Attachment Spectrum Five - MOO

This document pretains to SAT-LOI-20050312-00063 for Letter of Intent on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATLOI2005031200063_1114816

                                     Federal Communications Commission                                DA 15—1265




                                                  Before the
                                     Federal Communications Commission
                                           Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of                                            )
                                                            )
Spectrum Five LLC                                           )          File Nos.   SAT—LOI—20050312—00062
                                                            )                      SAT—MOD—20101126—00245
                                                            )                      Call Sign $2667
Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Extend or Waive          )          File Nos.   SAT—LOI—20050312—00063
Construction Milestone                                      ) _                    SAT—MOD—20101126—00269
                                                            )                      Call Sign $2668


                                  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Adopted: November 6, 2015                                                  Released: November 6, 2015

By the Chief, International Bureau:

J.       INTRODUCTION
         1.    In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, we deny the request of Spectrum Five LLC
(Spectrum Five)‘ to reconsider our decision to invalidate the grant to Spectrum Five of U.S. market access
for provision of Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) service in the United States using a Netherlands—
authorized "tweener" satellite network at the 114.5° W.L. orbital location. We find no merit in Spectrum
Five‘s claim that we should have granted a waiver or extension of the milestones that were conditions of
this grant. Thus, we affirm our decision in the Spectrum Five Cancellation Order to invalidate Spectrum
Five‘s market access grant.
IL.      BACKGROUND
         2.     Spectrum Five Market Access Grant. On November 29, 2006, we granted Spectrum Five
access to the U.S. market for two satellites authorized by the Netherlands. These satellites were to be
located at the 114.5° W.L. orbital location. That location is between U.S.—licensed DBS satellites
providing service to consumers from the 110° W.L. and 119° W.L. orbital locations. The Market Access
Grant specified, as a condition of the grant, the following progress milestones: (1) complete contracting
for the construction of the satellite system within one year of grant; (2) complete critical design review

! Spectrum Five LLC Petition for Reconsideration, IBFS File Nos. SAT—MOD—20101126—00245, SAT—MOD—
20101126—00269 (dated Aug. 25, 2011) (Spectrum Five Petition).
2 Spectrum Five, LLC Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Extend or Waive Construction Milestone, Memorandum
Opinion and Order, 26 FCC Red 10448 (Int‘l Bur. 2011) (Spectrum Five Cancellation Order). As we explained in
more detail in the Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, a "tweener" location is one between orbital locations assigned
in the relevant International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plan, and at a reduced orbital spacing that is
compatible with the current Plan provisions. See id. at 10449, «[ 3.
3 Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Serve the U.S. Market Using Broadcast Satellite Service (BSS) Spectrum from
the 114.5° W.L. Orbital Location, Order, 21 FCC Red 14023, ( 1 (Int‘l Bur. 2006) (Market Access Grant);
applications for review denied, Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 08—64, 23 FCC Red 3252 (2008) (2008
Review Order).


