Attachment Legal Narrative

This document pretains to SES-STA-20180626-01443 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2018062601443_1436853

                                     Before the
                       FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                                Washington, DC 20554

    In the Matter of

    Application of Alaska Communications             )   Call Sign: E170205
    Internet LLC for 60-Day Special Temporary        )
    Authorization (“STA”)                            )   File No. SES-STA-_____________


              APPLICATION FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORIZATION

          Pursuant to Section 25.120 of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission (the

“FCC” or “Commission”), 47 C.F.R. § 25.120, Alaska Communications Internet LLC (“Alaska

Communications Internet”) respectfully seeks 60-day special temporary authorization (“STA”),

commencing on Friday, June 29, 2018, to operate ten (10) remote earth station sites as part of its

existing C-band very small aperture terminal (“VSAT”) network 1 during the pendency of its

underlying modification application for long-term operating authority.2 Alaska Communications

Internet also seeks to update the operating parameters at the previously licensed Dimond D hub site

and five remote sites. Consistent with the ACI Network License, Alaska Communications Internet

seeks to operate these new sites in portions on the C-band at fixed locations in Alaska while

communicating with the EUTELSAT 115WB satellite located at the 114.9° W.L. orbital position.

          Grant of this STA will enable Alaska Communications Internet to deliver critically needed

broadband services supported by the Commission’s Schools and Libraries Universal Service

Support Mechanism, commonly known as “E-rate,” to students, teachers, and staff of the Kuspuk

School District, Alaska, ensuring continuity of service to the school district for the beginning of the

new E-rate Funding Year, which begins on July 1, 2018. Moreover, grant of this STA will strongly


1     See Alaska Communications Internet LLC, File No. SES-LIC-20171116-01257, Call Sign
      E170205, and subsequent modification and amendment applications (“ACI Network
      License”).
2     See Alaska Communications Internet LLC, File No. SES-MOD-INTR2018-03253 (“ACI
      Modification Application”).


serve the public interest by allowing Alaska Communications Internet to further expand its network

and provide broadband connectivity to schools and facilities in the Kuspuk School District,

providing improved educational opportunities and resources, enabling distance learning, and

supporting staff, students, and teachers in these remote Alaska bush communities.3            Alaska

Communications Internet has concurrently filed the ACI Modification Application to serve the

subject Kuspuk School District sites on a regular commercial basis, and seeks this STA to allow

these schools and their students, teachers, and staff to realize the near-term benefits of improved

broadband services contemporaneously with the July 1, 2018 start of E-rate Funding Year 2018.

I.       Background

         Alaska Communications Internet is an affiliate of Alaska Communications Systems

Group, Inc. (“Alaska Communications”), a publicly-traded company that, through its subsidiaries,

provides terrestrial wireline telecommunications and broadband-enabled services throughout

Alaska as the largest incumbent local exchange carrier in the state. 4 Alaska Communications

Internet provides essential broadband and voice-over-Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) services to

enterprise, business, educational, health care, and residential customers throughout the state.




3    Unlike Alaska’s three largest population centers, and the surrounding rural communities,
     Alaska bush communities are isolated geographically from infrastructure resources commonly
     available elsewhere in the state, and the nation as a whole. Most bush communities cannot be
     accessed by road and are not connected to the state’s power grid. To reach these
     communities, people, as well as goods and services, must arrive by plane, barge, snow
     machine, all-terrain vehicle, or other off-road transportation means. Communications services
     in these communities generally must rely on satellite or terrestrial point-to-point microwave
     transport links to Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau.
4    The incumbent local exchange carrier (“ILEC”) subsidiaries of Alaska Communications are:
     ACS of Anchorage, LLC; ACS of Fairbanks, LLC; ACS of Alaska, LLC; and ACS of the
     Northland, LLC; see also ACS Long Distance, Inc., File Nos. ITC-214-19960612-00248, ITC-
     T/C-20050822-00382, ITC-T/C-20040414-00190 (International Section 214 authorization).



