this section plus the measured space station antenna patterns, provide the result of the execution of the computer simulation for the anticipated in-line operational EPFDdown levels for each of the submitted test points provided by the Commission. Submitted test points are based on inputs from U.S.-licensed geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service and broadcast satellite service operators in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz. Each U.S.-licensed geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service and broadcast satellite service operator in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz may submit up to 10 test points for this section containing the latitude, longitude, altitude, azimuth, elevation angle, antenna size, efficiency to be used by non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service licensees in the bands 10.7 GHz to 14.5 GHz during the upcoming year. (c) The NGSO FSS system licensee shall, on June 30 of each year, file a report with the International Bureau and the Commission's Columbia Operations Center in Columbia, Maryland, certifying that the system continues to operate within the bounds of the masks and other input parameters specified under 25.146(a) and 25.146(b) as well as certifying the status of the additional operational EPFDdown levels into the 3 m and 10 m geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service receiving Earth station antennas, the operational EPFDdown levels into the 3 m, 4.5 m, 6.2 m and 10 m geostationary satellite orbit fixed-satellite service receiving Earth station antennas and the operational EPFDdown levels into the 180 cm geostationary satellite orbit broadcast satellite service receiving Earth station antennas in Hawaii and 240 cm geostationary satellite orbit broadcast satellite service receiving Earth station antennas in Alaska. (d) The Commission may request at any time additional information from the NGSO FSS system applicant or licensee concerning the EPFD levels and the related technical showings. (e) A NGSO FSS system licensee operating a system in compliance with the limits specified in §25.208 (g), (i), (j), (k), (l) and (m) shall be considered as having fulfilled its obligations under ITU Radio Regulations provision S22.2 with respect to any GSO network. However, such NGSO FSS system shall not claim protection from GSO FSS and BSS networks operating in accordance with this part 25 or part 100 of this chapter, respectively, and the ITU Radio Regulations. (f) Coordination will be required between NGSO FSS systems and GSO FSS earth stations in the frequency band 10.7–12.75 GHz when all of the following threshold conditions are met: (1) Bandwidth overlap; and (2) The satellite network using the GSO has specific receive earth stations which meet all of the following conditions: earth station antenna maximum isotropic gain greater than or equal to 64 dBi; G/T of 44 dB/K or higher; and emission bandwidth of 250 MHz; and the EPFDdown radiated by the satellite system using the NGSO into the GSO specific receive earth station, either within the U.S. for domestic service or any points outside the U.S. for international service, as calculated using the ITU software for examining compliance with EPFD limits set forth in Article 22 of the ITU Radio Regulations exceeds −174.5 dB(W/(m2/40kHz)) for any percentage of time for NGSO systems with all satellites only operating at or below 2500 km altitude, or −202 dB(W/(m2/40kHz)) for any percentage of time for NGSO systems with any satellites operating above 2500 km altitude. (3) If there is no ITU software for examining compliance with EPFD limits set forth in Article 22 of the ITU Radio Regulations, then the EPFDdown coordination trigger is suspended and the requirement for coordination will be based on bandwidth overlap and the satellite network using the GSO has specific receive earth stations which meet all of the following conditions: earth station antenna maximum isotropic gain greater than or equal to 64 dBi; G/T of 44 dB/K or higher; and emission bandwidth of 250 MHz. (g) Operational power flux density, space-to-Earth direction, limits. Ninety days prior to the initiation of service to the public, the NGSO FSS system licensee shall submit a technical showing for the NGSO FSS system in the band 12.2–12.7 GHz. The technical information shall demonstrate that the NGSO FSS system is capable of meeting the limits as specified in §25.208(o). Licensees may not provide service to the public if they fail to demonstrate compliance with the PFD limits. (h) System License. Applicants authorized to construct and launch a system of technically identical non-geostationary satellite orbit fixed satellite service satellites will be awarded a single “blanket” license covering a specified number of space stations to operate in a specified number of orbital planes. (i) In addition to providing the information specified in §25.114, each NGSO FSS applicant shall provide the following: (1) A demonstration that the proposed system is capable of providing fixed-satellite services on a continuous basis throughout the fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S.; and (2) A demonstration that the proposed system be capable of providing fixed-satellite services to all locations as far north as 70 deg. latitude and as far south as 55 deg. latitude for at least 75 percent of every 24-hour period; and (3) Sufficient information on the NGSO FSS system characteristics to properly model the system in computer sharing simulations, including, at a minimum, NGSO hand-over and satellite switching strategies, NGSO satellite beam patterns, NGSO satellite antenna patterns and NGSO earth station antenna patterns. In particular, each NGSO FSS applicant must explain the switching protocols it uses to avoid transmitting while passing through the geostationary satellite orbit arc, or provide an explanation as to how the power-flux density limits in §25.208 are met without using geostationary satellite orbit arc avoidance. In addition, each NGSO FSS applicant must provide the orbital parameters contained in Section A.3 of Annex 1 to Resolution 46. Further, each NGSO FSS applicant must provide a sufficient technical showing to demonstrate that the proposed non-geostationary satellite orbit system meets the power-flux density limits contained in §25.208, as applicable, and (4) [Reserved] (j) [Reserved] (k) Implementation Milestone Schedule. Each NGSO FSS licensee in the 10.7–12.7 GHz, 12.75–13.25 GHz and 13.75–14.5 GHz frequency bands will be required to enter into a non-contingent satellite manufacturing contract for the system within one year of authorization, to complete critical design review within two years of authorization, to begin physical construction of all satellites in the system within two and a half years of authorization, to complete construction and launch of the first two satellites within three and a half years of grant, and to launch and operate its entire authorized system within six years of authorization. Each NGSO FSS licensee in the 10.7–12.7 GHz, 12.75–13.25 GHz and 13.75–14.5 GHz frequency bands must submit certifications of milestone compliance within 10 days following a milestone specified in its authorization. (l) Reporting Requirements. All NGSO FSS licensees in the 10.7–12.7 GHz, 12.75–13.25 GHz and 13.75–14.5 GHz frequency bands shall, on June 30th of the first year following launch of the first two space stations in their system, and annually thereafter, file a report with the International Bureau and the Commission's Laurel, Maryland field office containing the following information: (1) Status of space station construction and anticipated launch date, including any major problems or delay encountered; (2) Identification of any space station(s) not available for service or otherwise not performing to specifications, the cause(s) of these difficulties, and the date any space station was taken out of service or the malfunction identified. (m) Replacement of Space Stations within the System License Term. Licensees of NGSO FSS systems in the 10.7–12.7 GHz, 12.75–13.25 GHz and 13.75–14.5 GHz frequency bands authorized through a blanket license pursuant to paragraph (g) of this section need not file separate applications to launch and operate technically identical replacement satellites within the term of the system authorization. