Federal Communications Commission DA 20-1424 Report No. SPB-286 DA 20-1424 Released: November 30, 2020 INTERNATIONAL BUREAU RELEASES UPDATED LIST OF INCUMBENT EARTH STATIONS IN THE 3.7-4.2 GHZ BAND IN THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES IB Docket No. 20-205 GN Docket No. 20-305 With this Public Notice, the International Bureau (the Bureau) releases an updated list of those Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band (C-band) within the contiguous United States that the Bureau has found satisfy the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-band transition. See 47 CFR § 27.1411(b)(3). The C-band transition is not occurring outside the contiguous United States, but U.S. licensed or registered earth stations in those locations may seek reimbursement of costs directly related to the transition if they satisfy the criteria for incumbent earth station status. Those earth stations, however, are not eligible to elect lump sum payments. This list reflects changes since the latest release of the list on October 23, 2020, most of which have occurred as a result of the Bureau’s review of lump sum elections. International Bureau Completes Review of Lump Sum Elections, Public Notice, DA 20-1294 (IB Oct. 30, 2020). The results of the Bureau’s initial review of the lump sum elections were released on October 23, 2020. See International Bureau Announces Review of Lump Sum Elections, Public Notice, DA 20-1262 (IB Oct. 23, 2020). The attached list also identifies those earth station antennas for which there are accepted lump sum elections and whether the earth station operators intends to migrate use of those antennas to the upper 200 megahertz of the C-band by the end of the transition or to discontinue use of the C-band. In the 3.7 GHz Band Report and Order the Commission defined the criteria that earth stations must satisfy to be eligible as incumbent earth stations to receive reimbursement for their reasonable relocation costs. Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band, Report and Order and Order of Proposed Modification, 35 FCC Rcd 2343, 2391, paras. 116-23 (2020) (3.7 GHz Band Report and Order). On August 3, 2020, the Bureau released a list of those FSS earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band in the contiguous United States that the Bureau found satisfy the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-band band transition. See International Bureau Releases List of Incumbent Earth Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band in the Contiguous United States, Public Notice, DA 20-823 (IB Aug. 3, 2020) (August 3 Incumbent Earth Station List PN). On October 23, 2020, the Bureau released an updated list of those FSS earth stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band in the contiguous United States that the Bureau found satisfy the criteria to be classified as incumbent earth stations for purposes of the C-band band transition. See International Bureau Releases List of Incumbent Earth Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band in the Contiguous United States, Public Notice, DA 20-1260 (IB Oct. 23, 2020) (October 23 Incumbent Earth Station List PN). The Bureau has continued to review the status of all earth stations in IBFS with active or pending licenses or registrations to receive in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band as additional filings have been made in IBFS. The list includes the current authorizations of incumbent earth station antennas, and where applicable, any pending applications relating to those antennas. In addition, a very limited number of recently filed applications on the attached list are listed as pending because they appeared on a Bureau Accepted for Filing Public Notice fewer than 30 days ago and so are not yet ripe for final determination. Importantly, the attached list reflects various changes recently submitted by operators, including surrender notices and antenna deletions made during the review of lump sum elections. Where all of the earth stations on a callsign are affected, the Bureau has processed these notices as surrender notices or has dismissed the underlying authorizations on delegated authority, and has removed any duplications. See, e.g., International Bureau Report No. SES-02320, Satellite Communications Services Information Re: Action Taken (IB Nov. 18, 2020). Where notices state that some, but not all, of the earth stations on a callsign are no longer operational, the Bureau has processed the notices by removing those earth stations as valid antennas under the callsign. The updated list attached to this Public Notice also reflects a variety of changes to earth station registration, including address or coordinate corrections, registration assignments, and other updates since the October 23 Incumbent Earth Station PN. The Bureau has not included on the list those earth stations for which it has dismissed applications as not meeting the criteria for incumbent status. The Bureau also has not included earth stations with authorizations classified as transmit-only in the 5.925-6.425 GHz portion of the C-band that do not include reception in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band. See Comments of PSSI Global Services, L.L.C.at 3 (filed July 16, 2020) (listing E110081, E130075, E920096, E080053, E090175, E080052, and E980388). Authorizations to transmit in the 5.925-6.425 GHz band are unaffected. As a reminder, all incumbent earth stations that continue to operate in the C-band during the transition or in the 4.0-4.2 GHz band afterwards must maintain a valid, up-to-date registration in IBFS. For instance, incumbent earth station operators continue to be subject to the requirement under Commission rules of filing timely renewal applications when their authorizations are due to expire. 47 CFR § 25.121(e). In addition, when incumbent earth station operators assign earth station antennas in transactions not requiring prior Commission approval, they are required under Commission rules to notify the Commission within 30 days of consummation of the assignment. 47 CFR § 25.119(f). Timely notification of such assignments is particularly important for incumbent C-band earth stations to avoid possible delay or denial of interference protection, cost reimbursement, or lump sum payments to which incumbents are entitled. Finally, incumbent earth station operators who terminate operations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band at one or more earth station antennas are required pursuant to the Commission’s rules to notify the Commission when those earth stations are no longer operational. 47 CFR § 25.115(b)(8). For ease of identification, the list of earth stations includes the following information from the IBFS database: (1) Licensee/Registrant/Applicant name; (2) Earth Station Callsign; (3) Site ID; (4) Antenna ID; (5) number of antennas/dishes associated with that Antenna ID; (6) site address; (7) GPS coordinates of the antenna; and (8) File Number(s) of current authorization and/or pending application. Certain C-band certifications were timely filed in association with File Numbers that have since been superseded by later filings; in the list, those earth stations can be identified by the subsequent File Number. The status of an earth station antenna under the 3.7 GHz Report and Order pertains only to the reception of satellite transmissions on 3.7-4.2 GHz by fixed earth stations and transportable (temporary fixed) earth stations. The list also identifies those earth station antennas for which there is an accepted lump sum election and whether the earth station operator intends to migrate operations to the upper 200 megahertz of the band by the end of the transition or to discontinue use of the C-band. To the extent there are any discrepancies in the lump sum election information in the attached updated list and the election filing(s) in IB Docket No. 20-205, the election filings are controlling. -FCC- 2