                                                 2


        The ACI Network License authorizes Alaska Communications Internet to operate a network

of C-band satellite earth stations in order to provide satellite services to diverse users in remote

locations in Alaska. Specifically, from the gateway hub in Anchorage, Alaska, the network

currently serves the Alaska Native population of St. Paul Island, and the Tanadgusix Corporation

(“TDX”), an Alaska Native corporation created pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement

Act (“ANCSA”). In addition, the C-band VSAT network serves local businesses co-owned by the

Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (“BBEDC”),5 providing broadband connectivity

that supports the local fishing and seafood industries, as well as a test site located in Anchorage,

Alaska. This STA, and underlying ACI Modification Application, will enable Alaska

Communications Internet to extend this network to deliver the well-recognized benefits of

broadband telecommunications and Internet services to ten primary and secondary school locations

supported by the Commission’s E-rate support mechanism in additional Alaska bush communities.

        Alaska Communications Internet incorporates by reference (and attaches as an Exhibit to

this STA) the FCC Form 312 Schedule B and Technical Appendix provided with the ACI

Modification Application. Those documents provide relevant information relating to the earth

station operating parameters, performance information and radiation hazard analyses. At all ten

new remote sites, Alaska Communications Internet will operate an identical 2.4m Prodelin

Model 1244 (the “2.4m”) earth station, which is the same model that is currently licensed in the

ACI Network License and on the Commission’s Approved Non-Routine Earth Station Antennas




5   The BBEDC is a not-for-profit company whose mission is to promote economic growth and
    opportunities for residents of BBEDC’s member communities through sustainable use of the
    Bering Sea resources. See http://www.bbedc.com.



                                                  3


    List (“Non-Routine Antenna List”). 6 Moreover, Alaska Communications Internet will operate

    the earth stations below the maximum EIRP spectral density (“ESD”) levels authorized in the

    ACI Network License and consistent within levels previously approved by the Commission. 7

    II.       Discussion

              This STA requests seeks authority to operate ten (10) remote earth station sites as part of

    the ACI Network License, each of which completed coordination on June 22, 2018, to

    communicate with the EUTELSAT 115WB satellite in portions of the C-band. Consistent with

    the ACI Modification Application, this STA also seeks to add additional C-band transmit

    frequencies and increase the antenna input power for the previously licensed Dimond D hub, in

    order to accommodate larger bandwidth carriers for the increased traffic to the new sites and add

    corresponding receive frequencies to the currently licensed remote sites.

              Alaska Communications Internet acknowledges the Commission’s Public Notice placing

    a temporary freeze on the filing of all new or modification applications for earth stations in the

    3.7-4.2 GHz band, effective as of April 19, 2018. 8 The Temporary Freeze Public Notice does


6         See Approved Non-Routine Earth Station Antennas, https://www.fcc.gov/approved-non-
          routine-earth-station-antennas; Letter to Marlene H. Dortch, “Alaska Communications
          Internet LLC – Section 1.65 Letter Regarding Application for C-Band Very Small Aperture
          Terminal (“VSAT”) Blanket License, File No. SES-LIC-20171116-01257, Call Sign 170205”
          (filed on Dec. 22, 2017) (citing Harris Corporation, File No. SES-LIC-20060302-00342, Call
          Sign E060075; Intelsat LLC, File No. SES-LIC-20091027-01364, Call Sign E090186; Globe
          Wireless LLC, File No. SES-LIC-20120116-00058, Call Sign E120017).
7         Each site will utilize an iDirect modem, which assigns individual time slots for each earth
          station’s transmissions, and thus there is no potential for aggregation of transmissions
          resulting in an exceedance of the off-axis ESD levels provided in this application.
8         See Public Notice, 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 the 3.7-4.2 GHz Band,
          DA 18-398 (rel. on April 19, 2018) (“Temporary Freeze Public Notice”). See also, Public
          Notice, GN Docket Nos. 17-183, 18-122, “International Bureau Announces 90-Day Extension
          of Filing Window, to October 17, 2018, to File Applications for Earth Stations Currently



                                                       4


    not include a freeze on requests for special temporary authority for short-term operations, and

    thus the instant request is outside the scope of the freeze. In the ACI Modification Application,

    Alaska Communications Internet more thoroughly discusses the reasons why a waiver of the

    Temporary Freeze Public Notice is justified in connection therewith.