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, at least thirty days prior to launch of such replacement(s) that: (1) The licensee intends to launch a space station into the previously-authorized orbit that is technically identical to those authorized in its system authorization and (2) Launch of this space station will not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. (n) In-Orbit Spares. Licensees need not file separate applications to operate technically identical in-orbit spares authorized as part of the blanket license pursuant to paragraph (g) of this section. However, the licensee shall certify to the Commission, within 10 days of bringing the in-orbit spare into operation, that operation of this space station did not cause the licensee to exceed the total number of operating space stations authorized by the Commission. [66 FR 10619, Feb. 16, 2001, as amended at 67 FR 53510, Aug. 16, 2002; 68 FR 16447, Apr. 4, 2003; 68 FR 43946, July 25, 2003; 68 FR 51505, Aug. 27, 2003; 69 FR 31302, June 3, 2004; 70 FR 59277, Oct. 12, 2005] Effective Date Note: At 68 FR 43946, July 25, 2003, §25.146 was amended by redesignating paragraphs (g) through (m) as paragraphs (h) through (n) and by adding a new paragraph (g). This paragraph contains information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget. § 25.147 Licensing provision for NGSO MSS feeder downlinks in the band 6700–6875 MHz.If an NGSO MSS satellite transmitting in the band 6700–6875 MHz causes harmful interference to previously licensed co-frequency Public Safety facilities, then that satellite licensee is obligated to remedy the interference complaint. [67 FR 17299, Apr. 10, 2002] § 25.148 Licensing provisions for the Direct Broadcast Satellite Service.(a) License terms. License terms for DBS facilities are specified in §25.121(a). (b) Due diligence. (1) All persons granted DBS authorizations shall proceed with due diligence in constructing DBS systems. Permittees shall be required to complete contracting for construction of the satellite station(s) within one year of the grant of the authorization. The satellite stations shall also be required to be in operation within six years of the authorization grant. (2) In addition to the requirements stated in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, all persons who receive new or additional DBS authorizations after January 19, 1996 shall complete construction of the first satellite in their respective DBS systems within four years of grant of the authorization. All satellite stations in such a DBS system shall be in operation within six years of the grant of the authorization. (3) DBS licensees shall be required to proceed consistent with all applicable due diligence obligations, unless otherwise determined by the Commission upon proper showing in any particular case. Transfer of control of the authorization shall not be considered to justify extension of these deadlines. (c) Geographic service requirements. Those entities acquiring DBS authorizations after January 19, 1996, or who after January 19, 1996 modify a previous DBS authorization to launch a replacement satellite, must provide DBS service to Alaska and Hawaii where such service is technically feasible from the authorized orbital location. This requirement does not apply to DBS satellites authorized to operate at the 61.5° W.L. orbital location. DBS applicants seeking to operate from locations other than 61.5° W.L. who do not provide service to Alaska and Hawaii, must provide technical analyses to the Commission demonstrating that such service is not feasible as a technical matter, or that while technically feasible such services would require so many compromises in satellite design and operation as to make it economically unreasonable. (d) DBS subject to competitive bidding. Mutually exclusive initial applications to provide DBS are subject to competitive bidding procedures. The general competitive bidding procedures set forth in part 1, subpart Q of this chapter will apply unless otherwise provided in this part. (e) DBS long form application. Winning bidders are subject to the provisions of §1.2107 of this chapter except that in lieu of a FCC Form 601 each winning bidder shall submit the long-form satellite service application (FCC Form 312) within thirty (30) days after being notified by Public Notice that it is the winning bidder. Each winning bidder will also be required to submit by the same deadline the information described in §25.215 (Technical) and §25.601 (EEO), and in paragraph (f) of this section. Each winner also will be required to file, by the same deadline, a signed statement describing its efforts to date and future plans to come into compliance with any applicable spectrum limitations, if it is not already in compliance. Such information shall be submitted pursuant to the procedures set forth in §25.114 and any associated Public Notices. (f) Technical qualifications. DBS operations must be in accordance with the sharing criteria and technical characteristics contained in Appendices 30 and 30A of the ITU's Radio Regulations. Operation of systems using differing technical characteristics may be permitted, with adequate technical showing, and if a request has been made to the ITU to modify the appropriate Plans to include the system's technical parameters. [67 FR 51113, Aug. 7, 2002] § 25.149 Application requirements for ancillary terrestrial components in the mobile-satellite service networks operating in the 1.5./1.6 GHz, 1.6/2.4 GHz and 2 GHz mobile-satellite service.