FCC Registration or Licensing of C-Band Antenna

 

Until closure of registration

Urgent attention is required to protect your C-band earth station! New deadline October 31, 2018

  • Unregistered C-band earth stations must be registered with the FCC by October 31, 2018 to receive future FCC consideration
  • Registration Instructions: Instructions and a template for preparing the FCC Form 312 Main Form used in the registration process
  • Registering 25 or more earth station locations: Use the batch filing option, also known as a network application, if registering 25 or more commonly owned earth station locations (see instructions for details)
  • You may be eligible for reimbursement of the registration fee for more details
  • C-band earth stations registered prior to April 19, 2018 will require the submission of a certification to receive future FCC consideration
  • Transportable and temporary-fixed C-band earth station operators must also submit additional information to the FCC
  • Certification and information collection procedures and deadlines have not been released by the FCC
  • Keep a look out on this site or the FCC’s International Bureau website for instructions on the certification and information collection procedures and deadlines.
  • Before October 31, 2018, update any incorrect information in pre-April 19th registrations using a modification application
  • But registrations are otherwise already underway!
  • Help is available from SES. If you want additional information, please contact us at: [email protected] or +1-609-987-4300
  • Listen to the latest ACA podcast were we discuss everything you need to know about the FCC C-band Earth station registration!

 

Please contact [email protected] or visit https://c-bandalliance.com/ if you would like further information about the C-band Alliance's (SES, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Telesat) proposal to preserve content delivery services via C-band while answering the FCC’s call for additional spectrum for terrestrial 5G. If you're interested in expressing your support for preserving content distribution via C-band satellite service and/or supporting the C-band Alliance's plan to do just that, please feel free to submit a comment in the FCC's C-band rulemaking here  and referencing proceeding 18-122.

 

For further information, please review the more detailed summary below:

The FCC issued a public notice imposing a temporary freeze on applications to add or modify fixed-satellite service (FSS) earth station licenses and receive-only registrations in the 3.7 – 4.2 GHz frequency band. At the same time, the FCC created a short window during which operators of existing FSS stations in that band must register or license a C-band station that is currently in use in order to receive future FCC consideration. The window provides a limited opportunity for current earth station operators to be entered into the FCC’s database, providing the FCC with more complete and accurate information on existing earth stations. The FCC will use this information in considering whether and how to allow other services to use this band.

 

The freeze does not affect applications to renew or cancel current earth station authorizations, or to correct location data regarding earth station licenses and registrations. But the registration window only applies to stations that were constructed and operational as of the April 19 public notice, and the window closes on October 31, 2018 (extended from the previous October 17 deadline).

 

Separately, the FCC issued an order requiring C-band earth stations that were registered before April 19, 2018 to submit a certification that the information in that registration remains correct. Unfortunately, the FCC has not yet released instructions on how to submit the required certification.

 

The FCC acknowledged concerns raised by the satellite industry regarding the burdens and costs associated with the existing registration framework, including the need for a coordination report. In response, the public notice introduces a temporary waiver of the coordination report requirement. Removing this requirement reduces the cost of registering from ~$1100 per earth station, to solely the $450 FCC application fee. Please note that the FCC exempts governmental entities from paying the registration fee. Governmental entities are defined as any “state, possession, city, county, town, village, municipal corporation or similar political organization or subpart thereof controlled by publicly elected or duly appointed public officials exercising sovereign direction and control over their respective communities or programs.”

 

The FCC notes that it may choose to take into account only registered or licensed stations for interference protection from new services in the band. As a result, it is important to ensure that stations that have been operating but not registered be submitted in this registration filing window, which closes on the October 31, 2018 deadline.

 

We have argued that the FCC must protect existing use of the band, including for reception of audio and video signals, but protection against interference likely will be non-existent for stations not entered into FCC’s records during this filing window.

 

Equally as important, operators with C-band earth stations registered prior to April 19, 2017 will have to: 1) monitor for the FCC’s Public Notice issuing instructions to submit certifications; and 2) submit the certifications by the date set by the FCC in the certification Public Notice. SES will post those instructions on this website when available.

 

Please note that transportable and temporary-fixed C-band earth station operators must also submit the additional information about their antennas to the FCC (this is in addition to the registration or certification requirements described above). The FCC has not yet released the procedure by which operators of these earth stations can submit the required information. The FCC’s certification Public Notice will provide the procedure to submit this information. We will update this website with information on submitting the required information when the procedure and deadline are available from the FCC.