Attachment Request

This document pretains to SES-REG-20190326-00545 for Earth Station Registration on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESREG2019032600545_1640134

                                 RCN Telecom Services (Lehigh) LLC
                                     Attachment 1: REQUEST



          RCN Telecom Services (Lehigh) LLC (RCN-Lehigh or Company) seeks Commission
approval for re-issuance of its license (call sign E6527) for a C−Band receive-only earth station in
the 3.7-4.2 GHz band (“E6527 License”). The E6527 License has been held by the Company and
its affiliated RCN providers for over eighteen years; however, in December 2018, the Company
inadvertently allowed it to expire. Re-issuance of the E6527 License will facilitate the
Company’s continuing operations and RCN-Lehigh submits that such action by the Commission
will be in the public interest. Moreover, insofar as the requested action may require a waiver of
the temporary freeze on the filing of new applications for fixed-satellite service earth station
licenses in the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band,1 re-issuance of the E6527 License is entirely consistent with
the purposes for which the freeze was adopted.

Background
         RCN-Lehigh, along with its affiliated RCN companies, provides a comprehensive range of
cable, telephony and Internet Access services to residential and business customers. The E6527
License, from its initial issuance, has been intended “for the purpose of providing program
reception services.”2 The Company’s operations, including those utilizing the E6527 License,
are ongoing and it has at all times been RCN-Lehigh’s intention to continue to hold the E6527
License. Unfortunately, as a consequence of an administrative error, the E6527 License was
allowed to expire effective December 9, 2018. The Company has just discovered this
development and, with this request for re-issuance of the E6527 License, is acting promptly to
rectify the situation.3 RCN-Lehigh submits that Commission approval of this request would be
in the public interest.

Public Interest Considerations
       As a general matter, re-issuance of the E6527 License to RCN-Lehigh would be in
furtherance of the public interest. The Company is an established communications provider
serving both new and longstanding customers throughout its operating territory. The stable
continuity of those services is of benefit both to existing and prospective customers. Moreover,

1
    See, Temporary Freeze on Applications for New or Modified Fixed Satellite Service Earth
    Stations and Fixed Microwave Stations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band; 90-Day Window to File
    Applications for Earth Stations Currently Operating in 3.7-4.2 GHz Band; Freeze and Filing
    Window in Furtherance of the Commission’s Pending Inquiry in GN Docket Nos. 17-183, 18-
    122, DA 18-398 (April 19, 2018) (the “3.7-4.2 GHz Band Freeze Public Notice” establishing the
    “3.7-4.2 GHz Band Freeze”).
2
    File No. SES-LIC-19831014-00731 (Dec. 9, 1983). The E6527 License was renewed in 1993
    and, again, in 2003. File Nos. SES-RWL-19931022-00499, SES-RWL-20030925-01326.
3
    Given the timing of this request, RCN-Lehigh is using the application form for a new license.
    If the Commission deems it more appropriate procedurally, the request could instead be
    treated as a request for reinstatement, subject to a waiver of Commission Rule Section
    25.163(1), pursuant to the Commission’s waiver authority as identified in Commission Rule
    Section 1.925.


                                RCN Telecom Services (Lehigh) LLC
                                     Attachment 1: REQUEST

because the re-issued E6527 License would precisely reflect the terms and conditions that have
been in place without issue for at least the past fifteen years, there should be no controversy
regarding the approval of these license specifications going forward.

        Similarly, grant of this request would in no respect undermine, or run contrary to, the
purposes of the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band Freeze. In the public notice announcing the freeze, the
International, Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus
stated that the adoption of the freeze was intended to:

        “preserve the current landscape of authorized operations in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band
        pending Commission action as part of its ongoing inquiry into the possibility of
        permitting mobile broadband use and more intensive fixed use of the band.”4

        “help preserve the options available to the Commission for consideration of additional
        uses of the band while limiting the potential for speculative applications that might be
        filed in anticipation of potential future actions by the Commission.”5

and, in connection with modified filing requirements during the 90-day filing window:
        “to obtain the best information possible on existing earth stations in this band in
        furtherance of the Commission’s ongoing inquiry.”6

Summarized, then, the primary objectives of the freeze are to maintain and identify the current
utilization of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band and to prevent speculative licensing and registration in the
band. RCN-Lehigh’s operations pursuant to the E6527 License involve an existing earth station
as contemplated by the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band Freeze Public Notice. Re-issuance of the E6527 License
simply acknowledges those operations as part of the current utilization of the band, consistent
with the first objective of the freeze. Moreover, because the Company’s request is entirely
related to established and ongoing operations, grant of the request lends no support to any
form of speculative enterprises. Consequently, waiver of the temporary freeze, insofar as
necessary to grant this request, is entirely appropriate as it is both conducive to the public
interest and consistent with the purposes of the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band Freeze.7




4
    3.7-4.2 GHz Band Freeze Public Notice at p. 1 (citation omitted).
5
    Id. at p. 3.
6
    Id. at p. 4 (emphasis added).
7
    Id. at p. 3 (“The appropriate Bureau will consider requests for waiver of this freeze on a case-
    by-case basis and upon a demonstration that waiver will serve the public interest and not
    undermine the objectives of the freeze.”)



Document Created: 2010-01-01 00:00:00
Document Modified: 2010-01-01 00:00:00

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