**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

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| In the Matter of                 | * | IB Docket No. 07-101         |
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| Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of   | ) |                              |
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**NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING**

**Adopted:** May 9, 2007 **Released:** May 15, 2007

**Comment Date: 30 days after Federal Register publication**

**Reply Comment Date: 45 days after Federal Register publication**

By the Commission:

Table of Contents

Heading Paragraph \#

I. introduction 1

II\. Background 8

A. Current LMSS/VMES Use 8

B. Petition for Rulemaking 11

C. Related Proceedings 13

III\. DISCUSSION 14

A. Basis For VMES Operations and U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations
Issues in the Ku-Band 18

1\. Ku-band Downlink: 11.7-12.2 GHz Band, and 10.95-11.2 GHz and
11.45-11.7 GHz Bands 24

a\. 11.7-12.2 GHz Band 25

b\. 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz Bands 28

2\. Ku-Band Uplink: 14.0-14.5 GHz Band 29

a\. 14.0-14.2 GHz Band 31

b\. 14.2-14.4 GHz Band 35

c\. 14.4-14.5 GHz Band 36

3\. Proposed Footnotes 39

B. Technical and Operational Requirements for VMES in the Band 14.0-14.5
GHz (Earth-to-Space) 41

1\. Use of ESV Rules as Model for VMES 45

2\. Proposed Modifications to ESV Model 51

a\. Pointing Accuracy Requirements 52

b\. Aggregate Power-Density Limits and the 10\*log(N) Rule 56

c\. Contention Table 58

3\. Data Logging Requirements 61

4\. Other Operational Requirements 65

a\. Section 25.209 Antenna Size Threshold 65

b\. Power Densities in Directions Other Than the GSO Plane 67

c\. Radiation Hazard Requirements 70

d\. Equipment Certification 71

5\. Limitations on Use of VMES 72

C. VMES Licensing Considerations 77

IV\. Conclusion 83

V. PROCEDURAL MATTERS 84

A. Ex Parte Presentations 84

B. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 85

C. Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis 86

D. Comment Filing Procedures 88

E. Further Information 96

VI\. ORDERING CLAUSES 97

Appendix A: Petition for Rulemaking Commenters

Appendix B: Proposed Rules

Appendix C: Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

# introduction

1.  In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("*Notice*" or "NPRM"), we
    seek comment on whether to license Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations
    ("VMES") as an application of the fixed-satellite service ("FSS") in
    the conventional and extended Ku-band frequencies.[^1] We initiate
    this NPRM in response to a petition for rulemaking ("Petition")
    filed by General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, Inc. ("General
    Dynamics").[^2]

2.  General Dynamics asks the Commission to amend Parts 2 and 25 of the
    rules to allocate spectrum for use with VMES in the FSS in the
    Ku-band uplink at 14.0-14.5 GHz and Ku-band downlink at 11.7-12.2
    GHz on a primary basis, and in the extended Ku-band downlink at
    10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz on a non-protected basis, and to
    adopt Ku-band VMES licensing and service rules modeled on the
    Commission's rules for Ku-band Earth Stations on Vessels ("ESVs").
    General Dynamics asserts that a VMES allocation and regularized
    service and licensing rules would facilitate the U.S. military's
    training needs with respect to advanced VMES technologies and
    increase the potential that advanced communications capabilities
    will be made available for various emergency preparedness and
    commercial purposes where high-bandwidth, mobile communications
    capabilities are beneficial.[^3]

3.  We seek to promote innovative and flexible use of satellite
    technology while ensuring avoidance of interference and efficient
    use of the spectrum. The primary goal of the NPRM is to develop a
    record on the capability of VMES terminals, or classes of VMES, to
    meet the interference avoidance requirements of the Ku-band FSS,
    such that any VMES rules for the Ku-band frequencies would protect
    existing FSS operators and their customers from harmful
    interference. We also seek to promote spectrum sharing with certain
    secondary operations in these frequency bands, including government
    space research service ("SRS") and radio astronomy service ("RAS")
    stations. Finally, we consider licensing methods that may simplify
    and speed the licensing process for VMES, while addressing our core
    regulatory concern with avoiding harmful interference.

4.  Today, earth stations on mobile vehicles operate as land mobile
    satellite service ("LMSS") systems in the 14.0-14.5 GHz
    (Earth-to-space) and 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) bands.[^4] LMSS
    licensees operate on a secondary allocation basis in the uplinks and
    on a non-conforming basis in the downlink frequencies. Therefore,
    LMSS licensees must protect primary FSS operations in the Ku-band
    against interference and cannot claim interference protection from
    primary FSS licensees. There are no specific service rules for LMSS
    in the Ku-band. As noted, General Dynamics asks the Commission to
    allocate the conventional Ku-band to VMES as an application of the
    FSS on a co-primary basis, similar to the allocation for ESVs that
    communicate with FSS satellites, and to expand the ESV rules to
    include VMES. General Dynamics states that its VMES terminals,
    Satcom-on-the Move™ ("SOTM"), can meet the relevant ESV technical
    requirements under both on-road and off-road conditions. The NPRM
    seeks the views of the satellite industry concerning the development
    of Ku-band FSS licensing and service rules for VMES for applications
    that also could be viewed as LMSS uses in a predominantly FSS
    frequency band.

5.  Although the impetus behind the Petition is a desire to facilitate
    the U.S. military's training needs within the United States, the
    Petition suggests that non-military applications are likely to
    follow adoption of regularized licensing procedures for VMES.[^5]
    Comments received on the Petition demonstrate that there also is
    commercial interest in even broader applications of VMES, involving
    use, by the general public, of ultra-small antennas on cars and
    trucks. The NPRM observes that these broader applications raise
    additional technical questions with respect to compliance with the
    Commission's Ku-band interference avoidance requirements. The NPRM
    therefore seeks comment on whether the broad commercial use, by the
    general public, of ultra-small antennas on vehicles traversing
    throughout the United States raises the potential for harmful
    interference to other FSS licensees or Federal Government SRS and
    RAS operations, and, if so, whether there are technical rules that
    the Commission could adopt to mitigate against such harms.

6.  As the Petition urges, the NPRM seeks comment on the proposed
    adoption of a co-primary allocation for VMES applications in the
    conventional Ku-band frequencies, and also seeks comment on service
    rules for VMES, possibly modeled on the current ESV rules. The NPRM
    discusses and seeks comment on rules and procedures to license VMES
    networks for operation only over geostationary satellite orbit
    ("GSO") FSS satellites in the Ku-band.

7.  The record established in this proceeding will facilitate the
    development of allocation decisions and of any future rules. If the
    decision is made to go forward with VMES rules and allocations, we
    would seek to ensure that VMES terminals operate within the
    interference avoidance requirements of the Commission's two-degree
    satellite spacing environment for the Ku-band and not create the
    potential for undue interference to existing and future FSS
    operations in the Ku-band FSS frequencies.