                                    Federal Communications Commission                                  DA 15—1265


(CDR) within two years of grant; (3) complete construction of the first system satellite within four years
of grant; and (4) have all satellites in the system operational within six years of grant.* On November 28,
2007, Spectrum Five certified completion of the first milestone and filed a copy of its contract with Space
Systems/Loral (SS/L) to construct two satellites. On November 25, 2008, Spectrum Five filed a letter
from SS/L certifying that it had completed CDR for both satellites. Spectrum Five also filed annual
reports in June 2009 and June 2010 informing the Commission that it was working with SS/L to meet the
third milestone — completing construction of its first satellite. However, on November 26, 2010,
Spectrum Five filed a request to extend or waive the construction milestone for its first satellite by two
years, from November 29, 2010 to November 29, 2012.5 Then, in response to an inquiry from the
Bureau‘s Satellite Division,© Spectrum Five filed a letter on February 11, 2011, stating that it had ceased
work under the contract with SS/L after it had filed the CDR milestone documentation."
         3.    Spectrum Five Cancellation Order. On July 26, 2011, we denied Spectrum Five‘s request
to extend or waive the construction milestone and declared Spectrum Five‘s 2006 market access grant
null and void.s We determined that none of Spectrum Five‘s stated reasons for its milestone extension
request —— regulatory uncertainty caused by the applications for review of Spectrum Five‘s market access
grant, unique engineering challenges of building a tweener satellite, the coordination issues related to its
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) filing through the Netherlands, and the challenges of
obtaining financing in the wake of the global financial crisis — justified an extension of the construction
milestone." We found that Spectrum Five stopped all work on the satellites at least 30 months prior to our
decision, and also failed to provide a plan for resuming or completing construction and launching of the
satellites by the required November 2012 date."" We determined that, in addition to not meeting the
"begin construction" milestone, Spectrum Five had not met its earlier CDR milestone in November 2008,
noting that the filed CDR documentation identifying components of its satellite was incomplete and that
the CDR filing failed to include evidence of the large payment normally associated with a genuine CDR."
We also denied Spectrum Five‘s request to waive the construction milestone, citing lack of progress
towards meeting the construction milestone or the remaining milestone requiring commencement of —
operations." Finally, we concluded that Spectrum Five failed to comply with one of the conditions in the
Market Access Grant, thereby providing another independent ground for voiding that grant in the
Spectrum Five Cancellation Order."® Specifically, because Spectrum Five had not coordinated with

* Market Access Grant, 21 FCC Red at 14041, [ 40 (citing 47 C.F.R. § 25.148(b)). As a DBS licensee, Spectrum
Five was not required to post a performance bond under Section 25.165. See 47 C.F.R. § 25.165(a).
* Spectrum Five LLC Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Extend or to Waive the Interim Construction Milestone,
IBFS File Nos. SAT—MOD—20101126—00245 and SAT—MOD—20101126—00269 (filed Nov. 26, 2010) (Milestone
Extension Request); Letter from David Wilson, President, Spectrum Five LLC, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary,
FCC (dated July 25, 2011) (supplementing the request to extend or waive the milestone).
6 See Letter from Robert G. Nelson, Chief, Satellite Division, International Bureau, FCC to David Wilson, President,
Spectrum Five LLC (dated Jan. 13, 2011) (January 13 Letter).
? Letter from David Wilson, President, Spectrum Five LLC, to Robert G. Nelson, Chief, Satellite Division,
International Bureau, FCC at 2 (dated Feb. 11, 2011). That letter also included amendments to Spectrum Five‘s
contract with SS/L and a copy of the CDR package produced by SS/L. Id.                    ~
8 Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10448,      1.
° Id. at 10451—10454, {{ 8—19.
 TId. at 10455, 21.
4 Id. at 10455, 20.
2 Id. at 10455, 4 22.
5 1J at 10456, 125. _


                                      Federal Communications Commission                                  DA 15—1265


DIRECTV or EchoStar,"¢ we found that Spectrum Five failed to file a modification application within 30
days following completion of its CDR, as required in the event that it did not coordinate for power levels
that exceeded the ITU interference limits."
        4.    Spectrum Five Petition for Reconsideration. Spectrum Five filed its petition for
reconsideration on August 25, 2011. On September 9, 2011, DIRECTV filed an opposition to Spectrum
Five‘s Petition,"" and on September 20, 2011, Spectrum Five filed a reply to DIRECTV‘s opposition.""
There were no other commenters.
        5.    ITU Filing. Spectrum Five‘s market access grant was based on filings with the ITU
submitted by the Netherlands. On May 14, 2013, the ITU cancelled these filings."* As a result, for ITU
coordination purposes, the Netherlands filings that were the basis for Spectrum Five‘s network no longer
need to be taken into consideration by the other Administrations, including the United States."
IIL.      DISCUSSION
         6.    Spectrum Five identifies four main points on which it seeks reconsideration. First, it argues
that the Bureau erred in finding that an extension of the construction milestone was not warranted due to
difficulties Spectrum Five experienced in the international coordination process."" Spectrum Five
attributes these difficulties to what it alleges were violations by the United States of Spectrum Five‘s and
the Netherlands®‘ rights under ITU regulations. Second, Spectrum Five argues that it was an error to
determine that Spectrum Five had not completed the CDR milestone."‘ Third, Spectrum Five claims it
was an error to conclude that Spectrum Five failed to file a required modification application within 30
days of the CDR milestone date." Finally, Spectrum Five repeats its claim that it is uniquely situated, in
light of the current freeze on the filing of DBS applications (DBS freeze),"" to provide much needed
competitive service to the DBS market and that the Bureau erred in concluding otherwise."*



