FCC Considers 9 Satellite Licenses

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has received nine requests for licenses to operate satellite telephony in the two gigahertz band (2GHz)- also known as Band S - FCC lawyer Carl Kensinger told BNA. The requests are being studied and results are expected towards the end of 1999, he said.

Kensingers' comments follow reports in Mexican newspapers on Wednesday implying that the FCC had blocked the satellite operations of the ICO telecommunications system.

ICO North America's communications director Joe Tedino explained that the comments referred to the readjustment of frequency allocation that would have to be undertaken to allow satellite operators to use the 2GHz band, as the incumbent users, the national broadcast television stations, would have to be relocated to another frequency.

ICO has expressed its concern that rival operators Globalstar, Iridium and paper system Elipso had been awarded 1.6Ghz licenses without any relocation costs or a public auction, and it was unfair to expect ICO to have to pay these charges, Tedino said.

Original figures mooted by the FCC and other bodies placed the relocation fee at US$2bn, which would have to be shared by those companies eventually awarded licenses. This figure has since been revised, and is now estimated to be closer to US$250mn.

"We are looking to the FCC to provide leadership in this matter," ICO's Tedino said. "By setting an example to the rest of the world, the FCC is in a strong position to deter other countries from charging exorbitant relocation costs."

Kensinger replied, "The FCC has set firm principles for charging relocation costs. We hope that other countries will not develop relocation costs purely for revenue purposes."

The US Congress recently passed legislation requiring certain frequency licenses be auctioned, but Kensinger said that while he could not rule out a license auction altogether, the FCC had, "strongly indicated that auctions are not appropriate for global satellite services."