(a) Applicants for ancillary terrestrial component authority shall demonstrate that the applicant does or will comply with the following through certification or explanatory technical exhibit, as appropriate: (1) ATC shall be deployed in the forward-band mode of operation whereby the ATC mobile terminals transmit in the MSS uplink bands and the ATC base stations transmit in the MSS downlink bands in portions of the 2000–2020 MHz/2180–2200 MHz bands (2 GHz band), the 1626.5–1660.5 MHz/1525–1559 MHz bands (L-band), and the 1610–1626.5 MHz/2483.5–2500 MHz bands (Big LEO band). Note to paragraph (2) ATC operations shall be limited to certain frequencies: (i) In the 2000–2020 MHz/2180–2200 MHz bands (2 GHz MSS band), ATC operations are limited to the selected assignment of the 2 GHz MSS licensee that seeks ATC authority. (ii) In the 1626.5–1660.5 MHz/1525–1559 MHz bands (L-band), ATC operations are limited to the frequency assignments authorized and internationally coordinated for the MSS system of the MSS licensee that seeks ATC authority. (iii) In the 1610–1626.5 MHz/2483.5–2500 MHz bands (Big LEO bands), ATC operations are limited to the 1610–1615.5 MHz, 1621.35–1626.5 MHz, and 2487.5–2493.0 MHz bands and to the specific frequencies authorized for use by the MSS licensee that seeks ATC authority. (3) ATC operations shall not exceed the geographical coverage area of the mobile satellite service network of the applicant for ATC authority. (4) ATC base stations shall comply with all applicable antenna and structural clearance requirements established in part 17 of this chapter. (5) ATC base stations and mobile terminals shall comply with part 1 of this chapter, Subpart I—Procedures Implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, including the guidelines for human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields as defined in §§1.1307(b) and 1.1310 of this chapter for PCS networks. (6) ATC base station operations shall use less than all available MSS frequencies when using all available frequencies for ATC base station operations would exclude otherwise available signals from MSS space-stations. (b) Applicants for an ancillary terrestrial component shall demonstrate that the applicant does or will comply with the following criteria through certification: (1) Geographic and temporal coverage. (i) For the 2 GHz MSS band, an applicant must demonstrate that it can provide space-segment service covering all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands one-hundred percent of the time, unless it is not technically possible, consistent with the coverage requirements for 2 GHz MSS GSO operators. (ii) For the L-band, an applicant must demonstrate that it can provide space-segment service covering all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands one-hundred percent of the time, unless it is not technically possible for the MSS operator to meet the coverage criteria from its orbital position. (iii) For the Big LEO band, an applicant must demonstrate that it can provide space-segment service to all locations as far north as 70° North latitude and as far south as 55° South latitude for at least seventy-five percent of every 24-hour period, i.e., that at least one satellite will be visible above the horizon at an elevation angle of at least 5° for at least 18 hours each day, and on a continuous basis throughout the fifty states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, i.e., that at least one satellite will be visible above the horizon at an elevation angle of at least 5° at all times. (2) Replacement satellites. (i) Operational NGSO MSS ATC systems shall maintain an in-orbit spare satellite. (ii) Operational GSO MSS ATC systems shall maintain a spare satellite on the ground within one year of commencing operations and launch it into orbit during the next commercially reasonable launch window following a satellite failure. (iii) All MSS ATC licensees must report any satellite failures, malfunctions or outages that may require satellite replacement within ten days of their occurrence. (3) Commercial availability. Mobile-satellite service must be commercially available (viz., offering services for a fee) in accordance with the coverage requirements that pertain to each band as a prerequisite to an MSS licensee's offering ATC service. (4) Integrated services. MSS ATC licensees shall offer an integrated service of MSS and MSS ATC. Applicants for MSS ATC may establish an integrated service offering by affirmatively demonstrating that: (i) The MSS ATC operator will use a dual-mode handset that can communicate with both the MSS network and the MSS ATC component to provide the proposed ATC service; or (ii) Other evidence establishing that the MSS ATC operator will provide an integrated service offering to the public. (5) In-band operation. (i) In the 2 GHz MSS band, MSS ATC is limited to an MSS licensee's selected assignment. MSS ATC operations on frequencies beyond the MSS licensee's selected assignment are prohibited. (ii) In the Big LEO band, MSS ATC is limited to no more than 5.5 MHz of spectrum in each direction of operation. Licensees in these bands may implement ATC only on those channels on which MSS is authorized, consistent with the Big LEO band-sharing arrangement. (iii) In the L-band, MSS ATC is limited to those frequency assignments available for MSS use in accordance with the Mexico City Memorandum of Understanding, its successor agreements or the result of other organized efforts of international coordination. (c) Equipment certification. (1) Each ATC MET utilized for operation under this part and each transmitter marketed, as set forth in §2.803 of this chapter, must be of a type that has been authorized by the Commission under its certification procedure for use under this part. (2) Any manufacturer of radio transmitting equipment to be used in these services may request equipment authorization following the procedures set forth in subpart J of part 2 of this chapter. Equipment authorization for an individual transmitter may be requested by an applicant for a station authorization by following the procedures set forth in part 2 of this chapter. (3) Licensees and manufacturers are subject to the radiofrequency radiation exposure requirements specified in §§1.1307(b), 2.1091 and 2.1093 of this chapter, as appropriate. MSS ATC base stations must comply with the requirements specified in §1.1307(b) of this chapter for PCS base stations. MSS ATC mobile terminals must comply with the requirements specified for mobile and portable PCS transmitting devices in §1.1307(b) of this chapter. MSS ATC mobile terminals must also comply with the requirements in §§2.1091 and 2.1093 of this chapter for Satellite Communications Services devices. Applications for equipment authorization of mobile or portable devices operating under this section must contain a statement confirming compliance with these requirements for both fundamental emissions and unwanted emissions. Technical information showing the basis for this statement must be submitted to the Commission upon request. (d) Applicants for an ancillary terrestrial component authority shall demonstrate that the applicant does or will comply with the provisions of §§1.924 and 25.203(e) through 25.203(g) and with §§25.252, 25.253, or 25.254, as appropriate, through certification or explanatory technical exhibit. (e) Except as provided for in paragraph (f) of this section, no application for an ancillary terrestrial component shall be granted until the applicant has demonstrated actual compliance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section. Upon receipt of ATC authority, all ATC licensees must ensure continued compliance with this section and §§25.252, 25.253, or 25.254, as appropriate. (f) Special provision for operational MSS systems. Applicants for MSS ATC authority with operational MSS systems that are in actual compliance with the requirements prescribed in paragraphs (b)(1), (b)(2), and (b)(3) of this section at the time of application may elect to satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (b)(4) and (b)(5) of this section prospectively by providing a substantial showing in its certification regarding how the applicant will comply with the requirements of paragraphs (b)(4) and (b)(5) of this section. Notwithstanding §25.117(f) and paragraph (e) of this section, the Commission may grant an application for ATC authority based on such a prospective substantial showing if the Commission finds that operations consistent with the substantial showing will result in actual compliance with the requirements prescribed in