# Background

## Current LMSS/VMES Use

Earth stations on mobile vehicles currently operate as LMSS applications
in the conventional Ku-band. In 1989, the Commission authorized
Qualcomm, Inc. to construct and operate a two-way satellite-based
narrowband data communication network of mobile and transportable
transmit/receive earth stations and to operate a fixed transmit/receive
earth station serving as a hub for the network communicating with FSS
satellites in the 12/14 GHz frequencies bands.[^6] The Commission noted
that the 14.0-14.5 GHz band was allocated domestically and
internationally to the LMSS on a secondary basis, and that the 11.7-12.2
GHz frequency band contained no allocation for MSS.[^7] The Commission
concluded that LMSS was permissible in both the uplink and downlink
frequency bands, and permitted Qualcomm, Inc. to operate on a secondary
basis in the uplink frequencies and as a non-conforming use in the
downlink frequencies.[^8] The Commission granted Qualcomm, Inc.'s
request for a blanket authorization for over 20,000 technically
identical very small antenna mobile earth stations operating in the
12/14 GHz band.[^9] Today, the U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations
("U.S. Table" or "Table") more broadly defines the domestic U.S.
secondary allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz frequency band as covering all
MSS.[^10] There are pending applications asking the Commission to
authorize broadband LMSS earth stations on vehicles as a secondary MSS
application in the 14.0-14.5 GHz uplink bands.[^11]

General Dynamics, a manufacturer of satellite earth station equipment,
has developed its SOTM system consisting of a fixed earth station
serving as one endpoint of a link and various mobile earth stations
mounted on combat vehicles, each serving as the other endpoint.[^12] The
fixed earth station utilizes a standard 2.4 meter or larger earth
station antenna that complies with the Commission's regulations and
includes standard downlink and uplink equipment with a small,
power-controlled transmitter.[^13] Each mobile terminal contains a
custom-designed, sub-meter diameter, high-performance antenna and
tracking system that makes use of both active radio frequency tracking
and predictive-tracking technologies that utilize sophisticated inertial
navigation systems and Global Positioning Satellite ("GPS")
receivers.[^14] General Dynamics states that the sub-meter mobile
terminals use a "stabilized" antenna mounted on a vehicle such as a
military High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle ("HMMWV") that is
capable of both on-road and off-road travel.[^15]

General Dynamics has been operating the SOTM system since November 24,
2004 pursuant to special temporary authority ("STA") and
subsequently-granted regular experimental authority to access the
Intelsat 707 satellite at 53º West Longitude ("W.L.").[^16] On July 25,
2005, the Commission, on delegated authority, granted General Dynamics
an STA to modify its experimental authorization to allow for domestic
testing, demonstration, and training operations via six additional
satellites from contiguous U.S. locations.[^17] On November 21, 2005,
General Dynamics received authority to further modify its experimental
authorization to operate three additional 2.4 meter hub stations, and to
operate smaller 0.45 and 0.50 meter (that is, 17.7 and 19.7 inch
diameter, respectively) mobile earth station antennas, in place of the
0.60 meter (23.6 inch) mobile antennas originally used, from all
locations in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.[^18]

## Petition for Rulemaking

The Petition asks the Commission to initiate a rulemaking to amend Parts
2 and 25 of the Commission's rules to allocate spectrum for use with
VMES in the FSS in the Ku-band uplink at 14.0-14.5 GHz and Ku-band
downlink at 11.7-12.2 GHz on a primary basis, and in the extended
Ku-band downlink at 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz on a non-protected
basis, and to adopt licensing and service rules for VMES operations in
the Ku-band.[^19] General Dynamics asserts that its current experimental
authority has permitted the testing and demonstration of the VMES
technology but provides insufficient authority to meet the military's
requirements for domestic training with SOTM and other VMES technologies
that may be acquired.[^20] In seeking to expand the ESV regulatory
framework to cover VMES, General Dynamics states that the Commission, in
developing the rules for ESVs, engaged in a comprehensive study of
mobile satellite operations in the Ku-band and adopted carefully
prescribed requirements to ensure that ESV operations would adequately
protect existing operators in the band from harmful interference.[^21]
General Dynamics asserts that its SOTM system is able to meet the
operational rules applicable to ESVs.[^22]

On July 20, 2006, the Commission placed the Petition on public
notice.[^23] Six parties filed comments by the August 21, 2006 comment
date.[^24] General Dynamics filed a reply by the September 5, 2006 reply
due date.[^25] Following the formal comment cycle, the Commission
received additional pleadings.[^26] On November 21 and December 18,
2006, General Dynamics filed responses to an information request from
the International Bureau.[^27]

## Related Proceedings

The issues raised in the Petition are interrelated with four other
pending proceedings, three that address service and licensing rules for
earth stations in the Ku-band FSS frequencies, and one that addresses
the broader question of Federal government use of non-Federal
spectrum.[^28] In the Discussion section, below, the NPRM seeks comment
on how these proceedings might be relevant to rules for VMES.

#  DISCUSSION

8.  As noted, the Petition asks the Commission to initiate a rulemaking
    to amend Parts 2 and 25 of the Commission's rules to allocate
    spectrum for use with VMES terminals in the FSS in the Ku-band
    uplink at 14.0-14.5 GHz and Ku-band downlink at 11.7-12.2 GHz on a
    primary basis, and in the extended Ku-band downlink at 10.95-11.2
    GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz on a non-protected basis, and to adopt
    licensing and service rules for VMES operations in the Ku-band.[^29]
    General Dynamics asks the Commission to add the following footnotes
    to the U.S. Table:

> NGXXX: In the bands 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 14.0-14.5 GHz
> (Earth-to-space), Vehicle Mounted Earth Stations (VMESs) are an
> application of the fixed-satellite service (FSS) and may be authorized
> to communicate with space stations of the FSS on a primary basis.
>
> NGXXX: In the bands 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz, Vehicle Mounted
> Earth Stations (VMESs) may be authorized to communicate with U.S.
> earth stations through space stations of the fixed satellite service
> but must accept interference from terrestrial systems operating in
> accordance with the Commission's Rules.[^30]

9.  We ask for comment on the allocations requested by General Dynamics,
    that is, a primary allocation in the conventional Ku-band that would
    be modeled on the existing primary allocation for ESVs. A primary
    allocation for VMES would provide protection from interference to
    VMES terminals, which are land-mobile and not fixed in nature, as
    well as give VMES equal status in coordinating emissions from VMES
    terminals with adjacent FSS systems, as if VMES terminals were FSS
    earth stations. Based on the comments received on the Petition, it
    is clear that certain commenters would propose to promote VMES
    terminals that use smaller antennas and less accurate antenna
    pointing systems than those that General Dynamics uses for its SOTM
    system. We have concerns that some classes of proposed VMES
    terminals would not operate compatibly in the Commission's Ku-band
    two-degree spacing environment for the FSS. We seek comment on how
    to differentiate compatible and non-compatible VMES terminals. In
    addition, certain applicants for systems providing earth stations on
    mobile vehicles may not be able to meet the VMES requirements that
    we would adopt, but otherwise might be able to engineer their
    systems to meet the Ku-band FSS interference avoidance requirements.
    We invite comment on whether we should, in that case, treat these as
    applications for LMSS systems and license them under the existing
    secondary LMSS allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz FSS uplink band and
    as non-conforming in the 11.7-12.2 GHz FSS downlink band, with
    specific license conditions to protect FSS licensees and their
    customers from harmful interference.[^31] Should the Commission
    conclude that an applicant's proposal would not protect incumbent
    FSS operations or Federal Government SRS and RAS operations from
    harmful interference, the Commission may deny the application as
    ineligible for either primary FSS or secondary MSS.

10. We also seek comment on licensing and service rules for operating
    VMES terminals if they are granted primary allocation status. The
    Petition asks the Commission to extend the ESV Ku-band service and
    licensing rules to VMES by simply modifying section 25.222 to
    include "and \[/or\] VMES" after each reference to ESVs. Commenters
    on the Petition seek modifications to the technical requirements of
    section 25.222, as applied to VMES. We seek comment on the proposed
    set of rules set out in Appendix B to this NPRM. Additionally, we
    seek comment on the modifications proposed by commenters to the
    Petition. As discussed below, we view Appendix B as a starting point
    for developing VMES rules that would be designed to protect FSS
    systems or Federal Government SRS and RAS operations from harmful
    interference.

