Revisions to FCC Satellite Licensing Process Seen as Increasingly Likely
Notable changes in how the FCC handles satellite license applications seem likely due to efforts within the agency and congressional pressure on it, but timing is up in the air, space regulatory practitioners said. The Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act introduced earlier this month (see 2212090064) isn't going anywhere in the remaining lame-duck session of Congress but stands good chances of being reintroduced and making progress in the next, we were told. Introducing it now was "a stake in the ground," and now staff can get feedback that could lead to amendments to it in the next session, said Hogan Lovells space lawyer George John.
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The satellite and earth station application draft NPRM on this week's FCC meeting agenda (see 2211300072) is expected to get 4-0 adoption. It proposes allowing consideration of applications and petitions that request waiver of table of frequency allocations to operate in a band not allocated internationally. A satellite company lawyer said such an order isn't likely to accomplish much for faster application reviews because the waiver issue is narrow and niche. A draft order on circulation reorganizing the International Bureau into a Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs (see 2212120051) also is expected to get unanimous commissioner approval, satellite lawyers said.
The Streamlining Act being introduced by Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and incoming Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., means it should move through the committee particularly quickly, said Deborah Collier, executive director-Citizens Against Government Waste's Innovation and Technology Policy Center. She said there's bipartisan appetite to streamline FCC processes because the long delays applications face are counter to government efforts to deploy broadband. Streamlining the process will help broadband satellite systems get up faster, helping enable access, she said.
Lawmakers aren't likely to consider the Streamlining Act superfluous in light of changes the FCC is making on its own, such as the Space Bureau and the NPRM, and will still want to have input, Collier said.
The space industry is seeking more certitude about application processing times, with sometimes-lengthy lags -- the partial approval of SpaceX's second-generation constellation earlier this month (see [Ref;2212010052]) took 2.5 years after the application -- affecting business cases and financing, space regulatory practitioners said. The Streamlining Act bill reflects the Hill being aware of the issue, one said. Despite the pending legislation, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel isn't likely to slow reform issues at the agency since she wants to be seen as moving forward and realizes the issue can't wait for Congress, he said. Noting minority Commissioner Nathan Simington's support of the Streamlining Act, he said the Republican commissioners would seemingly support an agency streamlining efforts, with their only criticisms potentially that it's not going fast or far enough. The FCC didn't comment.
Some of the lengthy time it takes to get an application reviewed is due to International Bureau staffing, but there also is a tendency to focus on technical minutiae, a satellite industry executive said. A Space Bureau reorganization should bring more resources to bear on satellite issues, but it also could mean higher satellite regulatory fees, she said.
Lawyers told us the time frame for FCC satellite process reform could be from late 2023 to sometime in 2024, depending on what kind of edicts for changes are in the Space Bureau draft order, when a Streamlining Act adoption and signing happens, and how long the subsequent rulemaking takes.
Satellite company lawyers said there's not an industry consensus on the Streamlining Act's requirement of shot clocks. It gives clear deadlines for the agency to act, but it also raises the issue that if the agency has reasonable technical questions that aren't resolved when the deadline arrives, the FCC still has to act, one said.