paragraphs (b)(4) and (b)(5) of this section. An MSS ATC applicant that receives a grant of ATC authority pursuant to this paragraph (f) shall notify the Commission within 30 days once it begins providing ATC service. This notification must take the form of a letter formally filed with the Commission in the appropriate MSS license docket and shall contain a certification that the MSS ATC service is consistent with its ATC authority. [68 FR 47859, Aug. 12, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 48162, Aug. 9, 2004; 70 FR 19318, Apr. 13, 2005] Processing of Applications§ 25.150 Receipt of applications.Applications received by the Commission are given a file number and (domestic only) a unique station identifier for administrative convenience. Neither the assignment of a file number and/or other identifier nor the listing of the application on public notice as received for filing indicates that the application has been found acceptable for filing or precludes the subsequent return or dismissal of the application if it is found to be defective or not in accordance with the Commission's rules. § 25.151 Public notice period.(a) At regular intervals, the Commission will issue public notices listing: (1) The receipt of applications for new station authorizations; (2) The receipt of applications for license or registration of receive-only earth stations; (3) The receipt of applications for major modifications to station authorizations; (4) The receipt of major amendments to pending applications; (5) The receipt of applications to assign or transfer control of space station facilities, transmitting earth station facilities, or international receive-only earth station facilities; (6) Significant Commission actions regarding applications; (7) Information which the Commission in its discretion believes to be of public significance; and (8) Special environmental considerations as required by part 1 of this chapter. (b) Special public notices may also be issued at other times under special circumstances involving non-routine matters where speed is of the essence and efficiency of Commission process will be served thereby. (c) A public notice will not normally be issued for receipt of any of the following applications: (1) For authorization of a minor technical change in the facilities of an authorized station; (2) For temporary authorization pursuant to §25.120. (3) For an authorization under any of the proviso clauses of section 308(a) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended [47 U.S.C. 308(a)]; (4) For consent to an involuntary assignment or transfer of control of a transmitting earth station authorization; or (5) For consent to an assignment or transfer of control of a space station authorization or a transmitting earth station authorization, where the assignment or transfer does not involve a substantial change in ownership or control; or (6) For change in location of an earth station operating in the 4/6 GHz and 10.95–11.7 GHz bands by no more than 1" in latitude and/or longitude and for change in location of an earth station operating in the 12/14 GHz bands by no more than 10" in latitude and/or longitude. (d) Except as specified in paragraph (e) of this section, no application that has appeared on public notice will be granted until the expiration of a period of thirty days following the issuance of the public notice listing the application, or any major amendment thereto. Any comments or petitions must be delivered to the Commission by that date in accordance with §25.154. (e)(1) Applicants seeking authority to operate a temporary fixed earth station pursuant to §25.277 may consider their applications “provisionally granted,” and may initiate operations upon the placement of the complete FCC Form 312 application on public notice, provided that (i) The temporary fixed earth station will operate only in the conventional Ku-band (14.0–14.5 GHz and 11.7–12.2 GHz bands); (ii) The temporary fixed earth station's operations will be consistent with all routine-licensing requirements for the conventional Ku-band; and (iii) The temporary fixed earth station's operations will be limited to satellites on the Permitted Space Station List. (2) Applications for authority granted pursuant to paragraph (e)(1) of this section shall be placed on public notice pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of this section. If no comments or petitions are filed within 30 days of the public notice date, the authority granted will be considered a regular temporary fixed earth station authorization as of 30 days after the public notice date. If a comment or petition is filed within 30 days of the public notice date, the applicant must suspend operations immediately pending resolution of the issues raised in that comment or petition. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 58 FR 68061, Dec. 23, 1993; 70 FR 32254, June 2, 2005] § 25.152 Dismissal and return of applications.(a) Any application may be dismissed without prejudice as a matter of right if the applicant requests its dismissal prior to final Commission action. (b) The Commission will dismiss an application for failure to prosecute or for failure to respond substantially within a specified time period to official correspondence or requests for additional information. Dismissal will be without prejudice unless the application is mutually exclusive pursuant to §25.155, in which case it will be dismissed with prejudice. § 25.153 Repetitious applications.(a) Where an application has been denied or dismissed with prejudice, the Commission will not consider a like application involving service of the same kind to the same area by the same applicant, or by its successor or assignee, or on behalf of or for the benefit of any of the original parties in interest, until after the lapse of 12 months from the effective date of the Commission's action. The Commission may, for good cause shown, waive the requirements of this section. (b) Where an appeal has been taken from the action of the Commission denying a particular application, another application for the same class of station and for the same area, in whole or in part, filed by the same applicant or by his successor or assignee, or on behalf or for the benefit of the original parties in interest, will not be considered until the final disposition of the appeal. § 25.154 Opposition to applications and other pleadings.