11. Authorizing VMES terminals in the Ku-band presents the challenge of
    protecting primary status FSS satellites from potential harmful
    interference. We intend that, if adopted, such a licensing program
    would support the deployment of VMES terminals to the benefit of the
    U.S. public while ensuring that existing FSS services are protected
    against harmful interference. At the same time, we need to ensure
    that providing protection to the VMES on a primary basis will not
    create an undue burden on existing FSS systems.[^32] To that end, we
    seek comment from individual operators of incumbent radio services
    in the Ku-band, including both Federal and non-Federal users. We
    request comments on the proposals addressed in this *Notice*.
    Further, we encourage all commenters to address any other issues
    concerning VMES operations in the Ku-band. The record established in
    this proceeding will allow the Commission to determine the impact of
    modifying the conventional Ku-band FSS allocations, authorizing VMES
    terminals, and facilitating the development of any future rules.
    Establishing a licensing procedure for VMES could advance our
    continuing effort to maximize the flexible use of the radiofrequency
    spectrum for earth station operations.[^33]

## Basis for VMES Operations and U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations Issues in the Ku-Band

Earth stations on mobile vehicles communicating with Ku-band FSS space
stations historically have been licensed as LMSS systems; that is, as
MSS systems with earth stations that are located on land.[^34] General
Dynamics proposes, instead, to treat these systems as an application of
the Ku-band FSS. That is, the earth stations would communicate with
Ku-band FSS satellites, receive primary protection against interference
in the Ku-band, and have status allowing them to contribute to the noise
received by nearby FSS satellites, as if they were traditional FSS earth
stations. The Petition asks the Commission to treat VMES as co-primary
in the Ku-band under the assumption that VMES terminals can meet the ESV
technical rules, as applied to VMES.[^35] We disagree that the ability
of new mobile services to meet the ESV rules necessarily would require
the Commission to grant the new mobile services the same primary status.
A central question to be asked in the NPRM is whether the VMES should be
granted primary status in the Ku-band FSS. As discussed below, General
Dynamics asserts that VMES terminals are similar to ESVs and therefore
merit primary status. However, there are significant differences between
VMES (or, at least, some classes of VMES) and ESVs. At the same time,
the lack of co-primary shared services in the conventional Ku-band could
permit the Commission to consider associating VMES with the primary FSS
service and provide VMES with the allocation status requested by General
Dynamics, without the complicating requirements needed to protect
primary non-FSS systems. We seek comment and advice from the FSS
industry on granting primary status to VMES. If VMES is granted primary
status, the FSS industry will have to accept the increased noise-power
from the VMES, as if VMES terminals were FSS earth stations, and will
have to provide primary status protection to the VMES. At the same time,
the FSS industry might benefit by supplying satellite capacity, services
and equipment to VMES systems. The FSS industry therefore is in a good
position to provide comment on the various tradeoffs resulting from a
grant of primary status to VMES as an application of the FSS.

In asking for comment on whether we should grant primary status to VMES,
or classes of VMES, in the conventional Ku-band, we observe that VMES,
like ESV, is a mobile system, but with significant differences. We seek
comment on these differences in the context of evaluating whether VMES,
or classes of VMES, can operate compatibly in the FSS two-degree spacing
environment. The significant identified differences include:

-   [Antenna Size]{.underline}. The Petition suggests that, although
    General Dynamics proposes to provide VMES for U.S. military
    applications, there will be commercial applications for this
    technology.[^36] Commenters suggest that the Commission should
    develop rules that would permit large-scale deployment of mobile
    broadband systems to the public using ultra-small antennas.[^37]
    Both military and commercial VMES applications would use antennas
    smaller than those typically found on VSATs or ESVs.[^38] The
    original two-degree FSS VSAT interference rules were predicated on
    the use of antennas with a diameter of 1.2 meters or greater
    (*i.e*., 3.9 feet or larger), operating from fixed locations. ESVs
    typically use antennas with a diameter on the order of 1.2 meters.
    General Dynamics currently is using antennas as small as 0.45 meters
    (17.7 inches) and supporters of the commercial applications of VMES
    are in favor of licensing even smaller antennas. The ultra-small
    antennas operating in a mobile environment envisioned for
    large-scale commercial deployment of VMES have a greater potential
    of causing interference to adjacent satellites than the antennas
    currently authorized for the band and would lack the interference
    rejection qualities of the larger antennas.

-   [Antenna Tracking Systems]{.underline}. ESV operators are required
    to use antenna systems that accurately track the wanted satellite as
    the ship moves, pitches and rolls. General Dynamics uses very
    precise, and very expensive, tracking systems for its military VMES
    antennas. Some proponents of commercial applications would lower the
    pointing accuracy requirements for VMES, resulting in lower-cost
    tracking systems and, potentially, increasing the level of
    interference to other FSS satellites.

-   [Ubiquity]{.underline}. ESVs are likely to be used only by
    relatively large vessels, capable of carrying the large ESV dishes,
    and are geographically limited to operating on waterways and in
    port. VMESs have been placed on vehicles capable of off-road travel
    and would have access to practically all of the United States.

-   [Tracking Accuracy]{.underline}. Because of the size of the vessels
    on which ESVs are mounted, ESVs undergo smaller accelerations than
    earth stations on mobile vehicles, making it easier for the ESV
    antenna tracking system to track the wanted satellite. In fact,
    General Dynamics concedes that it is impossible to construct a VMES
    antenna tracking system that will meet the 0.2 degree antenna
    pointing requirement under all possible conditions.[^39]

-   [Quantity]{.underline}. If applications of VMES are permitted for
    use by the general public, the number of VMES terminals that
    potentially could be operated is significantly larger than the
    number of ESV systems.

We seek comment on the relevance of these differences between VMESs and
ESVs to the question of whether we should grant primary status for VMES
as an application of the FSS. Additionally, we ask commenters to
consider other factors, not listed, that may be relevant.

12. As stated above, if the Commission grants primary status to VMES,
    existing FSS systems will be required to accept the increased
    noise-power from VMES, as if VMES terminals were traditional FSS
    earth stations, and will be required to provide primary status
    protection to VMES. At the same time, the FSS industry may benefit
    by supplying satellite capacity, services and equipment to VMES
    systems. The FSS industry therefore is in a good position to provide
    comment on the pros and cons of associating VMES with FSS and
    providing primary status to VMES, or any given class of VMES. We
    therefore seek comment on General Dynamics' proposal to grant VMES
    primary allocation status by making VMES an application of the FSS.

