Attachment 1998Pegasus-OMD FCC

1998Pegasus-OMD FCC

LETTER submitted by OMD, FCC

le

1998-03-17

This document pretains to SAT-LOA-19980403-00026 for Application to Launch and Operate on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATLOA1998040300026_840854

                          FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                                  Washington, D. C. 20554
                                   March 17, 1998
OFFICE OF
MANAGING DIRECTOR




   Bruce D. Jilcogs, Esquire &                                                 /
   Fisher Wayland Cooper Leader                             K       Cz              4
    & Zaragoza, LLP                                 Qbf Wk% 4’? i tA 6’(?
  2001 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
  Suite 400
  Washington, D.C. 20006—1851
  Dear Mr.     Jacobs:

  This is in response to the petition you filed on behalf of
  Pegasus Development Corporation (Pegasus) requesting
  reinstatement of its application for authority to launch and
  operate a communications satellite system in the Ka band at 19.7—
  20.2/29.5—30.0, 28.35—28.6 GHz frequencies bands, and to your
  subsequent refiling of Pegasus‘ application with a petition for
  deferral of the required fee payment due to the return of its
  initial fee payment.
  Pegasus filed its application requesting to operate ten
  geostationary satellites at five orbital locations together with
  a fee payment on December 22,        1997,   the cut—off date for
  applications proposing satellite systems in the 28.35—28.6 GHz,
  29.1—30.0 Ghz, 167.7—18.8 GHz and 19.3—20.2 Chz Frequency Bands.
  Sfifi                                                                 —        1
  Public Notice, Report No. SPB—106 (released October 15, 1997)
  ("Public Notice"). As a part of its application package, Pegasus
  submitted a fee payment of $425,225.00 to cover the filing fees
  for five orbital locations        ($85,045.00 for each orbital location
  requested) together with a request for waiver of Section
  1.1107(9) (b) (1) of the Commission‘s rules which requires a fee
  payment of $850,450.00 with an application to launch and operate
  ten geostationary satellites        ($85,045.00 per satellite).         As
  justification for the amount of its fee payment and its waiver
  request,     Pegasus relied on "interim" fee payment procedures
  established for applicants requesting to locate multiple
  geostationary satellites at a single orbital location.   See
                     , Public Notice No. 56031, released September 28,
  1995.     The Fee Section returned Pegasus‘ application after                         —
  concluding that its fee payment was insufficient due to revisions
  to the requirements set forth in the "interim" fee procedure.
  See letter from Claudette E. Pride, Chief, Fee Section to Pegasus
  Development Company, dated January 13, 1998; see also 47 C.F.R.
  $§ 1.1107,        1.1110.                                                    .A


Mr. Jacobs                                                                  3

In your request for reinstatement of Pegasus‘ application, you
assert that Pegasus‘ fee payment was fully consistent with Public
Notices permitting payments for Ka—band satellite systems based
on the number of orbital locations an applicant proposed to
occupy rather than the number of geostationary satellites
proposed for operation.     See, e.q., FilingFeeWaiverEstablished
                                                 Waiv
                                           ous   Space    ations   in   ,
                                                    Cut_(OELS   stapl1sD
inthe2GHZand36—51.4CHzFrequencyBands, Public Notice No.
76181, releasged August 26,    1997.   Further, you contend that the
Public Notice, governing the filing of the second—round
applications, was unclear concerning whether fees could be
calculated pursuant to the fee payment rules or the "interim" fee
payment procedure set forth in the above—described Public
Notices.
The "interim" fee payment procedure was established in order to
"afford the Commission an opportunity to determine whether to
seek congressional amendment to the statutory filing fee
schedule, as it now applies to geostationary space stations"
because processing multiple satellites operating at a single
orbital location "would require the same resources that an
individual geostationary satellite requires." SeeInterimFiling
Fee_ P a Tl  afto P L 1. S0U°QO _L Agd— Jal i Satellite Applications
                                                          be ols «l 2LID ;
Public Notice No. 56031, released September 28 , 1995; sgee also
letter to John P. Janka, Esquire from Andrew S. Fishel, Managing
Director, dated August 26,    1995.    Thus, the "interim" procedure
permitted applicants to submit fees calculated upon their number
of proposed orbital locations without regard to the number of
satellites they proposed to operate and to simultaneously request
a waiver of the balance due. If Congress does not amend the
Schedule of Application Fees contained in Section 8 of the
Communications Act to include a fee payment category for multiple
geostationary satellites operating at single orbital location,
applicants relying on the "interim" procedures to make their fee
payments will be required to submit the full geostationary fee
payment. See 47 U.S.C. § 158 (g) .

The Public Notice, governing Pegasus‘ application, was intended
to modify the "interim" procedure‘s provision permitting the
filing of fees on a "per orbital location" basis by requiring,
instead, payment of the fee based on the number of geostationary
satellites an applicant proposed while affording applicants an
opportunity through the waiver process to obtain a refund of any
amount paid above the amount due on a "per orbital location"
basis. Specifically, the Public Notice, in describing the
payment procedures, stated that "to be considered as a part of
the processing round, applicants are required to apply for and
file corresponding fees for launch and authority as set forth in
Section 1.1107 of the Commission‘s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1107.
 (Construction authority and corresponding fees are no longer
required.) Thus, applicants for non—geostationary satellite


Mr.   Jacobs                                                        3

systems would file the fee listed for "Space Stations (Low Earth
Orbit Satellite Systems)" on a per system basis (see 47 C.F.R.
§ 1.1107(10) (b)) and applications for geostationary satellite
systems would file the fee listed for "Space Stations
(Geostationary)" on a per satellite basis (sgee 447 C.F.R.
§ 1.1107(9) (b) (1). Pursuant to Section 1.1117 of the
Commission‘s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 1.1117, requests for a waiver of
the fees will be considered on a case—by—case basis."
A careful reading of the Public Notice demonstrates that our
determination to modify the "interim" procedure is unclear
because its text is silent on whether an applicant could continue
to rely on the existing practice of filing a waiver petition to
request deferral of any required fee amount in excess of the fee
required on a "per orbital location" basis. Thus, when viewed in
the context of the existing "interim" fee procedure‘s provisions,
the Public Notice may fairly be read to affirm, or at least not
to prohibit, that applicants may continue to rely on the earlier
"interim" procedure. In view of this ambiquity, we are persuaded
that the text of the Public Notice related to fee payments, taken
as a whole and read in the content of our earlier "interim"
requirements, may not have been sufficiently plain to alert
Pegasus that the fee payment procedures had been modified to
include a requirement that applicants submit full payment of the
geostationary satellite fee with their applications.
Accordingly, your request is granted.     Pegasus‘ application is
reinstated nunc pro tunc.     Further, your request for waiver of
the geostationary fee payment requirement and your request for
deferral of Pegasus‘ fee payment are granted with the condition
that Pegasus make a fee payment of $425,225.00 within 20 days
from the date of this letter.

If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact
the Chief, Fee Section at    (202) 418—1996.

                            Ssincerely,



                            Thomas M. Holleran
                            Acting Associate Managing
                              Director for Operations



Document Created: 2019-04-21 00:05:53
Document Modified: 2019-04-21 00:05:53

© 2024 FCC.report
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FCC