(a) Petitions to deny, petitions for other forms of relief, and other objections or comments must: (1) Identify the application or applications (including applicant's name, station location, Commission file numbers, and radio service involved) with which it is concerned; (2) Be filed within thirty (30) days after the date of public notice announcing the acceptance for filing of the application or major amendment thereto (unless the Commission otherwise extends the filing deadline); (3) Filed in accordance with the pleading limitations, periods and other applicable provisions of §§1.41 through 1.52 of this chapter, except that such petitions must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter; (4) Contain specific allegations of fact (except for those of which official notice may be taken) to support the specific relief requested, which shall be supported by affidavit of a person or persons with personal knowledge thereof, and which shall be sufficient to demonstrate that the petitioner (or respondent) is a party of interest and that a grant of, or other Commission action regarding, the application would be prima facie inconsistent with the public interest; and (5) Contain a certificate of service showing that it has been mailed to the applicant no later than the date the pleading is filed with the Commission. (b) The Commission will classify as informal objections: (1) Any pleading not filed in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section; (2) Any pleading to which the thirty (30) day public notice period of §25.151 does not apply; or (3) Any objections to the grant of an application when the objections do not conform to either paragraph (a) of this section or to other Commission rules and requirements. (c) Except for opposition to petitions to deny an application filed pursuant to §25.220, oppositions to petitions to deny an application or responses to comments and informal objections regarding an application may be filed within 10 days after the petition, comment, or objection is filed and must be in accordance with other applicable provisions of §§1.41 through 1.52 of this chapter, except that such oppositions must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. (d) Except for opposition to petitions to deny an application filed pursuant to §25.220, reply comments by the party that filed the original petition may be filed with respect to pleadings filed pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section within 5 days after the time for filing oppositions has expired unless the Commission otherwise extends the filing deadline and must be in accordance with other applicable provisions of §§1.41 through 1.52 of this chapter, except that such reply comments must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. (e) If a petition to deny an application filed pursuant to §25.220 is filed, the applicant must file a statement with the Commission explaining whether the applicant has resolved all outstanding issues raised by the petitioner, within 30 days of the date the petition for deny is filed. This statement must be in accordance with the provisions of §§1.41 through 1.52 of this chapter applicable to oppositions to petitions to deny, except that such reply comments must be filed electronically through the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 69 FR 47795, Aug. 6, 2004; 70 FR 32254, June 2, 2005] § 25.155 Mutually exclusive applications.(a) The Commission will consider applications to be mutually exclusive if their conflicts are such that the grant of one application would effectively preclude by reason of harmful electrical interference, or other practical reason, the grant of one or more other applications. (b) An application for an NGSO-like space station license, within the meaning of §25.157, will be entitled to comparative consideration with one or more conflicting applications only if: (1) The application is mutually exclusive with another NGSO-like space station application; and (2) The application is received by the Commission in a condition acceptable for filing by the “cut-off” date specified in a public notice. (c) An application for a GSO-like space station license, within the meaning of §25.158, will be entitled to comparative consideration with one or more conflicting applications only if: (1) The application is mutually exclusive with another GSO-like space station application; and (2) The application is received by the Commission in a condition acceptable for filing at the same millisecond as another GSO-like space station application with which it is mutually exclusive. [68 FR 51505, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.156 Consideration of applications.(a) Applications for a radio station authorization, or for modification or renewal of an authorization, will be granted if, upon examination of the application, any pleadings or objections filed, and upon consideration of such other matters as it may officially notice, the Commission finds that the applicant is legally, technically, and otherwise qualified, that the proposed facilities and operations comply with all applicable rules, regulations, and policies, and that grant of the application will serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. (b) Whenever the Commission grants any application in part, or subject to any terms or conditions other than those routinely applied to applications of the same type, the grant shall be considered final unless the Commission should revise its action (either by granting the application as originally requested, or by designating the application for hearing) in response to a petition for reconsideration which: (1) Is filed by the applicant within thirty (30) days from the release date of the conditioned grant; and (2) Rejects the grant as made and explains the reasons why the application should be granted as originally requested. (c) Reconsideration or review of any final action taken by the Commission will be in accordance with subpart A of part 1 of this chapter. (d)(1) Applications for NGSO-like satellite systems will be considered pursuant to the procedures set forth in §25.157. (2) Applications for GSO-like satellite systems will be considered pursuant to the procedures set forth in §25.158. (3) Applications for NGSO-like satellite and GSO-like systems employing two or more service bands will be treated like separate applications for each service band, and each service band request will be considered pursuant to §25.157 or §25.158, as appropriate. (4) Applications for feeder link authority or intersatellite link authority will be treated like an application separate from its associated service band. Each feeder link request or intersatellite link request will be considered pursuant to the procedure for GSO-like service or NGSO-like service, as applicable. (5) In cases where the Commission has not adopted frequency-band specific service rules, the Commission will not consider NGSO-like applications after it has granted a GSO-like application, and it will not consider GSO-like applications after it has granted an NGSO-like application, unless and until the Commission establishes NGSO/GSO sharing criteria for that frequency band. In the event that the Commission receives NGSO-like applications and GSO-like applications at the same time, and the Commission has not adopted sharing criteria in that band, the Commission will divide the spectrum between GSO-like and NGSO-like licensees based on the proportion of qualified GSO-like and NGSO-like applicants. (6) An application for DBS or DARS services will be entitled to comparative consideration with one or more conflicting applications only if: (i) The application is mutually exclusive with another application; and (ii) The application is received by the Commission in a condition acceptable for filing by the “cut-off” date specified in a public notice. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 68 FR 51505, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.157 Consideration of NGSO-like satellite applications.