4 In its petition for market access, Spectrum Five had proposed to operate at power levels that could cause
interference to other DBS satellites. As a result, the Market Access Grant required Spectrum Five to coordinate with
DIRECTV and EchoStar and limited Spectrum Five‘s power levels to be within the ITU interference criteria until it
completed such coordination. See Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10456, [ 24 (citing Market
Access Grant, 21 FCC Red at 14037,      30 and at 14042, [ 43(d)).
5 Id. at 10456, 24 (citing Market Access Grant, 21 FCC Red at 14042, € 43(c) and 2008 Review Order, 23 FCC
Red at 3259, [ 19).
!§ Opposition of DIRECTV Enterprises, LLC (filed Sept. 9, 2011) (DIRECTV Opposition).
‘? Reply to DIRECTV Enterprises, LLC‘s Opposition (filed Sept. 20, 2011) (Spectrum Five Reply).
  See International Telecommunication Union, Radiocommunication Bureau, BR IFIC No. 2744 (dated May 14,
2013).
* Id. at note 2.
*° Spectrum Five Petition at 11—14.
* Id. at 14.
* Id. at 20.
* Id. at 22 (citing Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Service Auction Nullified; Commission Sets Forth Refund
Proceduresfor Auction No. 52 Winning Bidders and Adopts a Freeze on All New DBS Service Applications, Public
Notice, FCC 05—213, 20 FCC Red 20618, 20619 (2005)).
* Id. at 21—22. Spectrum Five also claims that invalidating its authorization creates a hardship on it due to the DBS
freeze. Id. See also Milestone Extension Request at 15, n.37.


                                      Federal Communications Commission                                     DA 15—1265



         7.    We disagree with Spectrum Five‘s assertions that we erred in the Spectrum Five
Cancellation Order, and we affirm our decision in that Order to invalidate Spectrum Five‘s market access
grant. We affirm our finding in the Spectrum Five Cancellation Order that Spectrum Five‘s decision to
halt construction and, significantly, its failure to provide any evidence of a plan for completing satellite
construction, shows a lack of due diligence.*" Our decision to cancel Spectrum Five‘s market access grant
is justified on this lack of due diligence finding alone."" In addition, as discussed further below, we are
unpersuaded by Spectrum Five‘s arguments with respect to: (1) the impact of its difficulties in the
international coordination process; (2) the CDR milestone; (3) the modification application; and (4) the
DBS freeze.
         8.        International Coordination Process. As an initial matter, we address Spectrum Five‘s
claim of error with respect to our consideration of the impact of the international coordination process on
Spectrum Five‘s request for an extension or waiver. First, we disagree with Spectrum Five‘s contention
that the involvement in the satellite coordination process of its sponsoring administration, the
Netherlands, justifies a grant of a milestone extension. Spectrum Five characterizes that involvement as
evidencing a "dispute" between the United States and the Netherlands "regarding the basic rights and
obligations of the parties to the coordination, and ongoing operations of U.S.—licensed DBS satellites that
fail to respect the international rights of the Netherlands and Spectrum Five . . . ."*" While many satellite
coordination matters are resolved by discussions between commercial operators, without detailed
involvement by sponsoring administrations, the involvement of an administration or administrations is not
so extraordinary as to justify departure from precedent declining to consider coordination difficulties as a
basis for milestone extension. Spectrum Five‘s market access grant was subject to the outcome of the
international coordination process, the success of which is not guaranteed, and Spectrum Five accepted
the risk of the coordination process as part of its market access grant."
         9.     Moreover, Spectrum Five‘s contention that the Bureau failed to respect international rights
related to its ITU filing is incorrect."" The substance of Spectrum Five‘s complaint is that we permitted
two EchoStar satellites (EchoStar 11 and EchoStar 14]"° to launch in order to replace existing satellites
operating at the 110° W.L. and 119° W.L. locations and to begin operations subsequent to Spectrum
Five‘s market access grant. It is Spectrum Five‘s view that such operations are forbidden under ITU
regulations*‘ because two U.S. ITU filings related to those satellites were submitted after Spectrum Five‘s