13. We note that there is international recognition for MSS, including
    LMSS, as a secondary allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, as well
    as international recognition for ESVs as a primary service and AMSS
    as a secondary service.[^40] We observe that there currently is no
    comparable international recognition in the conventional Ku-band for
    VMES as an FSS application.[^41] General Dynamics states that it
    would be impractical to gain ITU recognition for VMES before
    operating such terminals within the United States under Commission
    regulation.[^42] Further, General Dynamics states its belief that
    implementation of broader, international VMES rules will be easier
    to accomplish after other administrations recognize the
    compatibility of VMES with other existing FSS Ku-band users.[^43]
    Additionally, General Dynamics states that it anticipates that VMES
    operations abroad, unlike ESVs operating on the high seas, will
    require a form of licensing pertinent to the administration with
    jurisdiction over the foreign soil on which the terminals would
    operate.[^44] As General Dynamics asserts, international recognition
    may be less relevant for VMES operating solely within the United
    States than for ESV and AMSS systems, which, once licensed by the
    Commission, operate both domestically and internationally. In this
    regard, we note the current international allocation for MSS,
    including LMSS, at 14.0-14.5 GHz. Further, we note that, even in the
    absence of ITU agreement on a VMES allocation, we would design any
    proposed VMES rules to ensure that other countries' communications
    systems would not receive interference from VMES terminals operating
    within the United States. We seek comment on this analysis and ask
    for comment on the relevance, if any, of the current international
    recognition of LMSS, ESV, and AMSS to our consideration of a
    domestic allocation status for VMES.

14. The majority of commenters support General Dynamics' request to
    initiate a rulemaking proceeding.[^45] SES Americom, a supplier of
    Ku-band satellite transponder capacity, states that it has been
    approached by other prospective providers of new terrestrial-based
    mobile satellite services, confirming "strong and growing" customer
    interest in the provision of terrestrial mobile communications using
    the FSS.[^46] SES Americom says that these prospective providers
    recognize that satellite-based broadband service to vehicles can
    meet important communications requirements such as supplying mobile
    broadband service immediately to the public safety community in a
    time of crisis when terrestrial service may not be available.[^47]
    SES Americom asserts that satellites are not likely to be an
    efficient solution where terrestrial mobile broadband is
    available.[^48] At the same time, SES Americom states that the
    Commission should ensure that mobile service is available to
    governmental and commercial users where terrestrial service cannot
    reasonably be deployed, or where terrestrial service temporarily is
    unavailable due to natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other
    catastrophic event.[^49] ViaSat adds that an allocation consistent
    with ESV would ensure access to multiple satellites and facilitate
    interoperability among ESV, VMES, VSAT and other FSS services having
    a primary allocation and that this primary allocation would provide
    the interference protection that ViaSat claims is needed to satisfy
    the growing demand for two-way broadband for vehicles in
    motion.[^50]

15. Finally, as noted above, if the Commission concludes that the
    terminals proposed by VMES applicants (or subclasses of the proposed
    terminals) might not be able to meet the ESV rules, or modifications
    of the ESV rules, as modified for VMES, the Commission could
    continue to grant individual licenses to LMSS operators. Such
    licenses would need to contain appropriate technical conditions to
    ensure that the licensed systems were compliant with the FSS
    interference avoidance environment. The Commission could license
    such LMSS systems under the existing secondary MSS allocation in the
    14.0-14.5 GHz uplink band. Of course, if the Commission concludes
    that the terminals proposed by a VMES applicant (or subclasses of
    the proposed terminals) would not meet the VMES rules or otherwise
    protect incumbent FSS operations from harmful interference, the
    Commission may refuse to license the proposed system as either
    primary FSS or secondary LMSS. We ask for comment on the regulatory
    treatment of VMES. We do not think it is useful or necessary to
    adopt Qualcomm's suggestion that we allocate the conventional
    Ku-bands to VMES as an MSS on a primary basis; that is, by upgrading
    the secondary MSS allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band to primary
    and adding a co-primary allocation for VMES as an MSS in the
    11.7-12.2 GHz band.[^51] This is because, with a decision to permit
    VMES to operate as a primary service with FSS satellites in the
    Ku-band, we would propose to add a footnote that, similar to that
    adopted for ESVs, would make VMES an application of the FSS with
    primary status, and thus a co-primary status for VMES as an MSS
    system would be unnecessary. We seek comment on this analysis.[^52]

### Ku-band Downlink: 11.7-12.2 GHz Band, and 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz Bands 

The allocations and operating conditions for portions of the Ku-band
downlink spectrum differ based on several factors, including the fact
that non-Federal and Federal facilities currently operate in portions of
the Ku-band downlink frequencies. We discuss each band separately below.

#### 11.7-12.2 GHz Band

The 11.7-12.2 GHz band is allocated to the FSS for downlink operations
on a primary basis and is used extensively for VSAT downlinks.[^53] In
the *ESV Report and Order*, we added a footnote to the U.S. Table
stating that ESVs are an application of the FSS in the 11.7-12.2 GHz
(space-to-Earth) and 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space) bands.[^54]

16. There is no U.S. Table allocation for MSS, including LMSS and AMSS,
    in the 11.7-12.2 GHz downlink band.[^55] As noted, in 1989 the
    Commission licensed Qualcomm, Inc. to operate a narrowband land
    mobile service on a non-conforming basis in the 11.7-12.2 GHz FSS
    downlink.[^56] In the *AMSS NPRM*, the Commission proposes to
    establish a new non-Federal footnote for the 11.7-12.2 GHz band to
    indicate that Aeronautical Earth Station ("AES") terminals in the
    AMSS may operate with FSS space stations, so that parties will be
    aware that mobile receivers might be operating in the band.[^57]
    Currently, domestic downlink signals operate under ITU Radio
    Regulation 4.4 in the 11/12 GHz band.[^58]

17. We seek comment on whether to establish a new non-Federal footnote
    for the 11.7-12.2 GHz band to reflect that VMES terminals may
    operate with FSS space stations. We believe our rules should reflect
    clearly the various types of operations that use a spectrum band.

#### 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz Bands

The frequency band 10.7-11.7 GHz is allocated internationally for FSS on
a primary basis. Within the United States, this band is referred to as
the "extended" Ku-band,[^59] and FSS use of this band is reserved for
international systems by footnote NG104.[^60] In the United States,
these bands also are used by the FS for LTTS, Microwave Business,
Microwave Public Safety, and Common Carrier Fixed Point-to-Point. Our
regulatory treatment of ESVs in these bands requires ESV operators to
accept interference from all current and future FS operations in these
bands.[^61] Within the United States, we do not anticipate that
unprotected receive-only operations in the extended Ku-band would
interfere with or restrict other authorized operations in the band.[^62]
We seek comment on whether VMES operations in the 10.95-11.2 GHz and
11.45-11.7 GHz bands should be permitted on a non-protected basis with
respect to the FS.

### Ku-Band Uplink: 14.0-14.5 GHz Band

The U.S. Table for the 14.0-14.5 GHz band includes a primary allocation
for non-Federal FSS uplink operations.[^63] This band is used heavily by
VSATs for uplinking to geostationary satellites. A single GSO FSS
authorization can cover several thousand VSAT earth station terminals,
which provide video and data communications and are widely deployed at
business locations, ranging from the largest corporate headquarters to
the smallest convenience stores. In 2001, the Commission also permitted
non-geostationary orbit ("NGSO") FSS gateway and user terminal uplinks
to operate in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band.[^64] The 14.0-14.5 GHz band also
is allocated for MSS uplinks on a secondary basis for non-Federal
use.[^65] As noted, this MSS allocation presently is used by OmniTracs,
a satellite-based land mobile communications and tracking system that
provides real-time messaging and position reporting between trucking
fleets and their operations centers.[^66] As noted above, the *ESV
Report and Order* added a footnote to the U.S. Table stating that ESVs
are an application of the FSS in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band (for satellite
uplinks).[^67] The ITU, at WRC-03, recognized that the use of the
14.0-14.5 GHz band for AMSS on a secondary basis is compatible with
current FSS systems, and the *AMSS NPRM* proposes to add a footnote
making AMSS an application of the FSS.[^68] There are no primary FS
allocations in any portion of the 14.0-14.5 GHz band.