           In addition, Alaska Communications Internet incorporates by reference the waiver

    request made in the ACI Modification Application9 to permit Alaska Communications Internet to

    use up to 144 megahertz of bandwidth on EUTELSAT 115WB.10 Although the Commission

    previously waived Section 25.115(c)(2)(i)(B) in the ACI Network License to permit Alaska

    Communications Internet to use 72 megahertz of spectrum in each direction on Transponder 01C

    of EUTELSAT 115WB, growing demand for Alaska Communications Internet’s C-band satellite

    services in Alaska now necessitates use of an additional 72 megahertz of spectrum (i.e., 144

    megahertz total, across Transponders 01C, 07C, and 08C) on EUTELSATSAT 115WB in its

    network.

           As demonstrated in the ACI Modification Application, the additional transponder capacity

    is imperative to be able to properly scale and offer the most reliable connectivity solutions to the

    remote communities of Alaska. The additional spectrum is necessary to deliver the required

    services to the ten Kuspuk School Districk locations, which cannot be added to the current

    network within the currently licensed 72 megahertz range. The additional spectrum will thus




      Operating in 3.7-4.2 GHz Band; Filing Options for Operators with Multiple Earth Station
      Antennas,” DA 18-639 (rel. Jun. 21, 2018).
9     See ACI Modification Application, Legal Narrative, Section III.
10
      See 47 C.F.R. § 25.115(c)(2)(i)(B) (permitting a C-band VSAT network to utilize up to 20
      megahertz of spectrum in each direction of transmission on up to three satellites, i.e., up to 60
      megahertz total).


                                                     5


enable the delivery of critically needed broadband telecommunications and Internet access

services in the Alaska bush, where terrestrial connectivity is simply unavailable.

       A.      Addition of Dimond D Hub Frequencies

       Previously, the Commission granted Alaska Communications Internet a license to

communicate with Transponder 01C on EUTELSAT 115WB, operating at 3704-3776 MHz

(space-to-Earth) and 5929-6001 MHz (Earth-to-space). In order to effectively serve the ten new

Kuspuk School District sites using the Dimond D hub, Alaska Communications Internet will

require additional capacity on EUTELSAT 115WB. Alaska Communications Internet, therefore,

has leased Transponder 07C, operating in the 3944-4016 MHz (space-to-Earth) and 6169-6241

MHz (Earth-to-space) bands. Utilizing the previously licensed 3.8m hub, Alaska

Communications Internet intends to use the new EUTELSAT 115WB Transponder 07C uplink

and downlink (i.e., 72 megahertz in each direction in a single polarization) as the forward link

(from the hub to each Kuspuk School District remote site). Virtually all of that bandwidth will

be required to deliver the broadband service speeds to all ten locations required under the

Kuspuk School District’s contract. Any remaining bandwidth on Transponder 07C, in addition

to the currently licensed bandwidth on Transponder 01C, will be used to continue to serve

Alaska Communications Internet’s existing customers and preserve operational flexibility and

capacity to provide reliable connectivity to all customer locations.

       Full use of Transponder 07C in this way will allow Alaska Communications Internet to

utilize wider carriers with greater bandwidth capacity at the Dimond D hub, maximizing its

ability to deliver high-speed connectivity to the Kuspuk School District. As demonstrated in the

ACI Modification Application Schedule B, while the utilization of a 72 megahertz carrier

bandwidth results in a lower EIRP density – thus reducing the potential for interference with

other operations in the band – it also requires that Alaska Communications Internet slightly


                                                 6


increase the input power into the antenna. In the ACI Modification Application, Alaska

Communications Internet provides an updated radiation hazard study for the Dimond D hub

reflecting the increased input power.