(a) This section specifies the Commission's procedures for considering license applications for “NGSO-like satellite systems.” For purposes of this section, the term “NGSO-like satellite system” is defined as: (1) All NGSO satellite systems, and (2) All GSO MSS satellite systems, in which the satellites are designed to communicate with earth stations with omni-directional antennas. (b) Each NGSO-like satellite system application will be reviewed to determine whether it is acceptable for filing within the meaning of §25.112. Any application that is not acceptable for filing would be returned to the applicant. (c) Each NGSO-like satellite system application that is acceptable for filing will be reviewed to determine whether it is a “competing application,” i.e., filed in response to a public notice initiating a processing round, or a “lead application,” i.e., all other NGSO-like satellite system applications. (1) Competing applications that are acceptable for filing will be placed on public notice to provide interested parties an opportunity to file pleadings in response to the application pursuant to §25.154. (2) Lead applications that are acceptable for filing will be placed on public notice. This public notice will initiate a processing round, establish a cut-off date for competing NGSO-like satellite system applications, and provide interested parties an opportunity to file pleadings in response to the application pursuant to §25.154. (d) After review of each of the applications in the processing round, and all the pleadings filed in response to each application, the Commission will grant all the applications that meet the standards of §25.156(a), and deny the other applications. (e)(1) In the event that there is insufficient spectrum in the frequency band available to accommodate all the qualified applicants in a processing round, the available spectrum will be divided equally among the licensees whose applications are granted pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section, except as set forth in paragraph (e)(2) or (e)(3) of this section. (2) In cases where there are only one or two applications in a processing round granted pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section, each applicant will be assigned 1/3 of the available spectrum, and the remaining spectrum will be made available to other licensees in an additional processing round pursuant to paragraph (c) of this section. (3) In cases where there are three or more applications in a processing round granted pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section, and one or more applicants apply for less spectrum than they would be warranted under paragraph (e)(1) of this section, those applicants will be assigned the bandwidth amount they requested in their applications. In those cases, the remaining qualified applicants will be assigned the lesser of the amount of spectrum they requested in their applications and the amount spectrum that they would be assigned if the available spectrum were divided equally among the remaining qualified applicants. (f)(1) Each licensee will be allowed to select the particular band segment it wishes to use no earlier than 60 days before they plan to launch the first satellite in its system, and no later than 30 days before that date, by submitting a letter to the Secretary of the Commission. The licensee shall serve copies of this letter to the other participants in the processing round pursuant to §1.47 of this chapter. (2) The licensee shall request contiguous bandwidth in both the uplink and downlink band. Each licensee's bandwidth selection in both the uplink and downlink band shall not preclude other licensees from selecting contiguous bandwidth. (3) If two or more licensees in a processing round request the same band segment, all licensees other than the first one to request that particular band segment will be required to make another selection. (g)(1) In the event that an applicants' license is cancelled for any reason, the Commission will redistribute the bandwidth allocated to that applicant equally among the remaining applicants whose licenses were granted concurrently with the cancelled license, unless the Commission determines that such a redistribution would not result in a sufficient number of licensees remaining to make reasonably efficient use of the frequency band. (2) In the event that the redistribution of bandwidth set forth in paragraph (g)(1) of this section would not result in a sufficient number of licensees remaining to make reasonably efficient use of the frequency band, the Commission will issue a public notice initiating a processing round, as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section, to invite parties to apply for an NGSO-like satellite system license to operate in a portion of the bandwidth made available as a result of the cancellation of the initial applicant's license. Parties already holding licenses to operate an NGSO-like satellite system in that frequency band will not be permitted to participate in that processing round. (3) There is a presumption that three satellite licensees in a frequency band are sufficient to make reasonably efficient use of the frequency band. (h) Services offered pursuant to an NGSO-like license in a frequency band granted before the Commission has adopted frequency-band-specific service rules for that band will be subject to the default service rules in §25.217. [68 FR 51505, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.158 Consideration of GSO-like satellite applications.(a) This section specifies the Commission's procedures for considering license applications for “GSO-like satellite systems.” For purposes of this section, the term “GSO-like satellite system” is defined as a GSO satellite designed to communicate with earth stations with directional antennas. Examples of GSO-like satellite systems are those which use earth stations with antennas with directivity towards the satellites, such as FSS, and MSS feeder links which use GSO satellites. GSO-like satellite systems are satellite systems that are not NGSO-like satellite systems within the meaning of §25.157(a). (b) Applications for GSO-like satellite system licenses will be placed in a queue and considered in the order that they are filed, pursuant to the following procedure: (1) The application will be reviewed to determine whether it is acceptable for filing within the meaning of §25.112. If not, the application will be returned to the applicant. (2) If the application is acceptable for filing, the application will be placed on public notice pursuant to §25.151, and interested parties will be given an opportunity to file pleadings pursuant to §25.154. (3) The application will be granted only if it meets each of the following criteria: (i) After review of the application and any pleadings filed in response to that application, the Commission finds that the application meets the standards of §25.156(a); and (ii) The proposed satellite will not cause harmful interference to any previously licensed operations. (c) An applicant for a GSO-like satellite system license is not allowed to transfer, assign, or otherwise permit any other entity to assume its place in any queue. (d) In the event that two or more GSO-like satellite system license applications are mutually exclusive within the meaning of §25.155(c), the Commission will consider those applications pursuant to the following procedure: (1) Each application will be reviewed to determine whether it is acceptable for filing within the meaning of §25.112. Any application not found acceptable for filing will be returned to the applicant. (2) All applications that are acceptable for filing will be placed on public notice pursuant to §25.151, and interested parties will be given an opportunity to file pleadings pursuant to §25.154. (3) Each application will be granted if it meets the criteria of paragraph (b)(3) of this section, and otherwise will be denied. (4) In the event that two or more applications are granted pursuant to paragraph (d)(3) of this section, the available bandwidth