25 See Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10453—54, 10455, M 17, 21. Spectrum Five does not
dispute this finding in its petition for reconsideration.
26 See also DIRECTV Opposition at 1—2 (noting that Spectrum Five has ceased satellite construction and has
provided no plans for completing construction by its milestone deadline).
?? Spectrum Five Petition at 3.
* Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10453, «[ 15.
* Spectrum Five Petition at 5.
39 See Petitionfor Clarification ofCondition in EchoStar 11 License, Order, 23 FCC Red 12786 (Int‘l Bur. 2008)
(EchoStar 11 Order); Dish Operating L.L.C., Modification ofAuthority to Operate at the 118.9° W.L. Orbital
Location and Authority to Launch and Operate the EchoStar—14 Satellite, Order and Authorization, 25 FCC Red
2311 (Int‘l Bur. 2010) (EchoStar 14 Order).
3 For example, Spectrum Five relies on Article 3.2 of Appendix 30, which states that "Member States shall not . ..
bring into use assignments to broadcasting—satellite service space stations . . . , except as provided for in the Radio
Regulations and [in Appendix 30]." See Spectrum Five Petition at 4—7, n.13 (citing ITU Radio Regulations, Appx.
30, Art. 3.2). Spectrum Five also relies on Article 8.1 of the ITU Radio Regulations, which addresses the "recording
[of] an assignment," (¥.e., entering the assignmentinto the ITU Region 2 BSS Plan) and results in the assignment as
reflected in that filing being entitled to recognition by other Administrations. See id. at 4—5 (citing ITU Radio
Regulations, Art. 8.1).


                                     Federal Communications Commission                                    DA 15—1265


filings through the Netherlands, and the agreement of the Netherlands was required prior to U.S.
operations. These two satellites, it argues, significantly increased the potential for interference into
Spectrum Five‘s system, thereby hindering the "priority rights" of the Netherlands and Spectrum Five.*
         10.    We do not dispute that the EchoStar 11 and 14 operations vary somewhat from the
technical parameters of the U.S. assignments at the 110° W.L. and 119° W.L. orbital locations as already
entered into the ITU Region 2 BSS Plan."" This is because the United States has not completed the ITU
agreement—seeking process for filings requesting modifications of the ITU Region 2 Plan in order to
reflect the variance."* However, the licenses for EchoStar 11 and 14 both included conditions that
recognized the need to consider earlier filings at the ITU and to adjust operations if necessary in the event
those earlier filings were brought into use."" By the terms of the EchoStar licenses, EchoStar would be
required to adjust its operations if those satellites interfered with the later—commenced operations of a
satellite whose operations are based on earlier ITU filings. Given these assurances, the commencement of
Echostar‘s satellite operations provided Spectrum Five with no reasonable basis upon which to delay or
abandon its construction efforts or to miss any of its milestones.
      11.    In addition, Article 4.4 of the ITU Radio Regulations includes protection for such later—
commenced operations and, thus, allows the initiation of EchoStar‘s satellite operations without
undercutting the efforts of a would—be satellite provider that has made an earlier, higher priority ITU
filing. More specifically, Article 4.4 recognizes that Administrations can assign frequencies to a station
operating at variance from the ITU regulations, on the condition that the station neither cause interference
to, nor claim interference protection from, stations operating in accordance with the ITU Constitution,


