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SES Tells Court Its C-Band Clearing Work 'Irreplaceable'

Without SES partnering with Intelsat, there would be no payments for accelerated clearing of the C band, SES told the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in a supplemental brief (docket 3:22-cv-668) Tuesday. SES said it…

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"played an irreplaceable, leading role" in the companies' C-band transition work as the two jointly developed transition plans, shared equally with Intelsat in C-Band Alliance (CBA) costs, and jointly engaged and directed lobbyists, consultants and attorneys. It said it was only the CBA agreement that governed the joint work of the two companies after the FCC's November 2019 decision to auction the C-band spectrum, and said Intelsat never identified any other contract giving the terms for their joint work after that auction announcement. After the public auction announcement, SES and Intelsat jointly funded the CBA and its activities, SES said. SES is appealing a U.S. Bankruptcy Court's rejection of its lawsuit against Intelsat over the CBA's collapse (see 2210190020). Its brief was in response to questions by U.S. District Judge Robert Payne on such issues as what work SES did to assist Intelsat in the C-band clearing and how CBA expenses were handled.