at the orbital location or locations in question will be divided equally among those licensees. (5) Licensees whose licenses are granted pursuant to paragraph (d)(4) of this section will be allowed to select the particular band segment it wishes to use no earlier than 60 days before they plan to launch the first satellite in its system, and no later than 30 days before that date, by submitting a letter to the Secretary of the Commission. The licensee shall serve copies of this letter to the other participants in the processing round pursuant to §1.47 of this chapter. (6) Licensees whose licenses are granted pursuant to paragraph (d)(4) of this section shall request contiguous bandwidth in both the uplink and downlink band. Each licensee's bandwidth selection shall not preclude other licensees from selecting contiguous bandwidth. (7) If two or more licensees whose licenses are granted pursuant to paragraph (d)(4) of this section request the same band segment, all licensees other than the first one to request that particular band segment will be required to make another selection. (e) Services offered pursuant to a GSO-like license in a frequency band granted before the Commission has adopted frequency-band-specific service rules for that band will be subject to the default service rules in §25.217. [68 FR 51506, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.159 Limits on pending applications and unbuilt satellite systems.(a) Applicants with a total of five applications for GSO-like space station licenses on file with the Commission in a particular frequency band, or a total of five licensed-but-unbuilt GSO-like space stations in a particular frequency band, or a combination of pending GSO-like applications and licensed-but-unbuilt GSO-like space stations in a particular frequency band that equals five, will not be permitted to apply for another GSO-like space station license in that frequency band. (b) Applicants with an application for one NGSO-like satellite system license on file with the Commission in a particular frequency band, or one licensed-but-unbuilt NGSO-like satellite system in a particular frequency band, will not be permitted to apply for another NGSO-like satellite system license in that frequency band. (c) If an applicant has an attributable interest in one or more other entities seeking one or more space station licenses, the pending applications and licensed-but-unbuilt satellite systems filed by those other entities will be counted as filed by the applicant for purposes of the limits on the number of pending space station applications and licensed-but-unbuilt satellite systems in this paragraph. For purposes of this paragraph, an applicant has an “attributable interest” in another entity if: (1) It holds equity (including all stockholdings, whether voting or nonvoting, common or preferred) and debt interest or interests, in the aggregate, exceed thirty-three (33) percent of the total asset value (defined as the aggregate of all equity plus all debt) of that entity, or (2) It holds a controlling interest in that entity, or is the subsidiary of a party holding a controlling interest in that entity, within the meaning of 47 CFR 1.2110(b)(2). (3) For purposes of paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section, ownership interests shall be calculated on a fully diluted basis, i.e., all agreements, such as warrants, stock options, and convertible debentures, will generally be treated as if the rights thereunder already have been fully exercised. (d) In the event that a licensee misses three or more milestones within any three-year period, the Commission will presume that the licensee obtained one or more of those licenses for speculative purposes. Unless the licensee rebuts this presumption, it will not be permitted to apply for a GSO-like satellite or an NGSO-like satellite system in any frequency band if it has two or more satellite applications pending, or two licensed-but-unbuilt satellite systems of any kind. This limit will remain in effect until the licensee provides adequate information to demonstrate that it is very likely to construct its licensed facilities if it were allowed to file more applications. (e) For purposes of this section, “frequency band” means one of the paired frequency bands available for satellite service listed in §25.202. [68 FR 51506, Aug. 27, 2003] Forfeiture, Termination, and Reinstatement of Station Authorization§ 25.160 Administrative sanctions.(a) A forfeiture may be imposed for failure to operate in conformance with the Communications Act, license specifications, any conditions imposed on an authorization, or any of the Commission's rules and regulations; or for failure to comply with Commission requests for information needed to complete international coordination or for failure to cooperate in Commission investigations with respect to international coordination. (b) A forfeiture will be imposed and the station license may be terminated for the malicious transmissions of any signal that causes harmful interference with any other radio communications or signals. (c) A station license may be revoked for any repeated and willful violation of the kind set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section. (d) The sanctions specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section will be imposed only after the licensee has been provided an opportunity to be heard pursuant to titles III and V of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. (e) For purposes of this section, the term “repeated” and “willful” are defined as set out in section 312(f) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 312(f). § 25.161 Automatic termination of station authorization.A station authorization shall be automatically terminated in whole or in part without further notice to the licensee upon: (a)(1) Failure to meet any applicable milestone for implementation of the licensed satellite system specified in §§25.164(a) and/or (b), without demonstrating that the failure was caused by circumstances beyond the licensee's control, or (2) If there are no applicable milestones for implementation of the licensed satellite system specified in §§25.164(a) and/or (b), the expiration of the required date of completion of construction or other required action specified in the authorization, or after any additional time authorized by the Commission, if a certification of completion of the required action has not been filed with the Commission unless a request for an extension of time has been filed with the Commission but has not been acted on. (b) The expiration of the license period, unless an application for renewal of the license has been filed with the Commission pursuant to §25.120(e); or (c) The removal or modification of the facilities which renders the station not operational for more than 90 days, unless specific authority is requested. [56 FR 24016, May 28, 1991, as amended at 68 FR 51507, Aug. 27, 2003] § 25.162 Cause for termination of interference protection.The protection from interference afforded by the registration of a receiving earth station shall be automatically terminated if: (a) The request for registration is not submitted to the Commission within 3 months of the completion of the frequency coordination process, except as provided for in §25.203; (b) The receiving earth station is not constructed and placed into service within 6 months after completion of coordination; (c) The Commission finds that the station has been used less than 50% of the time during any 12 month period; (d) The Commission finds that the station has been used for an unlawful purpose or otherwise in violation of the Commission's rules, regulations or policies; (e) The Commission finds that the actual use of the facility is inconsistent with what was set forth in the registrant's application; or (f) The Commission finds that the frequency coordination exhibit, upon which the granted registration is based, is incomplete or does not conform with established coordination procedures. § 25.163 Reinstatement.