* Id. at 7, 9—10. We have previously considered and rejected similar claims by Spectrum Five. See EchoStar 11
Order, 23 FCC Red at 12788—89, € 8; see also EchoStar 14 Order, 25 FCC Red 2311. In the EchoStar 14 Order, we
rejected Spectrum Five‘s request to require, as a condition of EchoStar 14‘s authorization, that EchoStar restrict its
satellite operations to the power levels set forth in the existing ITU Region 2 BSS Plan until coordination was
completed. Id. at 2313, § 7, 2315—16, « 10—11. We explained that when an applicant seeks an authorization and its
technical parameters vary from the ITU Region 2 BSS Plan, the Commission grants authority subject to a condition
set forth in Section 25.111(c) of the Commission‘s rules. /d. at 2314—15, §« 7—8. Specifically, under Section
25.111(c), such systems receive no guaranteed protection from interference until the authorization holders obtain the
agreement of all affected Administrations and the frequency assignment becomes part of the ITU Region 2 BSS
Plan. 47 C.F.R. § 25.111(c). We further stated that "[aldopting Spectrum Five‘s proposed conditions would impose
unnecessary constraints on EchoStar 14‘s operations" and that "coordination with other administrations is not a
prerequisite to a grant of U.S. DBS space station licenses to U.S. operators, particularly for networks that are not yet
operational." I¢. at 2316, [ 11. We concluded that Spectrum Five was not yet operational and, thus, there was no ". .
. . imminent commencement of operations by an "affected network" under the ITU Radio Regulations." Id. at 2315,
10.
* ITU Region 2 includes North, Central and South America and Greenland. See Article 5, Section I of the ITU
Radio Regulations. The ITU Region 2 BSS Plan consists of the Plan for BSS in the 12.2—12.7 GHz band (as
provided in Appendix 30 of the ITU Radio Regulations) and the associated Plan for feeder links in the 17.3—17.8
GHz band (as provided in Appendix 30A of the ITU Radio Regulations).
* See generally ITU Radio Regulations, Appx. 30, Art. 3 & 4. The two EchoStar filings that Spectrum Five
identifies have not yet been recorded with the ITU.
3 EchoStar 11 Order, 23 FCC Red at 12788—89, € 8; EchoStar 14 Order, 25 FCC Red at 2317, [ 15d. In addition,
certain Part 25 rules specifically refer to and include portions of the ITU Radio Regulation provisions for the
purpose of analyzing and authorizing those DBS satellite applications with technical characteristics that vary from
the technical parameters of the ITU Region 2 BSS Band Plan. See Market Access Grant, 21 FCC Red at 14027, 4 6.
Notably, Section 25.148(f) provides that "[o)peration of systems using differing technical characteristics may be
permitted, with adequate technical showing, and if a request has been made to the ITU to modify the appropriate
Plans to include the system‘s technical parameters." 47 C.F.R. § 25.148(f). See also 47 C.F.R. § 25.111(c).


                                        Federal Communications Commission                                 DA 15—1265


Convention, and Regulations."" We, therefore, disagree with Spectrum Five‘s contention that EchoStar
satellites‘ operations were not allowed under Article 4.4. It is well settled that issuing a national
authorization to operate a satellite network under Article 4.4 is a prerogative of Administrations."®
Moreover, Spectrum Five made no allegation, pursuant to Article 4.4, that the operations of these
satellites have caused harmful interference to any operating station. There is no requirement, under
Article 4.4, to obtain the consent of the Netherlands on behalf of Spectrum Five prior to the operation of
these satellites. Thus, Spectrum Five has neither cause to complain about the initiation of EchoStar‘s
satellite operations nor a legitimate reason to cite such operations as grounds for missing its own
milestones.
        12.    CDR Milestone. Spectrum Five argues that the Bureau erred in determining that Spectrum
Five had not completed the CDR milestone."° Spectrum Five claims that the CDR package* was
complete and that the lack of large payment was not evidence of Spectrum Five‘s inability to complete
CDR.*‘ We are not persuaded by Spectrum Five‘s claims. We recognize, as Spectrum Five points out,
that including heritage components in its CDR package helps to achieve an efficient, cost effective and
reliable satellite design.* However, typical CDR packages that satisfy the CDR milestone contain far
more detailed satellite design information and analysis, thereby clearly demonstrating that the design
phase is over and the manufacturing phase is ready to begin. In addition, typical payments at the
completion of CDR are 25—50 percent of the contract price, a far higher percentage than paid by Spectrum
Five." Improvements in satellite procurements may reduce the overall costs, but, in our experience,


