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 NEWS  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT:  August  18,  2006  Clyde  Ensslin,  202-  418-  0506 
 Email:  Clyde.  Ensslin@  fcc.  gov 
 COMMISSION  SEEKS  COMMENT  ON  PROPOSAL  TO  REVISE  RULES  FOR  DIRECT  BROADCAST  SATELLITE  SERVICE 


 Washington,  DC  --  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  has  adopted  a  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking  (Notice)  seeking  comment  on  licensing  procedures  and  service  rules  for  satellites  providing 
 Direct  Broadcast  Satellite  (DBS)  service.  The  Notice  seeks  comment  on  proposals  that  will  apply  to  any  application  for  authority  to  provide  DBS  service  in  the  United  States  using  the  12.2-  12.7  GHz  band  and 
 associated  feeder  links  in  the  17.3-  17.8  GHz  band.  This  includes  both  unassigned  channels  at  orbit  locations  assigned  to  the  United  States  under  the  ITU  Region  2  BSS  and  feeder-  link  Plans,  and  applications  for  DBS 
 service  from  space  stations  located  at  orbital  locations  not  assigned  to  the  United  States  in  the  ITU  Region  2  BSS  and  feeder-  link  Plans. 


 The  Notice  seeks  comment  on  new  licensing  procedures,  including  the  use  of  the  first-  come,  first-served  process  for  all  DBS  applications,  regardless  of  the  proposed  orbit  location.  Alternatively,  the  Notice 
 requests  comment  on  whether  DBS  should  continue  to  be  licensed  outside  the  scope  of  the  Commission’s  first-  come,  first-  served  satellite  application  processing  procedures,  and  if  so,  what  processing  framework 
 should  be  used  to  license  DBS.  The  Notice  also  seeks  comment  on:  (a)  what  additional  issues  the  Commission  should  consider  in  situations  involving  non-  nine-  degree  spaced  DBS  applications;  (b)  whether 
 all  the  licensing  procedures  applicable  to  other  satellite  services  (e.  g.,  performance  bonds,  milestones,  and  annual  reports)  should  apply  to  DBS  systems;  (c)  how  to  resolve  impasses  in  operator-  to-  operator 
 coordination  negotiations;  (d)  whether  new  license  terms  should  be  adopted  for  all  current  and  future  U.  S.  -licensed  DBS  systems;  and  (e)  other  issues,  including  what,  if  any,  action  is  needed  to  address  the  impact  of 
 reduced  spacing  DBS  on  other  services. 
 Action  by  the  Commission  August  14,  2006,  by  Notice  of  Proposed  Rulemaking  (FCC  06-  120).  Chairman  Martin  with  Commissioners  Copps,  Adelstein,  Tate,  and  McDowell.  Commissioners  Copps  and 
 Adelstein  approved  in  part,  concurred  in  part,  and  issued  a  joint  statement. 
 International  Bureau  Staff  Contact:  Jo  Ann  Lucanik,  (202)  418-  0873 
 IB  Docket  No.  06-  160 
 -FCC- 
 News  about  the  Federal  Communications  Commission  can  be  found  on  the  Commission’s  web  site  www.  fcc.  gov. 
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