!·" n ? -; It , •. r,...",', o t .. Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 93-89 Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Amendment of Section 25.131 CC Docket No. 93-23 of the Commission's Rules RM-7931 and Regulations to Eliminate the Licensing Requirement for Certain International Receive-Only Earth Stations NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING Adopted: February 11, 1993 Released: March 8, 1993 Comment Date: May 12, 1993 Reply Comment Date: May 27, 1993 By the Commission: I. INTRODUCTION 1. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes to eliminate the licensing requirement for most international receive-only earth stations in the fixed­ satellite service. Our decision to initiate this proceeding is in response to the Communications Satellite Corporation's (Comsat's) petition to repeal the licensing requirement for receive-only earth stations operating with satellites of the International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (INTELSAT).1 Comsat I s proposal is consistent with the Commission's ongoing effort to eliminate unnecessary regulation and speed processing. We therefore treat Comsat 1 s pleading as a petition for rulemaking, and incorporate it into this broader proceeding to deregulate most international receive-only earth stations in the fixed-satellite service. 1 Communications Satellite Corporation, Petition for Repeal and, in the Interim, for Waiver of Section 25. 131(j) (1), filed February 20, 1992. Comsat's petition was the subject of two public notices, one (RM-7931) dealing with Comsat's request for repeal of the rule, and the other (File No. ISP-92-004) dealing with its request for a waiver. The Bureau dismissed without prejudice Comsat's waiver request for failure to demonstrate special circumstances that would make strict application of the rule inconsistent with the purposes of the rule. Communications Satellite Corporation, 7 FCC Rcd 4602 (Com. Car. Bur. 1992) . Comsat refiled its waiver request (File No. ISP-92-007), narrowing its scope to cover only international receive-only earth stations accessing the INTELSAT K satellite, and providing services similar to INTELNET I. See infra note 4. The Bureau granted Comsat' s revised wavier request. Communications Satellite Corporation, 7 FCC Rcd 6028 (Com. Car. Bur. 1992), app. for review pending. II. BACKGROUND A. Existing policy 2. Pursuant to Section 25.131 (j) of the Commission's Rules, the Commission licenses international receive-only earth stations operating with INTELSAT satellites, international separate system satellites, or U.S. domestic and non­ 2 U.S. satellites for reception of fixed-satellite services from other countries. The only receive-only earth stations excepted from this requirement are those used to receive INTELNET I services3 from INTELSAT satellites. 4 3. Section 25.131(j) was adopted in 1991 as part of a broader rulemaking in which the Part 25 rules were revised, and the licensing requirement for domestic receive-only earth stations was eliminated in favor of a voluntary registration program. 5 In the Part 25 Order proceeding, the Commission was clhked by one of nearly eighty commenting parties to deregulate all international receive-only earth stations as well. The Commission declined this invitation because the comments on the record before it were" insufficient to decide whether and under what conditions current licensing requirements may be relaxed consistent with international obligations. ,,6 However, the Commission indicated 7 that further review of this issue may be desirable in a separate proceeding. We now believe that the time has come to eliminate certain licensing requirements. Therefore, we are initiating this rulemaking and inviting public comments. B. Comsat's Petition 2 47 C.F.R. § 25.131(j) (1991). 3 INTELNET I service involves the one-way transmission of data to a sma.ll, stand-alone, receive-only earth station on a customer's premise. 4 See Derequlation of Receive-Only Earth Stations Operating wit]! t-he INTELSAT Global Communications Satellite System, Declaratory Ruling, RM No. 4845, FCC 86-214 (released May 19, 1986) (Equatorial). In addition, the Bureau rec'mtly granted a waiver to permit unlicensed operation of international receive-only earth stations accessing the INTELSAT K satellite, to the extent such recel' ion: (1) involves stand-alone, passive devices not an integral part of any ("c' ,,'c' carrier network; (2) involves direct-to-user applications; (3) involves recE:ption of encrypted video and audio transmissions; and (4) does not infringe on any obligations owed to INTELSAT. See Communications Satellite Corporation, '7 FCC Rcd 6028 (Com. Car. Bur. 1992), app. for review pending. 