       B.       New Site Locations

       Alaska Communications Internet seeks to operate the following ten sites as part of its C-

band VSAT network in Alaska (together, the “Kuspuk School District sites”):

            •   Aniak School District Office (“Aniak DO”)
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 34' 55.6" N, 159° 32' 18.3" W)

            •   Junior Senior High School (“JSHS”) - Aniak, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 34' 48.8" N, 159° 33' 06.7" W)

            •   Auntie Mary Nicoli Elementary School (“AMNES”) - Aniak, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 34' 49.0" N, 159° 31' 51.7" W)

            •   Crow Village Sam School (“CVSS”) - Chuathbaluk, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 34' 23.7" N, 159° 14' 57.8" W)

            •   Jack Egnaty Senior School (“JESS”) - Sleetmute, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 42' 9.7" N, 157° 10' 14.9" W)

            •   Johnnie John Sr School (“JJSS”) - Crooked Creek, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 51' 48.6" N, 158° 08' 18.2" W)

            •   Gusty Michael School (“GMSHS”) - Stoney River, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 47' 13.6" N, 156° 35' 17.7" W)

            •   George Morgan Senior High School (“GMHS”) - Kalskag, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 31' 57.9" N, 160° 20' 50.0" W)

            •   Joseph & Olinga Gregory Elementary School (“JOGES”) - Kalskag, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 32' 41.9" N, 160° 19' 3.7" W)

            •   Zackar Levi Elementary School (“ZLES”) - Kalskag, AK
                (geographic coordinates: 61° 30' 43.6" N, 160° 21' 41.5" W)

       Each site will use an identical 2.4m VSAT earth station of the same model that is

authorized in the ACI Network License for similar fixed C-band operations and is on the



                                                7


Commission’s Non-Routine Antenna List.11 Although the 2.4m earth station does not comply

with the gain mask in Section 25.209 of the Commission’s rules, Alaska Communications

Internet demonstrates in the incorporated Schedule B that it will operate the terminals at

maximum ESD levels below those currently authorized in the ACI Network License and in

compliance with the ESD mask set forth in Section 25.218(d) of the Commission’s rules. 12

         At each site, the earth station will be mounted an existing rooftop in an area inaccessible

to the general public. Their planned locations are not among any “districts, sites, buildings,

structures or objects, significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering or

culture, that are listed, or are eligible for listing, in the National Register of Historic Places,”13

and thus they fall within the exemptions of Section 1.1306(a)-(b) and Note 1 to that rule. 14

Accordingly, no environmental assessment is required as part of this application because each

proposed site is categorically exempt under Section 1.1306 of the Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R.

§ 1.1306.

         The flexibility to use additional transponder capacity is essential to enable Alaska

Communications Internet to offer reliable connectivity to the Kuspuk School District sites. Not

only is 72 megahertz of spectrum insufficient to enable service to all current customers of Alaska

Communications Internet, but the entire Transponder 01C frequency range is unavailable at three

of the new remote sites, necessitating an alternative solution. In all cases, Alaska Communication

Internet seeks to receive hub transmission of the forward link in Transponder 07C frequencies


11   Supra n. 6; see, e.g., Harris Corporation, File No. SES-LIC-20060302-00342, Call Sign E060075.
12   See 47 C.F.R. § 25.218(d).
13   47 C.F.R. § 1.1307(a)(4).
14   See 47 C.F.R. § 1.1306, Note 1 (“The provisions of §1.1307(a) requiring the preparation of
     EAs do not encompass the mounting of antenna(s) and associated equipment (such as wiring,
     cabling, cabinets, or backup-power), on or in an existing building, or on an antenna tower or
     other man-made structure, unless §1.1307(a)(4) is applicable.”).


                                                    8


from 3944-4016 MHz (space-to-Earth). With respect to the return links from each remote site back

to the hub, the individual carriers will be narrower in bandwidth and Alaska Communications

Internet needs flexibility to position those return link carriers within up to 72 MHz of bandwidth

on EUTELSAT 115WB, depending on certain site-specific limitations.

