WASHINGTON—As the C-band auction preps for its December start, Cunningham Communications is making its case to the FCC that it should be among the incumbent earth station operators forced to move from its place in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band that is eligible for reimbursement for transition costs.

Cunningham Communications is a small, independent broadband, cable and phone provider in rural Kansas, serving more than 11,000 subscribers with its services. Not included in the FCC’s list of eligible earth stations, Cunningham Communications has filed an Application for Review and Request for Waiver to be put on the list.

The company said that it submitted Form 312 to be registered as an earth station on May 13, 2018, including paying the filing fee, but  that the FCC has yet to either dismiss or return the filing. Cunningham Communications then submitted a comment in response to the preliminary list of earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz, for which it was not included, but was once again omitted from the list when an updated one was released.

If this result holds, “a small cable operator in rural Kansas will likely be forced to spend over $200,000 to transition,” Cunningham’s petition reads. “No commission policy supports such an absurd result.”

The C-band auction will see the lower 280 MHz of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band cleared out of its current earth station and satellite operators to make room for wireless companies with the goal of supporting 5G development. The operators forced to relocate will head to the upper 200 MHz of the band.

To read Cunningham Communication’s full petition, visit the FCC’s ECFS site online. 

WASHINGTON—The FCC has released its preliminary list of cable and broadcast earth stations in the C-band that are eligible for lump sum payments for their spectrum transition. The list only deals with stations operating in the 3700-4200 MHz band and are located in the contiguous United States.

Here is the preliminary list.

The C-band transition is opening up 280 MHz on the lower portion of the C-band for the development of 5G capabilities. Earth stations are being repacked into the upper 200 MHz of the band.

The facilities cited on the list will have the option between receiving a lump sum payment or receiving the actual costs of their transition. Stakeholders will now have until July 16 to determine if they want to comment on the list.

There are some pending applications included in the list that were filed before the commission’s April 2018 C-band auction related freeze, according to the FCC.

The C-band auction is slated to take place in December.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission today said it “took steps to streamline, consolidate, and harmonize rules governing earth stations used to provide satellite-based services on ships, airplanes and vehicles. The action proposes additional flexibility for this fast-growing segment of the satellite communications market.

Currently, the regulation of these earth stations, collectively known as ‘earth stations in motion’ (ESIMs), varies depending on the type of vehicle to which they are attached and are covered in various rule provisions.”

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted today (but not yet available online), “proposes to integrate the three types of earth stations in motion into a single regulatory category. [It]also proposes rules to allow for blanket licensing in additional frequency bands—the conventional Ka-band— which will offer additional flexibility to ESIMs.”

The available commission documents on the docket include a press release and a Public Notice on April 27 that the docket, No.17-75, was opened. So far, SES Americom, Inmarsat/Echostar, Iridium and ViaSat have filed comments.

According to the commission, the proposed changes would “simplify the regulatory approval process for ESIMs, reduce the burden on applicants and increase efficiency in processing applications.”