3$ ITU Radio Regulations, Art. 4.4 (emphasis added).
37 See Spectrum Five Petition at 5—6.
3 See Letter from David Wilson, President, Spectrum Five to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, Federal
Communications Commission (dated July 25, 2011) at Attach. A, Telefax from the ITU Radiocommunication
Bureau, SSD, to Radiocommunications Agency Netherlands, at «[ 1 (dated Nov. 24, 2010). Furthermore, under
Spectrum Five‘s interpretation of ITU provisions, an established operator in the process of deploying replacement
satellites could be forced to limit service to consumers based on the fact that it had not completed the agreement
seeking process with a satellite network that had little or no prospect for being brought into use. We decline to take
this approach.
3 Spectrum Five Petition at 14. Spectrum Five argues that this is the first time that the Bureau has invalidated an
authorization for failure to satisfy the CDR milestone. Id. However, Spectrum Five acknowledges that, on the same
day we declared Spectrum Five‘s authorization null and void, we also declared EchoStar‘s authorization to operate a
"tweener" satellite null and void, based, in part, on its failure to satisfy the CDR milestone. See Spectrum Five
Petition at 14, n.37 (citing EchoStar Corporation, Certifications of Milestone Compliance and EchoStar Corporation,
Application to Authorize Operations of the EchoStar 8 Satellite at the 86.5° W.L. Orbital Location, Memorandum
Opinion and Order, DA 11—1251, 26 FCC Red 10442, 10444, § 7). Thus, we find this argument provides little
weight for Spectrum Five‘s case, given that we made a similar finding on the same day for EchoStar, and given the
other findings we make in this Order.
4 The CDR package consists of the documentation detailing the design for each satellite subsystem along with the
computer simulation and lab test results relied on for determining whether the proposed design fulfills specific
performance parameters. Comprehensive Review of Licensing and Operating Rules for Satellite Services, Report
and Order, 28 FCC Red 12403, 12421, € 49 n.108 (2013) (2013 Part 25 Reform Order).
* Spectrum Five Petition at 15 (citing Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10455, € 20, n.54) and 17.
* Id. at 18.
4 See Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10455,        20 (stating that "[i]n fact, Spectrum Five‘s total
payments as of November 2008 amounted to less than 10% of what was due by the CDR milestone and was only a
fraction of one percent of the contract price.").


                                    Federal Communications Commission                                 DA 15—1265


payments would still need to be large at CDR. Significantly, Spectrum Five fails to take this opportunity
to produce the CDR package documentation or the large payment that we found was lacking in the
Spectrum Five Cancellation Order. Accordingly, we conclude, as we did in the Spectrum Five
Cancellation Order, that Spectrum Five failed to satisfy the CDR milestone.

          13.     We are also not persuaded by Spectrum Five claims that the legal definition for CDR*"is
vague and that the CDR evidentiary standard consists only of examples of, and not clear guidance for,
what information is needed to satisfy the CDR milestone.*®© Typically, the CDR milestone evidence that
we have received has been satisfactory based on the CDR definition and the CDR evidentiary guidance."
In addition, in the 2013 Part 25 Reform Order, the Commission determined that relying on the CDR
definition and CDR evidentiary examples set forth in prior Orders and Public Notices provided sufficient
guidance for applicants seeking to demonstrate compliance with the CDR milestone."" Thus, we disagree
with Spectrum Five that we erred in applying the standard for compliance with the CDR milestone.
          14.       Modification Application. Spectrum Five claims that the Bureau erred in concluding that
it failed to file a modification application pursuant to a condition adopted in the Market Access Grant."
We affirm our findings with respect to that condition."" The condition in the Market Access Grant
required Spectrum Five to provide, within 30 days of completing CDR, all technical characteristics of its
satellites that were modified as a result of the coordination process." In the 2008 Review Order, the
Commission clarified the condition by stating that, absent actual coordination, Spectrum Five should
submit a modification application demonstrating that it had made the technical changes required for its
satellites to operate without exceeding the ITU trigger for coordination."‘ Spectrum Five argues that it
was not required to coordinate, or even decide to coordinate within a particular time frame and that, as a
result, filing a modification application within that time frame would have been premature."" We
disagree. Filing a modification application showing that, absent coordination for higher power levels,
Spectrum Five‘s satellites would not exceed the ITU coordination trigger would have given the Bureau an
opportunity to review any interference concerns resulting from the satellites‘ modified technical
characteristics prior to completing construction and operation of the satellites."" In addition, if Spectrum
Five had subsequently completed coordination, it could have filed another modification application
reflecting the technical changes made as a result of that coordination.