A proposal to recognize VMES as a functional equivalent of conventional
FSS operations in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band would rely on our two-degree
spacing policy to protect existing and future FSS operations from
harmful interference.[^69] Accordingly, recognition of VMES as an FSS
application would allow VMES terminals to communicate with FSS space
stations in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band on a primary basis.

#### 14.0-14.2 GHz Band 

The 14.0-14.2 GHz portion of the Ku-band is allocated on a primary basis
in the United States to FSS for non-Federal operations.[^70] Space
research services (for both Federal and non-Federal use) are allocated
to the 14.0-14.2 GHz sub-band on a secondary basis.[^71] The only
currently authorized non-FSS facilities in this portion of the Ku-band
uplink are two National Aeronautics and Space Administration ("NASA")
space research Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System ("TDRSS")
receive facilities (located in Guam and in White Sands, New Mexico),
which operate with frequency assignments in the 14.0-14.05 GHz
band.[^72] We note that the filtering associated with the existing TDRSS
facilities leaves them vulnerable to interference to varying degrees.
The White Sands facility, for example, has some filtering across the
entire 14.0-14.5 GHz band, while the Guam facility is somewhat better
protected above 14.2 GHz.[^73] We also note that NASA plans to establish
another TDRSS receive facility on the east coast of the United States,
with several mid-Atlantic region sites under consideration. As discussed
in the *ESV Report and Order*, we would expect NASA to equip any future
facilities operating in this band with state-of-the-art interference
filtering.[^74]

We recognize the importance of protecting these space research
facilities from receiving harmful interference. With this is in mind, if
we should adopt primary status for VMES in the 14.0-14.5 GHz bands, we
seek comment on the feasibility of allowing VMES operations within a 125
kilometer protection zone around operational NASA TDRSS sites,
particularly if the Commission were to allow large numbers of VMES to be
operated under a blanket license. We propose, as a condition of the
license, to prohibit VMES operators from operations in the 14.0-14.2 GHz
band within 125 kilometers of the NASA TDRSS sites at Guam or White
Sands. However, we solicit comment on whether we should allow VMES
operators that wish to operate in the 14.0-14.2 GHz band and plan to
travel within 125 kilometers of the NASA TDRSS sites at Guam or White
Sands to coordinate their proposed operations to resolve any potential
harmful interference concerns regarding space research facilities. Such
coordination would be a condition to licensing, as opposed to a
prerequisite to licensing and, thus, we would not require a Ku-band VMES
operator to complete this coordination prior to receiving a Commission
VMES license.[^75] Should NASA seek to provide similar protection to
future TDRSS sites, the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration ("NTIA") should notify the International Bureau that the
TDRSS site was nearing operational status. The Bureau then would issue a
notice requiring all Ku-band VMES operators to cease operations in the
14.0‑14.2 GHz band within 125 kilometers of the new TDRSS site until
they have coordinated with the new site. After coordination, VMES
operators again would be permitted to operate within 125 kilometers of
the new TDRSS site, subject to any operational constraints developed in
the coordination process.[^76] Additionally, we solicit comment on what
technical measures should be incorporated into terminals to assist VMES
operators in meeting any coordination obligations, such as GPS-related
software technology.

We seek comment on how the coordination process should work, as this
would be different from the more traditional Federal Government
pre-licensing coordination process between the Commission and NTIA.[^77]
Specifically, should VMES licensees go directly to NASA or should they
work through the Commission? If the former, Ku-band VMES operators would
be required to notify the International Bureau once they had completed
this coordination, and, upon receipt of such notification, the Bureau
would release a public notice stating that operations within the new
coordination zone might commence in 30 days if no party had opposed such
operations.[^78] Even if we accord VMES primary status, in deference to
the U.S. assets operated by NASA, we would expect the coordination to be
conducted on an equal basis between NASA and the VMES operator, even
though the SRS is a secondary allocation in the 14.0-14.2 GHz portion of
the 14.0-14.5 GHz FSS uplink band.[^79]

As NASA will have a limited number of space research earth stations that
will be receiving from the government data relay satellites, we believe
that coordination between VMES and TDRSS operations is possible and will
not prove to be a burden for VMES operators. In addition, the TDRSS
sites provide an important service, we do not anticipate that the number
of TDRSS sites will increase significantly, and, in any event, future
expansion of the SRS could be severely curtailed if VMES operators have
no obligation to protect future TDRSS sites. For these reasons, we
believe that protection of future sites is warranted. This is the
general approach the Commission adopted for ESVs accorded primary status
in this band. We seek comment on applying this approach to VMES, should
we accord VMES similar primary status in this band.

#### 14.2-14.4 GHz Band 

The 14.2-14.4 GHz segment is an exclusive non-Federal use band that is
allocated on a primary basis to FSS for uplink operations and on a
secondary basis to the MSS.[^80] We seek comment on whether to allow
VMES operations to communicate with FSS space stations in the 14.2-14.4
GHz band on a primary basis.

#### 14.4-14.5 GHz Band 

In addition to the non-Federal primary FSS and secondary MSS allocations
in the 14.4-14.5 GHz segment, the Federal government has secondary fixed
and mobile allocations in the band. Our records indicate that there are
several fixed point-to-point operations and a limited number of fixed
stations used by the Federal government for terrestrial telecommand.
There also are several Federal government aeronautical mobile stations,
land-based aeronautical mobile stations, and land mobile stations in the
band. Furthermore, there are several Federal government surface
telemetering mobile stations in the band that are used to send telemetry
information to other stations on the ground. The 14.4‑14.5 GHz band
appears to be used predominantly by fixed, mobile, and transportable
telemetry microwave systems. The band also is used to transmit air
traffic control video links, closed circuit television, and range test
data (including airborne downlink data transmissions). We seek comment
on how the VMES operators would propose to protect the Federal fixed and
mobile operations in the band.[^81]

RAS operations in the 14.47-14.5 GHz band, although important, are
carried out at a relatively small number of geographic locations and
require limited exclusion zones to protect them from interference. We
note that in the past, radio observations in the 14.47-14.5 GHz band
were not performed on a continuous basis and usually were scheduled in
advance.[^82] As telescope time becomes more valuable due to costs and
oversubscription, and switching feeds for observing various bands
becomes easier, radio telescopes are increasingly scheduled dynamically,
particularly for observations above 10 GHz. As a result, current
observations can be scheduled with only a few hours lead time.
Therefore, coordination between VMES and RAS sites could possibly be
based on a combined time and distance basis. If we should adopt primary
status for VMES in the 14.0-14.5 GHz bands, we seek comment on the
feasibility of coordination between VMES and RAS operations to preclude
harmful interference to the RAS as observations currently are performed,
and particularly if the Commission were to allow large numbers of VMES
to be operated under a blanket license. Specifically, we seek comment on
requiring VMES operators proposing operations in the 14.47‑14.5 GHz band
and planning to travel in the vicinity of the radio observatories listed
in US203 and of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and St. Croix,
Virgin Islands to coordinate their proposed operations to resolve any
potential interference concerns. Such coordination would be a condition
to licensing, as opposed to a prerequisite to licensing, and thus, we
would not require a Ku-band VMES operator to complete this coordination
prior to receiving a Commission VMES license.[^83]

We seek comment on how the coordination process should work, as this
would be different from the more traditional Federal Government
pre-licensing coordination process between the Commission and NTIA.[^84]
Specifically, should VMES licensees go directly to the National Science
Foundation ("NSF") or should they work through the Commission? If the
former, Ku-band VMES operators would be required to notify the
International Bureau once they had completed coordination. Upon receipt
of such notification, the Bureau would release a public notice stating
that operations within the new coordination zone might commence in 30
days if no party had opposed such operations.[^85] We also seek comment
on what technical measures should be incorporated into terminals to
assist VMES operators in ensuring that the results of the coordination
agreements can be implements, *e.g.*, GPS-related software technology or
a VMES control center. Lastly, we seek comment if unwanted emissions
from VMES terminals need to be regulated to protect RAS stations.

