Attachment opposition

opposition

OPPOSITION submitted by contactMeo

opposition

2005-06-17

This document pretains to SAT-STA-20050608-00116 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATSTA2005060800116_438284

                                                   Before the                         RECE]VED
                             FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                                          Washington, DC 20554                         JUN 1 7 2005
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                                                       )
          In the Matter of                             )
                                                       )
          EchoStar Satellite LL.C.                     )      Callsign $2179
                                                       )      File No. SAT—STA—2005
          Application for Special Temporary            ;
          Authority to Operate the EchoStar 9          A      wed
          Satellite in the Lower 500 MHz Portion       ) R@C@N!
          of the Ka—band Frequenciesat the 121°        )            is
          W.L. Orbital Location                        ) un 21
                                                             poicy
                                                           itormatonalBuree


                              OPPOSITION TO APPLICATION
                          FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY

                 ContactMEO Communications, LLC (*@contact‘),by ts counsel, herebyfiles ts
          Oppositionto the application fled by EchoStar SatelliteL.L.C. (*EchoStar®) for a 30—day
          special temporary authority ("STA"®)to operate its EchoStar9 satellte in the lower 500
          MHz portion of the Ka—band frequencies of 18.3—18.8 GHz, 28.35—28.6 GHe and 29.25—
          29.5 GHz (‘lower Ka—band"), t the 121° W.L. orbitallocation." For the reasons
          discussed below, EchoStar‘s application should be dismissed or denied.
                 Nothing in EchoStar‘s application justifies grant of an STA under Section 309 of
          the Communications Act of1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §309, or Section 25.120 of the



               @contact has an application pending for, among other things, Ke—band spectrum at
          the 121° W.L. orbital location. See File No. SAT—AMD—2000040322—00057.
se        sarstemmmaons            romosoien                    saee      sarncommmenraomr         insstors
EchoStarSateiteLL C                                             EchoStarSateiteLL C
echostare


    Commission‘s rules, 47 C.F.R. §25.120. In fact, Section 25.120(b)(1) clearly states that

    an STA may be granted:
           only upon a finding that there are extraordinary circumstances
           requiring temporary operations in the public interest and that
           delayin the institution ofthese temporary operations would
           seriously prejudice the public interest. Convenience to the
           applicant, such as marketing considerations or mecting
           scheduled customer in—service dates, will not be deemed
           sufficient for this purpose. [emphasis added]
           EchoStar offers just one basis for its application: "to increase the amount of
spectrum at ts disposal to provide various commercial Ka—band services...."". This
hardly constitutes the extraordinary circumstances required for an STA by Section
25.120, and there is no other demonstration of public interest benefit offered.
           The public interest will not be served by bypassing the Commission‘s processing
rules and STA standards to allow one entityan inital, exclusive right to spectrum that is
not yet available generally for application. Rather, the publicinterest is best served by
adhering to an orderly process offair access, Le., by relying on the Commission‘s current
Part 25 license processing rules and granting an STA only where extraordinary
circumstances are demonstrated. In short, there is nothing in EchoStar‘s application that
warrants grant ofan STA.
          Moreover, EchoStar may not be the sole future applicant for the spectrum
surrendered by Celsat America, Inc.(*Celsat") and it certainly should not be given a

preemptive right to use it with its EchoStar 9 satellte.. Importantly, EchoStar has not



*      EchoStar Application at 1.
    Even were EchoStar the sole applicant for the Celsat spectrum it would derive unfair
commercial benefit by being permitted to operate prior to permanentlicensing. There is
                                                &


demonstrated or even claimed that its current assignments in the Ka—band at 121° W.L.

are in high demand or in need of immediate augmentation. By granting EchoStar an STA
to use this spectrum commercially now, the Commission would instantly award EchoStar
a unique operational benefit, allowing it to secure a critical market advantage over
everyone else—hardly an even playing feld in access to valuable spectrum. This cannot
be permited and EchoStar‘s application should be dismissed or denied

        Accordingly, EchoStar‘s application for an STA to expand its use of spectrum in
the Ka—band is without factual or legal justification and must be dismissed or denied.


                                             Respectfully submitted,
                                             contactMEO Communications, LLC




                                             James M. Talens
                                             6017 Woodley Road
                                             McLean. Virginia 22101
                                             703.241.1144
                                             Counselfor contactMEO
                                                   Communications, LLC

David M. Drucker, Manager
contacMEO Communications, LLC
2539 N. Highway67
Sedalia, CO 80135
303.688.5162
June 17, 2005


also concem that EchoStar will seek sequential STA renewals, effectively bypassing
normal regulatoryprocesses and securely establishing itself in the market t the detriment
of nascent competitors such as @contact


                            CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE


1, James M. Talens, do hereby certify that on this 17° day June, 2005, copies ofthe
foregoing "Opposition to Application® were served on the following parties by hand
delivery, email and hand delivery (indicated by **) or United       tes Postal Service
(indicated by *);



                                                    Simes       M. Talens


Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary                        Pantelis Michalopoulos®
Federal Communications Commission                   Philip L. Malet
236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE.                       Chung Hsiang Mah
Suite 110                                           Steptoe & Johnson LLP
Washington, DC 20002                                1330 Connectiout Avenue, NW
                                                    Washington, DC 20036
Thomas S. Tycz**
Satellte Division, International Burcau
Federal Communications Commission
236 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E.
Suite 110
Washington, DC 20002

David K. Moskowite®
EchoStar Satellite LLC
9601 South Meridian Boulevard
Englewood, CO 80112



Document Created: 2005-06-21 18:03:37
Document Modified: 2005-06-21 18:03:37

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