4* Spectrum Five Petition at 18. As Spectrum Five notes, CDR is defined as "the stage in the spacecraft
implementation process at which the design and development phase ends and the manufacturing phase starts." I4.,
n.48 (citing Space Station Reform Order, 18 FCC Red at 10833, 191 (citing The Establishment of Policies and
Service Rules for the Mobile Satellite Service in the 2 GHz Band, Report and Order, 15 FCC Red 16127, at 16178,
4 108 (2000)).                         —
* Id. at 19.
* The International Bureau Provides Guidance Concerning the Critical Design Review Milestone Requirement,
Public Notice, DA 04—787, 19 FCC Red 5362 (2004).
*4 2013 Part 25 Reform Order, 28 FCC Red at 12421,     48.
* Spectrum Five Petition at 20. Spectrum Five argues that it was not obligated to complete coordination within a
specified time period or to even coordinate at all.
* See Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10456, [« 24—25.
59 See Market Access Grant, 21 FCC Red at 14042, € 43¢.
51 See 2008 Review Order, 23 FCC Red at 3259, « 19.
52 Spectrum Five Petition at 21.
53 See 2008 Review Order, 23 FCC Red at 3259, [ 19.


                                   Federal Communications Commission                                 DA 15—1265


         15.     DBS Freeze. We also affirm the Spectrum Five Cancellation Order‘s rationale and
findings that the DBS freeze does not warrant a grant of Spectrum Five‘s request for an extension or
waiver of the construction milestone due to its inability to file a new application for DBS service." In
determining that the DBS application freeze did not justify an extension in that Order, we noted Spectrum
Five‘s failure to provide a specific plan for, or evidence of progress on, building its satellites." We
concluded that Spectrum Five failed to persuade us that it would provide service any sooner than any
other entity once we lifted the DBS freeze."" Likewise here, even after requesting that we reconsider our
decision in the Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, Spectrum Five provides no plans for completing
construction of its satellite system."" Thus, we are not persuaded that any alleged public interest benefit to
the DBS competitive market will result from granting an extension or waiver of the construction
milestone and reinstating Spectrum Five‘s market access grant."®
IV.      CONCLUSION
         16.     Spectrum Five has provided no basis for reconsidering the Bureau‘s decision to declare
Spectrum Five‘s market access grant null and void for failure to comply with its milestone schedule.
Further, the events since the time Spectrum Five filed its petition reinforce our findings supporting that
decision.
vV.      ORDERING CLAUSES
       17.     IT IS ORDERED that the Petition for Reconsideration filed August 25, 2011 by
Spectrum Five LLC and associated with Call Signs $2667 and $2668 IS DENIED.
        18.    This Memorandum Opinion and Order is issued pursuant to Sections 0.261 and 1.106 of
the Commission‘s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 0.261, 1.106, and is effective on release.


                                            FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION —

                                              Mlkk Eetzty,                      .
                                            Mindel De La Torre                      4 M
                                            Chief, International Bureau




* Spectrum Five Cancellation Order, 26 FCC Red at 10453—54, «{ 16—17.
5 Id. at 10453—54, 17. We also determined that Spectrum Five failed to provide any evidence that it was closer to
providing service to customers than in 2006, when it received its market access grant. Zd. at 10454, « 17.
* Id. at 10454, J 17.
57 Moreover, as discussed above, the ITU has cancelled Spectrum Five‘s ITU filings, which were a prerequisite for
its market access grant in this case. See supra, [ 5.
5 See Spectrum Five Petition at 22—23.



Document Created: 2015-11-09 14:03:36
Document Modified: 2015-11-09 14:03:36

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