### Proposed Footnotes

If we permit VMES terminals in the 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz
bands, we propose to add the following non-Federal footnote **NGxxx** to
the U.S. Table for those bands:

**NGxxx** In the bands 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz
(space-to-Earth), Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations (VMES) as regulated
under 47 CFR part 25 may be authorized to communicate with space
stations of the fixed-satellite service but must accept interference
from stations of the fixed service operating in accordance with the
Commission's Rules.

18. If we permit VMES terminals in the 11.7-12.2 GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz
    bands to communicate with space stations of the FSS on a primary
    basis, we propose to add the following non-Federal footnote
    **NGyyy** to the U.S. Table for these bands:

    **NGyyy** In the bands 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 14.0-14.5
    GHz (Earth-to-space), Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations (VMES) as
    regulated under 47 CFR part 25 are an application of the
    fixed-satellite service and may be authorized to communicate with
    space stations of the fixed-satellite service on a primary basis.

    We seek comment on the footnotes proposed above.

## Technical and Operational Requirements for VMES in the Band 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-Space) 

19. The Communications Act mandates that transmitting radiocommunication
    facilities must be licensed before they can operate.[^86] The rules
    governing transmit-only and transmit/receive earth stations are
    contained in Part 25 of the Commission's rules. The rules primarily
    are intended to ensure that satellite networks of space and earth
    stations can operate without harmful interference with respect to
    each other and to other telecommunications services. The regulatory
    framework of the Commission's two-degree satellite spacing
    environment established technical rules to govern earth stations
    communicating with Ku-band satellites, to ensure that the earth
    stations' operations do not cause unacceptable interference to
    adjacent satellite systems.[^87] Primarily, earth station technical
    requirements for routine licensing consist of an antenna diameter of
    minimum size and maximum power level limits.

20. The antenna diameter is important because it affects the antenna
    gain.[^88] The antenna gain at various off-axis angles, combined
    with the power-density fed to the antenna, provides a measure of the
    interference potential of that earth station to other in-orbit
    satellites. The combination of power-density and gain is the
    equivalent isotropically radiated power-density
    ("E.I.R.P.-density"), which is at its maximum in the direction of
    the antenna main beam. In directions other than the main beam, the
    E.I.R.P.-density is directly related to the antenna gain pattern.
    For example, the antenna gain in the vicinity of two degrees
    off-axis, or two degrees measured from the main beam of the antenna,
    provides a measure of the potential of that earth station to cause
    interference to satellites located two degrees away in orbit from
    the satellite with which the earth station is communicating. The
    emission of any earth station antenna must fall within the limits
    defined by equations in the Commission's rules. Because decreasing
    the antenna diameter produces wider main beams and higher side
    lobes, the allowable antenna gain pattern envelope effectively
    creates a minimum earth station antenna diameter because at some
    point the main beam will become wide enough to cause unacceptable
    interference to adjacent satellites.

21. The Commission "routinely" licenses Ku-band earth station facilities
    that meet the two-degree orbital spacing technical requirements set
    forth in Part 25 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's routine
    earth station standards include minimum antenna sizes. Those sizes
    are related to the Commission's antenna gain pattern requirements.
    The smallest antenna routinely licensed in the Ku-band is 1.2 meters
    (3.9 feet) in diameter.

22. In the *ESV Report and Order*, the Commission combined the antenna
    performance and input power density rules in Part 25 to adopt
    off-axis E.I.R.P.-density rules for ESV earth station
    transmitters.[^89] In adopting ESV rules, as set out in section
    25.222 for Ku-band ESV use, the Commission combined the ESV mobile
    environment with the FSS and provided ESV operators with the option
    of using smaller antennas that may not meet the two-degree spacing
    antenna pattern specified in section 25.209 of the rules, as long as
    the power-density into the antenna is reduced to the point that the
    off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits set out in section 25.222 are
    met.[^90]

### Use of ESV Rules as Model for VMES

23. General Dynamics urges the Commission to expand the ESV regulatory
    framework to cover VMES.[^91] General Dynamics states that the
    Commission, in developing the rules for ESVs, engaged in a
    comprehensive study of mobile satellite operations in the Ku-band
    and adopted carefully prescribed requirements to ensure that ESV
    operations adequately would protect existing operators in the band
    from harmful interference.[^92] General Dynamics states that its
    SOTM system is able to meet the off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits and
    other operational rules applicable to ESVs.[^93] Therefore, General
    Dynamics asserts that the Commission can be confident in adopting
    regularized service and licensing rules for VMES operations in the
    Ku-band.[^94]

24. Of course, the operation of VMES will differ significantly from the
    operation of ESVs because of the potential ubiquity of VMES
    terminals. ESVs, by their very nature, are restricted to operation
    within navigable waters and associated ports, whereas VMES terminals
    are capable of traveling just about anywhere in the land area of the
    United States. In addition, the accelerations experienced by a ship
    will tend to be significantly less than the accelerations of an
    off-road vehicle, making the antenna tracking mechanism of the VMES
    more complex than that on the ESV.[^95] Still, we concur with
    General Dynamics and the majority of commenters that the ESV rules
    are the appropriate starting point for developing VMES rules that
    would be designed to protect adjacent FSS systems from harmful
    interference.

25. We therefore seek comment on whether, given the significant
    differences between ESVs and VMES, the ESV rules, as applied to
    VMES, would provide sufficient protection to the FSS. In Appendix B,
    we have included what we think are the appropriate portions of the
    Ku-band ESV rules, as a starting point for our analysis.
    Principally, these requirements are set out in section 25.222 of the
    Commission's rules.[^96] Section 25.222 includes three principal
    types of rules pertaining to interference protection of adjacent FSS
    satellites: (1) off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits and associated
    conditions; (2) antenna pointing accuracy requirements; and (3) a
    requirement to cease, or mute, transmission if the antenna strays
    from its intended satellite.[^97] These rules are intended to
    control possible interference from ESV terminals to FSS satellites
    stationed near the intended satellite.[^98]

26. We seek comment on applying section 25.222 and related rules to VMES
    terminals communicating with FSS networks. As stated by SIA, a
    decision to adopt rules to expand access to Ku-band and extended
    Ku-band FSS spectrum for this new service will need to be designed
    to ensure that VMES systems will access FSS satellites under
    conditions that apply to the U.S. two-degree spacing environment and
    account for and prevent the occurrence of any potential mispointing
    of antennas that could produce interference in excess of that
    defined in the existing Ku-band FSS rules.[^99] The commenters
    generally support using section 25.222 of the rules as a starting
    point for deliberations.[^100]

27. Currently, the smallest antenna routinely licensed in the Ku-band is
    1.2 meters (3.9 feet) in diameter.[^101] VMES terminals employ
    stabilized antennas that are small enough to mount on wheeled
    vehicles. General Dynamics describes the use of antennas as small as
    0.45 meters (17.7 inches) in diameter on military vehicles.[^102]
    Commenters advocating other commercial applications of VMES would
    use even smaller antennas.[^103] The use of ultra-small antennas
    implies the use of FSS earth stations with wide beam widths and
    reduced side-lobe isolation that, in turn, raises the potential for
    increased interference power being received by other FSS
    satellites.[^104] Preventing the possibility of interference to
    adjacent FSS satellites is of major concern to the Commission. We
    seek comment on whether VMES systems are sufficiently similar in
    operation to ESV systems to support adoption of the ESV rules,
    without modification, to VMES, without weakening the Commission's
    two-degree spacing environment.

