The FCC has ruled that the MSS operators using the 2GHz band will have to pay a pro-rata share of the costs incurred by Sprint Nextel in relocating the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS).
To date, Sprint has shouldered the entire cost of relocating the…
The FCC has ruled that the MSS operators using the 2GHz band will have to pay a pro-rata share of the costs incurred by Sprint Nextel in relocating the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS).
To date, Sprint has shouldered the entire cost of relocating the BAS from the 1990-2110 MHz band to the 2025-2110 MHz band, thereby freeing up 35MHz of spectrum for MSS services. This was completed on July 15, 2010.
The FCC has now determined that the 2GHz MSS players, Terrestar and ICO North America (DBSD), must share some of the cost of this relocation and that they will have a 30-day period after Sprint requests payment to pay the costs. Sprint has previously estimated that the expense to each would be just over US$100m.
However, the FCC’s ruling, which is expected to become effective in November, did not specify what action it would take, such as suspending their operating licences, if these costs were not paid. Both Terrestar and ICO have continued to protest to the FCC over Sprint’s demands.
In addition, the FCC did not reach a conclusion concerning ICO Global’s liability given that DBSD North America remains.