         Specifically, for seven of the Kuspuk School District sites, the return link (from the remote

site back to the hub) will utilize Transponder 01C frequencies already included in the ACI Network

License. As discussed below, however, Alaska Communications Internet has encountered co-

frequency terrestrial operations in the entire range covered by the Transponder 01C uplink band at

three Kuspuk School District sites in the area of Kalskag, Alaska, and will thus need to utilize

alternative frequencies for the uplink to EUTELSAT 115WB at those locations to avoid

interference.15 Without this flexibility, Alaska Communications Internet will be unable to serve

these rural Kuspuk School District sites, inhibiting “the delivery of earth station services, including

broadband access, to rural Americans.” 16

         C.     Operating in Transponder 07C Downlink Frequencies at Existing Licensed
                Remote Sites

         Alaska Communications Internet also seeks to operate in additional downlink frequencies

at its five currently licensed remote earth station sites so each site can receive downlink (space-

to-Earth) transmissions from the Dimond D hub on Transponder 07C (i.e., 3944-4016 MHz).17

Currently, the ACI Network License includes five remote sites, each of which is authorized to


15   Those three sites will utilize a portion of the Transponder 07C frequency range previously
     discussed, but on the opposite polarity, in order to avoid interference with the forward link
     from the hub.
16   See FWCC Request for Declaratory Ruling on Partial-Band Licensing of Earth Stations in the
     Fixed-Satellite Service That Share Terrestrial Spectrum, Report and Order, FCC 01-177, RM-
     9649 (2001), ¶ 25 (“CSAT Report & Order”).
17   In addition, in the FCC Form 312 Schedule B, Alaska Communications Internet updates the
     Site ID (Schedule B, E1) for the previously licensed remote sites.


                                                  9


receive the downlink frequencies in the range of 3704-3776 MHz, used by EUTELSAT

E115WB Transponder 01C, as follows:

       •    Site 1: 100 Harbor View Drive, St. Paul, AK
            Geographic Coordinates: 57° 7' 23.0" N, 170° 16' 45.0" W

       •    Site 2: 600 Telephone Ave., Anchorage, AK
            Geographic Coordinates: 61° 11' 10.5" N, 149° 52' 15.57" W

       •    Site 3: Excursion Inlet, Alaska
            Geographic coordinates: 58° 24' 55.3" N, 135° 26' 36.4" W

       •    Site 4: Kodiak Island, Alitak, AK
            Geographic Coordinates: 56° 53' 52.2" N, 154° 14' 43.0" W

       •    Site 5: Naknek, AK
            Geographic Coordinates: 58° 43' 43.7" N, 157° 00' 0.90"

       Alaska Communications Internet plans, to the extent possible, to consolidate its transmit

and receive operations over time so that the forward link from the Dimond D hub to all remote

sites, including the previously licensed sites identified above, takes place using a single 72

megahertz wide carrier that saturates Transponder 07C. In order to put this plan into effect, all

remote sites must be authorized to receive the Transponder 07C downlink frequencies in the

range of 3944-4016 MHz.

       D.      Frequency Coordination

       Alaska Communications Internet engaged Micronet Communications, Inc. (“Micronet”)

to perform frequency coordination in support of the ACI Modification Application, which was

completed on June 22, 2018. Pursuant to Sections 25.115(c)(2)(ii) and 25.203 of the

Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 25.115(c)(2)(ii) and 25.203, Micronet has conducted a

coordination analysis on behalf of Alaska Communications Internet that considers all existing,

proposed, and prior coordinated microwave facilities within the contours of the proposed earth

stations at the Kuspuk School District sites. Moreover, Micronet has fully coordinated the



                                                 10


Transponder 07C frequencies at the Dimond D hub, as well as the new Transponder 07C receive

frequencies at the five existing remote sites.

