Court: FCC Did Not Fundamentally Modify Market Access Grants, Licenses

摘要

In rejecting legal challenges to the FCC's C-band order, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed the argument of small satellite operators (SSOs) and another company that the Commission had unlawfully fundamentally modified their respective market access grants and licenses. The court issued an 18-page opinion Dec. 18 in PSSI Global Services L.L.C v. FCC (consolidated cases beginning at 20-1142) addressing the appeals of SSOs ABS Global Ltd., Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales S.A., Hispamar Satelites S.A., and Hispasat S.A., as well as of PSSI, a satellite transmission company. The FCC order, which was adopted in February 2020 (TR, March 20, 2020), approved the reallocation of 300 megahertz of the lower 3.7-4.2 gigahertz band, 280 MHz of which is being auctioned for 5G services.