(a) A station authorization terminated in whole or in part under the provisions of §25.161 may be reinstated if the Commission, in its discretion, determines that reinstatement would best serve the public interest, convenience and necessity. Petitions for reinstatement will be considered only if: (1) The petition is filed within 30 days after the expiration date set forth in §25.161(a) or §25.161(b), whichever is applicable; (2) The petition explains the failure to file a timely notification or renewal application; and (3) The petition sets forth with specificity the procedures which have been established to insure timely filings in the future. (b) A special temporary authorization shall automatically terminate upon the expiration date specified therein, or upon failure of the grantee to comply with any special terms or conditions set forth in the authorization. Temporary operation may be extended beyond the termination date only upon application to the Commission. § 25.164 Milestones.(a) Licensees of geostationary orbit satellite systems other than DBS and DARS satellite systems, including GSO MSS satellite systems, licensed on or after August 27, 2003 will be required to comply with the schedule set forth in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) of this section in implementing their satellite systems, unless a different schedule is established by Title 47, Chapter I, or by Commission Order, or by Order adopted pursuant to delegated authority. These dates are to be measured from the date the license is issued. (1) One year: Enter into a binding non-contingent contract to construct the licensed satellite system. (2) Two years: Complete the critical design review of the licensed satellite system. (3) Three years: Begin the construction of the satellite. (4) Five years: Launch and operate the satellite. (b) Licensees of non-geostationary orbit satellite systems other than DBS and DARS satellite systems licensed on or after September 11, 2003, will be required to comply with the schedule set forth in paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(5) of this section in implementing their satellite systems, unless a different schedule is established by Title 47, Chapter I, or by Commission Order, or by Order adopted pursuant to delegated authority. These dates are to be measured from the date the license is issued. (1) One year: Enter into a binding non-contingent contract to construct the licensed satellite system. (2) Two years: Complete the critical design review of the licensed satellite system. (3) Two years, six months: Begin the construction of the first satellite in the licensed satellite system. (4) Three years, six months: Launch and operate the first satellite in the licensed satellite system. (5) Six years: Bring all the satellites in the licensed satellite system into operation. (c) Licensees of all satellite systems, other than DBS and DARS satellite systems, licensed on or after September 11, 2003, will be required to submit a copy of their binding non-contingent contract with the Commission on or before the date scheduled for entering into such a contract. (d) Licensees of all satellite systems, other than DBS and DARS satellite systems, licensed on or after September 11, 2003, will be required to submit information to the Commission sufficient to demonstrate that the licensee has completed the critical design review of the licensed satellite system on or before the date scheduled for entering into such completion. (e) Licensees of all satellite systems, other than DBS and DARS satellite systems, licensed on or after September 11, 2003, will be required to submit information to the Commission sufficient to demonstrate that the licensee has commenced physical construction of its licensed spacecraft on or before the date scheduled for such commencement. (f) In cases where the Commission grants a satellite authorization in different stages, such as a license for a satellite system using feeder links or intersatellite links, the earliest of the milestone schedules shall be applied to the entire satellite system. (g) Licensees of satellite systems that include both non-geostationary orbit satellites and geostationary orbit satellites, other than DBS and DARS satellite systems, and licensed on or after September 20, 2004 will be required to comply with the schedule set forth in paragraph (a) of this section with respect to the geostationary orbit satellites, and with the schedule set forth in paragraph (b) of this section with respect to the non-geostationary orbit satellites. [68 FR 51507, Aug. 27, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 51587, Aug. 20, 2004] § 25.165 Posting of bonds.(a) For all satellite licenses issued after September 20, 2004, other than DBS licenses, DARS licenses, and replacement satellite licenses as defined in paragraph (e), the licensee is required to post a bond within 30 days of the grant of its license. Failure to post a bond will render the license null and void automatically. (1) NGSO licensees are required to post a bond in the amount of $5 million. (2) GSO licensees are required to post a bond in the amount of $3 million. (3) Licensees of satellite systems including both NGSO satellites and GSO satellites that operate in the same frequency bands as the NGSO satellites are required to post a bond in the amount of $5 million. (b) The licensee must use a surety company deemed acceptable within the meaning of 31 U.S.C. 9304 et seq. (See, e.g., Department of Treasury Fiscal Service, Companies Holding Certificates of Authority as Acceptable Sureties on Federal Bonds and As Acceptable Reinsurance Companies, 57 FR 29356, July 1, 1992.) The bond must name the U.S. Treasury as beneficiary in the event of the licensee's default. The licensee must provide the Commission with a copy of the performance bond, including all details and conditions. (c) A licensee will be considered to be in default if it fails to meet any milestone deadline set forth in §25.164, and, at the time of milestone deadline, the licensee has not provided a sufficient basis for extending the milestone. (d) A GSO licensee will be permitted to reduce the amount of the bond by $750,000 upon successfully meeting a milestone deadline set forth in section 25.164(a) of this chapter. An NGSO licensee will be permitted to reduce the amount of the bond by $1 million upon successfully meeting a milestone deadline set forth in section 25.164(b) of this chapter. (e) A replacement satellite is one that is: (1) Authorized to be operated at the same orbit location, in the same frequency bands, and with the same coverage area as one of the licensee's existing satellites, and (2) Scheduled to be launched so that it will be brought into use at approximately the same time as, but no later than, the existing satellite is retired. [68 FR 51507, Aug. 27, 2003, as amended at 69 FR 51587, Aug. 20, 2004] Browse Previous | Browse Next
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