         As demonstrated in the ACI Modification Application frequency coordination reports,

there is no potential for interference into other users of the C-band spectrum sought herein by

Alaska Communications Internet. First, Alaska Communications Internet’s proposed operations

at the Dimond D hub in Transponder 07C frequencies in the 3944-4016 MHz (space-to-Earth)

and 6169-6241 MHz (Earth-to-space) bands are fully compatible with other FCC-licensed

operations in the band.

         Second, as noted, at each Kuspuk School District site, Alaska Communication Internet

plans to receive in Transponder 07C frequencies from the 3944-4016 MHz (space-to-Earth).

Depending on certain site-specific frequency limitations, Alaska Communications Internet will

either transmit in the 5929-6001 MHz band (Transponder 01C) 18 or the 6189.565-6237.565 MHz

band (Transponder 08C).19 Transponder 08C was selected specifically to support three Kuspuk

School District sites – GMHS, JOGES and ZLES (the “Kalskag Sites”) – because Micronet was

unable to clear any available spectrum on Transponder 01C. Such site-specific spectrum

limitations illustrate the need for operational flexibility to permit use of the additional 72

megahertz frequency range from 6169-6241 MHz (Earth-to-space, across two transponders), as

well as the corresponding downlink frequencies, on EUTELSAT 115WB.


18
     To prevent interference to nearby terrestrial microwave operations, Alaska Communications
     Internet will limit its transmit operations to the 5960.2-6001 MHz band at the Aniak DO,
     JSHS, CVSS and AMNES sites.
19   The Transponder 08C frequencies are within the Transponder 07C transmit frequency range,
     such that the use of Transponder 08C does not result in any additional frequency bandwidth
     being used by the network, and enabling Alaska Communications Internet to limit its Section
     25.116(c)(2)(i)(B) waiver request to the 144 megahertz total. Transponder 08C operates on
     the opposite polarity to Transponder 07C, enabling re-use of those frequencies for the return
     link at the Kalskag Sites.


                                                  11


         Micronet received no objections in response to its Prior Coordination Notices, and Alaska

 Communications Internet currently operates its network with no reported cases of interference.

 Alaska Communications Internet will coordinate any additional hub or remote operations prior to

 bringing them into use as part of the C-band VSAT network.

 III.    STA Request & Public Interest Considerations

         Section 25.120(a) provides that an STA request should be filed at least three business

 days prior to commence of proposed operations. Here, Alaska Communications Internet has

 timely filed this 60-day STA request so that the Commission may permit operations by June 29,

 2018. Further, Alaska Communications Internet believes this application involves

 “extraordinary circumstances” (i.e., the delivery of critical broadband services supported by “E-

 rate,” to the Kuspuk School District to improve educational opportunities and resources for

 students, teachers and staff), and requests that the Commission authorize operations under this

 STA at the earliest practicable time.20 Moreover, Section 25.120(b)(2) states that the

 Commission may grant a temporary authorization for up to 60 days if the STA request has not

 been placed on public notice and the applicant plans to file a request for regular authority for the

 service. As noted, Alaska Communications Internet has concurrently filed the ACI Modification

 Application for the identical operations sought herein.




20   See 47 C.F.R. § 25.120(a). The Commission may authorize Alaska Communications Internet
     to commence operations under this STA sooner than three working days “upon due showing
     of extraordinary reasons for the delay in submitting the request which could not have been
     earlier foreseen by the applicant.” Here, IBFS limitations prevented Alaska Communications
     Internet from filing the ACI Modification Application that is the companion to this STA
     request until after the Commission granted a previously filed modification to the ACI Network
     License, which took place on June 25, 2018, see SES-MOD-20180413-00352 and SES-AMD-
     20180427-00401. Given the strong public interest considerations described in this request, an
     expedited grant of this STA is warranted.