28. In this regard, we note that General Dynamics states that the VMES
    antenna pointing system that it has developed has been tested to
    meet Commission service rules while the vehicle travels over a
    selected road-course, specifically, the Churchville B course at the
    U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Grounds.[^105] General Dynamics states
    that the antenna transmit-control system mutes the transmitter when
    the antenna mispoints by more than 0.5 degrees in the GSO orbital
    plane, thereby preventing interference to neighboring FSS
    satellites.[^106] Whatever the design specifications of a VMES
    antenna tracking mechanism, the possibility exists that prevailing
    off-road conditions will cause design specifications to be exceeded.
    This situation does not exist for Ku-band ESV systems except under
    unusual circumstances. We ask if it is reasonable to structure
    service rules for VMES that use an E.I.R.P.-density envelope that is
    lower than that used for VSATs and ESVs.[^107] In this regard, we
    note that the authorizations for certain Ku-band AMSS systems limit
    the aggregate E.I.R.P.-density to one-dB less than the
    E.I.R.P.-density envelope that is defined for routinely-authorized
    VSATs.[^108] Would a similar rule requiring a one-dB reduction in
    the E.I.R.P.-density envelope, or a certification from adjacent
    satellite operators,[^109] be reasonable for VMES applications? Is
    there a reason to use a larger or smaller reduction than one-dB in
    E.I.R.P.-density to protect FSS neighboring satellites, or is the
    ESV E.I.R.P.-density envelope sufficient?

### Proposed Modifications to ESV Model

29. Certain commenters suggest that the VMES service rules should
    deviate from the ESV model contained principally in section 25.222
    of the Commission's rules. In particular, they propose changes to
    the interference protection rules set out in paragraphs (a)(1)-(7)
    of section 25.222.

#### Pointing Accuracy Requirements

30. SES Americom states that, because of terrain variations, VMES
    operators may find it difficult to comply with section
    25.222(a)(6)-(7) of the Commission's rules, which requires antenna
    pointing accuracy and cessation of transmissions that exceed
    spectral limits.[^110] SES Americom states that an applicant may be
    able to demonstrate that momentary deviations from the nominal
    antenna pointing by a VMES terminal with a very low transmit
    power-density would not cause harmful interference to adjacent
    satellites.[^111] Accordingly, SES Americom proposes adopting, for
    VMES, an exception to section 25.222(a)(6)-(7) that would be based
    on two conditions. The first condition would require the VMES
    applicant to demonstrate that its proposed system complied with the
    off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits set out in section 25.222(a),
    notwithstanding its failure to comply with specified antenna
    pointing accuracy requirements. The second proposed condition would
    require the applicant to obtain and submit affidavits from
    potentially affected satellite operators agreeing to the applicant's
    proposed operations.[^112] We seek comment on whether adoption of
    this proposal would provide sufficient protection to adjacent FSS
    systems.

31. ViaSat states that systems using spread spectrum modulation
    techniques in which individual antennas operate at extremely low
    E.I.R.P.-densities, and in which there is central control of
    aggregate power density, generally do not require pointing accuracy
    rules.[^113] In the event that certain antennas cannot control
    interference through spread spectrum and/or power control
    technology, ViaSat supports pointing accuracy limits that are a
    function of antenna beam width rather than a specific fixed angular
    limit applied equally to all sizes of antennas.[^114] Similarly,
    Qualcomm proposes that the Commission look at alternative ways to
    specify the pointing accuracy, such as a "fraction of the antenna
    beam width" instead of a fixed value.[^115] General Dynamics, on the
    other hand, would prefer that the Commission not reduce existing
    antenna pointing accuracy requirements.[^116]

32. Adopting a "fraction of the antenna beam width" alternative instead
    of a fixed value to specify pointing accuracy would lower the
    required pointing accuracy for small antennas. That is, as an
    antenna becomes smaller, the beam becomes wider. Thus, if we were to
    define the required pointing accuracy as a fraction of the beam
    width, the permitted pointing inaccuracy would be allowed to grow
    along with the growth in the beam width as the antenna becomes
    smaller. Presumably, as the beam width grew and the antenna gain
    decreased, the operator would need to resort to spectrum spreading
    techniques to complete the link to the VMES hub receiver. We ask if
    adopting a "fraction of the antenna beam width" approach seems
    reasonable and, if so, how we should determine the fraction that
    would apply. Further, should adoption of this approach be limited to
    peak E.I.R.P.-densities from a single terminal or to the aggregate
    emissions from multiple, co-frequency terminals? If so, what should
    that value be? We ask commenters to include technical descriptions
    and typical link-budgets to indicate the types of modulation and
    random access techniques, and the types and quality of services,
    that might be expected to be supplied by very low-gain, broad-beam
    antennas.

33. ViaSat asks the Commission to tailor its rules to accommodate the
    development of technologies that would protect adjacent satellites
    without the need for stringent antenna pointing accuracy, but
    without mandating any specific technology.[^117] ViaSat urges the
    Commission to propose rules that allow the use of small, low-profile
    antennas that consumers affordably might install on standard
    vehicles.[^118] We seek technical comments on antenna technologies
    that would protect adjacent satellites without the need for
    stringent antenna pointing accuracies. Commenters should submit such
    information in sufficient technical detail for the Commission to
    verify the radiation patterns of these antennas and should include
    suggested rules to ensure the protection of nearby satellite
    systems. Commenters also should include a typical link-budget to
    indicate the types of modulation, random access techniques, and
    types and quality of services that could be expected to be supplied
    by small, low-profile antennas.

#### Aggregate Power-Density Limits and the 10\*log(N) Rule

34. Various parties seek revisions to the ESV power-density limits, as
    applied to VMES, in order to accommodate VMES networks employing
    aggregate system power control.[^119] For example, Qualcomm states
    that it supports the proposal by General Dynamics to extend the ESV
    off-axis emissions rules to cover VMES operations, but urges the
    Commission to review and revise the 10\*log(N) factor.[^120]