5 Amendment of Part 25 of the Commission's Rules and Requlations to R§duce Alien Carrier Interference between Fixed-Satellites at Reduced Orbital Spacings and to Revise Application Processing Procedures for Satellite Communicat,ismfi Services, 6 FCC Rcd 2806 (1991) (Part 25 Order) 6 Part 25 Order at 2807-08. 7 Id. 2 4. Comsat's petition to repeal Section 25.131(j) (1) states that the underlying concerns expressed in the Part 25 Order for retaining the licensing requirement for international receive-only earth stations no longer exist. In that order, we raised questions about U.S. obligations to INTELSAT and Inmarsat. However, Comsat notes that there is no INTELSAT requirement that receive-only earth stations operating with the system be licensed by member administrations. Comsat states INTELSAT is only concerned about the potential for harmful interference, which inherently is not a factor with receive-only earth stations. In fact, Comsat observes that a number of countries already permit unlicensed receive-only earth stations to access INTELSAT. In addition, Comsat argues that nothing in the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (Satellite Act), nor the Communications Act of 1934 (Communications Act) precludes the elimination of the current licensing requirement. 5. Five parties support Comsat's petition to repeal the rule, reiterating Comsat's arguments that the licensing requirement is time-consuming, burdensome, not required by INTELSAT or any U.S. statutes, and no longer appears to serve any useful public interest purpose. S Three parties oppose the petition to some degree, arguing Comsat has failed to justify an immediate repeal of Section 25.131(j) (1). However, all of the opposing parties support, in general, the initiation of a rulemaking to address the issues raised by Comsat's petition. 9 III. DISCUSSION 6. The Commission already has eliminated the licensing requirement for domestic receive-only earth stations in the fixed-satellite service, substituting a voluntary registration program in its place. These changes were prompted by the increasing competition in the satellite industry, the resulting stimulation of new and increased services, and the Commission's desire to prevent the benefits of this competition from being frustrated by delays in authorizing earth station facilities and by imposing unnecessary burdens on applicants. 10 To date, the Commission's experience with deregulation of domestic receive-only ~arth stations has been positive. 8 The parties supporting Comsat' s proposal are Scientific-Atlanta, SSE Technologies Inc. (SSE), Andrew Corporation (an informal letter), Brightstar Communications, Ltd. (Brightstar), and IDB Communications Group, Inc. (IDB). 9 Th'e part~es express~ng. some form of opposition to Comsat's petition are GE American Communications, Inc. (GE American), Pan American Satellite (PanAmSat), and GTE Spacenet Corporation (GTE). 10 Amendment of Part 25 of the Commission's Rules and Regulations to Reduce Alien Carrier Interference Between Fixed-Satellites at Reduced Orbital Spacings and to Revise Application Processing Procedures for Satellite Communication Services, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 2 FCC Rcd 762, 767 (1987); see also Deregulation of Domestic Receive-Only Satellite Earth Stations, 104 FCC 2d 348 (1986); Regulation of Domestic Receive-Only Satellite Earth Stations, 74 FCC 2d 205 (1979). 3 7. However, the Commission has declined to eliminate the licensing requirement for international receive-only earth stations, other than those used to provide INTELNET I service, due to concerns about U. S. obligations to INTELSAT and Inmarsat. Due to changes in the international satellite arena, as confirmed by the record generated by Comsat's petition, we now believe there is no longer a basis for these concerns. ·We also note that the same factors which prompted us to eliminate the licensing requirements for domestic receive-only earth stations are also prevalent in the international satellite market place. We therefore tentatively conclude that the time has come to remove the licensing requirement for international receive-only earth stations in the fixed-satellite service. 8. Earth Stations Accessing the INTELSAT System. INTELSAT is introducing various small antenna services. For instance, the high power and large coverage area of the INTELSAT K satellite permit the downsizing of receive-only earth stations to such small dimensions that it is now economically feasible to transmit international video and audio programming directly to user locations that potentially number in the thousands. Administration of a licensing program for these stations would be burdensome and possibly hinder the rapid introduction of these new services. Therefore, we believe that elimination of the licensing requirement would be in the public interest. In support, Comsat states that the concerns it expressed