Summary of IMCC's Emergency Request for Immediate Relief in FCC Rulemaking on 18 GHz

Under the Commission's NPRM, private cable operators, as secondary users, would be required to demonstrate that their proposed uses of the 18.3-18.55 GHz spectrum band would not cause interference to Geostationary Orbit Fixed Satellite Service ("GSO/FSS") operations. Because GSO/FSS earth stations will be ubiquitously deployed and blanket-licensed in the 18.3-18.55 GHz band, the practical effect of this proposed secondary status is that most private cable operations which are subject to the September 18 cut-off will not survive the advent of these satellite services. The September 18 date acts as a "freeze" on PCO applications filed after that date.

There is no viable method for private cable operators to share the band with blanket-licensed earth stations that are highly interference-sensitive. The prospect of a large number of ubiquitously deployed mobile earth stations will, therefore, impair private cable operators' efforts to start new or expand existing operations. Because of the possibility that an earth station will be turned on at any place and at any time and will likely suffer interference, the Commission's proposal effectively would oust all post-September 18 private cable operations from the 18.3-18.55 GHz band. Without this 250 MHz of spectrum, the remaining portions of the 18.142-18.580 GHz band would be rendered virtually useless for new or expanded private cable operations. Faced with this threat, private cable will pull back from undertaking to expand its service to the public.

The Commission's proposed solution to assign terrestrial fixed operators primary status in the 17.7-18.3 GHz band does nothing to make up for private cable's loss of 450 MHz of contiguous spectrum. First, two-thirds of the band (17.7-18.14 GHz) is unavailable for video programming, unchannelized and not vendor supported. Second, the remaining one-third of the band (18.14-18.3 GHz) that is video channelized and vendor supported cannot absorb private cable's need for 450 MHz of contiguous spectrum to offer a competing video service. Third, private cable's point-to-point systems could not be accommodated in the 17.7-18.3 GHz band where they would have to coordinate with the multitude of other fixed terrestrial service providers already occupying those frequencies.

The harm the Commission's cut-off proposal is having on the private cable industry and competition in the multichannel video marketplace is incalculable. And the proposal is unnecessary. Private cable operators do not file applications in an effort to warehouse spectrum. To the contrary, private cable licensees file 18 GHz applications only after undertaking exhaustive engineering analysis and expending or committing to spend thousands of dollars in marketing and development costs. Consequently, this service is not like other services where the Commission might have been rightly concerned about holding back the floodgates from a torrent of speculative "paper" applications. There is no sound basis for the Commission to create artificial and unnecessary obstacles that will impede private cable's present and growing competitive services. Yet that is the effect of the NPRM's September 18 cut-off date, for private cable operators cannot apply for any other spectrum as a substitute for the 18 GHz spectrum. IMCC urges the Commission to eliminate the September 18th cut-off date.

For a complete copy of IMCC's Request contact IMCC at (202) 364-0882.