                                                  12


         Grant of this 60-day STA will strongly serve the public interest by allowing Alaska

Communications Internet to provide immediate broadband services to multiple Kuspuk School

District elementary and secondary schools, as well as the district office, in remote Alaskan bush

communities, helping to improve educational opportunities by providing advanced satellite

connectivity that will support access to educational resources, research materials, distance

learning, and cloud based record storage and other services. Only through a prompt grant of this

STA request, but Friday, June 29, 2018, can Alaska Communications Internet serve deliver the

benefits of broadband to the Kuspuk School District and ensure continuity of service for the start

of E-rate Funding Year 2018, which begins on July 1, 2018. The proposed operations will

greatly advance the public interest goals of E-rate, as mandated by Sections 254(h)(1)(B) and

254(h)(2)(A) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. §§ 254(h)(1)(B), (h)(2)(A) and numerous

Commission orders.21 The educational resource and distance learning opportunities supported by

E-rate are particularly important in the Alaska bush, where schools in small communities have

limited resources and may struggle to reach the 10-student enrollment minimum to qualify for




21   E.g. E-rate Modernization Order, at ¶ 2 (“High-speed broadband, to and within schools,
     connects students to cutting-edge learning tools in the areas of science, technology,
     engineering and math (STEM) education, necessary for preparing them to compete in the
     global economy. High-speed broadband also creates opportunities for customized learning,
     by giving our students and their teachers access to interactive content, and to assessments and
     analytics that provide students, their teachers, and their parents real-time information about
     student performance while allowing for seamless engagement between home and school.
     Finally, high-speed broadband expands the reach of our schools and creates opportunities for
     collaborative distance learning, providing all students access to expert instruction, no matter
     how small the school they attend or how far they live from experts in their field of study.”),
     ¶ 4 (“[W]e recognize the critical role the E-rate program plays in the lives of our students and
     communities and the importance of ensuring that the program supports sufficient, equitable,
     and predictable support for high-speed connectivity to and within schools and libraries. It is a
     crucial part of the Commission’s broader mandate to further broadband deployment and
     adoption across our nation.”).



                                                  13


state education funding. 22 (Indeed, the Kuspuk School District schools covered by this STA

request and the ACI Modification Application serve between 15 and 94 students each. 23)

         Disproportionately, bush villages in Alaska are home to vulnerable communities of

Alaska Natives, for whom the enhanced educational opportunities offered by broadband are

particularly critical. By directly supporting the Kuspuk School District, Alaska Communications

Internet is helping to enhance regional well-being and promote educational programs for students

and teachers. Moreover, permitting additional transponder capacity on EUTELSAT 115WB

(144 megahertz total for uplink and downlink) will allow Alaska Communications Internet to be

able to properly scale and offer the most reliable connectivity solutions to the Kuspuk School

District facilities.

IV.      Conclusion

         Based on the foregoing, the public interest would be served by a grant of Commission

authority to Alaska Communications Internt to operate ten (10) additional remote sites as part of

its C-band VSAT network in Alaska and update certain operating parameters of the previously

licensed hub and remote sites, for a period of 60 days commencing on June 29, 2018.




22   See, e.g., Tegan Hanlon, “Two Small Schools in Southeast Alaska Shut Their Doors,”
     Anchorage Daily News (Sept. 15, 2016) (reporting that public schools in Port Protection and
     Tenakee Springs, Alaska had failed to reach the 10-student minimum and would close, having
     exhausted savings that kept the schools open after enrollment declined, and observing that,
     “[e]ach year, two to three schools typically close in Alaska”), available at:
     https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/education/2016/09/14/two-small-alaska-schools-shut-their-
     doors/; Michelle Theriault Boots, “The Last Kid in Cold Bay,” Anchorage Daily News (Aug.
     8, 2015) (reporting school closure), available at: https://www.adn.com/features/alaska-
     news/rural-alaska/2016/12/22/the-last-kid-in-cold-bay/.
23   Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, Public Schools Database, available at:
     https://education.alaska.gov/DOE_Rolodex/SchoolCalendar/Home/SchoolsList?districtId=29


                                                14



Document Created: 2018-06-26 23:31:11
Document Modified: 2018-06-26 23:31:11

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