35. The technical rules adopted in the *ESV Report and Order*, including
    the off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits, were based, in general, on
    single channel per carrier ("SCPC") ESV systems that have operated
    pursuant to STA for several years. The Commission, in its *Sixth
    Report and Order and Third Further Notice* in its proceeding to
    streamline the Part 25 rules, modified the E.I.R.P.-density envelope
    adopted in the *ESV Report and Order* to accommodate CDMA systems by
    adding the 10\*log(N) term to section 25.222.[^121] Section 25.222
    requires CDMA systems to reduce the E.I.R.P.-density of co-frequency
    earth stations simultaneously transmitting to the same satellite, in
    order to ensure that the overall system meets, in the aggregate, the
    E.I.R.P-density limits established for a single VSAT.[^122] If each
    of the CDMA transmitters has the same E.I.R.P.-density, each
    transmitter will radiate the maximum VSAT E.I.R.P.-density reduced
    by a factor of 10\*log(N), in dB, where "N" represents the peak
    number of co-frequency CDMA earth stations simultaneously
    transmitting in the same satellite receiving beam.[^123] ViaSat and
    Qualcomm state that the section 25.222 10\*log(N) limit for
    individual VMES terminals assumes a network of homogeneous
    transmitters.[^124] Qualcomm asserts that requiring each antenna to
    reduce its input power density equally by a fixed factor of
    10\*log(N) prevents variable data rates (and thus variable
    power-density systems) from being accommodated unless the system
    operates with a significant loss of capacity, thereby favoring other
    techniques, such as Frequency Division Multiple Access
    ("FMDA").[^125] Thus, as noted, they urge the Commission to change
    the 10\*log(N) rule, as it would be applied to VMES.[^126] The
    Commission seeks comment on the desirability of adopting rules for
    variable data rates, and thus variable power-density,
    spread-spectrum VMES systems. Commenters should address the specific
    changes to the rules that would be required to allow the efficient
    use of variable power-density spread-spectrum systems while still
    ensuring that the systems meet the E.I.R.P.-density envelope in the
    aggregate. Comments also should address the pros and cons of
    adopting such rule changes.

#### Contention Table

36. ViaSat suggests that the Commission seek comment on the desirability
    of adopting, for VMES, the type of "contention table" proposed for
    VSATs in the *Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice* on
    Part 25 streamlining*.*[^127] Noting that the *Sixth Report and
    Order and Third Further Notice* proposes adopting a contention table
    to deal with multiple access techniques that involve contention
    protocols, ViaSat suggests that use of a contention table also would
    allow flexibility for networks using dynamic power control to exceed
    the E.I.R.P.-density limits for short periods of time as a result of
    other factors, such as antenna pointing inaccuracies and lags in
    dynamic power control.[^128]

37. Certain multiple access techniques permit users to transmit on a
    random or near-random basis. As a result, the transmissions from one
    or more users can overlap, causing "collisions." These multiple
    access techniques are termed "contention protocols."[^129] For these
    contention protocols, the probability of collisions is determined by
    the length of the user transmission, the number of transmissions per
    unit of time, and the number of users transmitting on the same
    frequency. When collisions occur, the E.I.R.P.-density at the GSO
    exceeds the E.I.R.P.-density that would be created by a single user.
    The *Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice* proposes that
    the collisions within a VSAT system be controlled so that the
    probability of higher levels of E.I.R.P.-density will occur for only
    brief periods of time.[^130]

38. Rather than seeking additional comment on the use of contention
    tables at this particular time, we propose to await the results of a
    decision in the Part 25 streamlining proceeding before considering
    the use of contention tables for VMES operations.

### Data Logging Requirements

39. In the *ESV Report and Order*, the Commission adopted a requirement
    that ESV operators maintain data logs on the operation of each ESV
    terminal, to protect FS operations in the C-band.[^131] The
    Commission also placed this requirement on Ku-band ESV operators
    because of the existence of Federal government receive facilities in
    portions of the Ku-band and because of the possibility, although
    unlikely, that an interference situation could occur to other
    Ku-band systems from Ku-band ESV operations.[^132]

40. Under the Commission's rules, Ku-band ESV network operators must
    maintain information on the satellites that each vessel uses, the
    operating frequencies and bandwidths used, the time of day, the
    vessel location in longitude and latitude, the country of registry
    of each vessel, and a point of contact within the United States with
    the authority and capability to mute the ESV transmitters.[^133] The
    geo-location information must be recorded at time intervals of no
    greater than every twenty minutes while the ESV is
    transmitting.[^134] The ESV operator must maintain the information
    for a year and make it available to appropriate entities within
    twenty-four hours of request.[^135]

41. General Dynamics asks the Commission not to apply the ESV data
    logging requirements to VMES systems.[^136] General Dynamics asserts
    that VMES terminals are less likely to cause interference than
    existing blanket-licensed VSAT terminals, which General Dynamics
    characterizes as having less antenna pointing control than VMES and
    greater likelihood of becoming sources of potential
    interference.[^137] General Dynamics asserts that the remote
    satellite geo-location capabilities of existing FSS spacecraft
    operators provide another reason not to ask for detailed logging of
    VMES operating locations.[^138] SES Americom supports not applying
    the rule to VMES, stating that military applications are likely to
    be the predominant use of VMES and thus data logging requirements
    could raise national security concerns.[^139] Several commenters,
    however, oppose eliminating the rule at this time. Qualcomm opposes
    excluding location logging unless proponents can demonstrate that
    geo-location tools in general use today reliably can locate earth
    stations that are in motion.[^140] SIA states that it is premature
    to take a position on the Petition's proposal on data logging, and
    ViaSat supports the application of the data logging rule to VMES
    systems.[^141]

42. In response to the Petition's suggestion that data logging would not
    be necessary for VMES, we observe that the existing data logging
    requirements for ESVs are intended to permit a licensee experiencing
    any unexpected interference from ESVs to obtain information on the
    locations of the mobile transmitters that may have been near, or may
    have transited in the vicinity of, the licensee's facility.[^142]
    The ESV rules apply to both the C-band and Ku-band ESV operations,
    whereas VMES is proposed solely in the Ku-band. Although the C-band
    presents greater potential for interference from mobile terminals
    because of the large number of FS operations, there also exists the
    potential for interference to Federal government facilities in the
    conventional and extended Ku-bands. We seek comment on General
    Dynamics' proposal not to apply data logging requirements to VMES.
    We observe that, to the extent that Federal government operations
    are authorized by NTIA consistent with section 305 of the
    Communications Act, the terms and conditions of that authorization
    would be the subject of coordination between NTIA and the
    Commission, and would not necessarily be governed by data logging
    requirements in the Commission's rules. We also seek comment on how,
    if at all, the use of VMES terminals in the Ku-band might suggest a
    different approach from the data logging rule applied to ESV
    terminals in the Ku-bands.

### Other Operational Requirements

#### Section 25.209 Antenna Size Threshold

43. The primary source of interference to earth stations in the
    conventional Ku-band is downlink interference from the FSS. The
    ability to avoid interference is based on the antenna beam width and
    bore-sight alignment with the intended satellite.[^143] Thus, small
    antennas, with their wider main lobes, may be more vulnerable to
    adjacent satellite interference.[^144] Qualcomm asserts that, for a
    system that employs ultra-small antennas, the operator's acceptance
    of the risk of adjacent satellite interference should be reflected
    in a license condition.[^145] Qualcomm suggests an amendment to
    section 25.209 of the Commission's rules that would set a threshold
    on antenna size, possibly 55 centimeters, above which the allocation
    would be primary and receive the appropriate interference protection
    and below which it would be secondary and thus less protected.[^146]
    Qualcomm proposes that the Commission apply this threshold to all
    categories of service that employ earth stations (FSS, MSS, AMSS,
    and ESV) in the 11.7-12.2 GHz band.[^147]

44. Section 25.209(c) provides that earth station antennas licensed for
    reception of radio transmissions from a space station in the FSS
    service are protected from radio interference caused by other space
    stations only to the degree to which harmful interference would not
    be expected to be caused to an earth station employing an antenna
    conforming to the relevant antenna performance standards set out in
    section 25.209.[^148] We are concerned that, because of the reduced
    side-lobe isolation, the use of small antennas could make a VMES
    receiver more sensitive to interference from other FSS satellites.
    If we grant primary status to the VMES, this lack of side-lobe
    isolation could place an undue burden on FSS satellites coordinating
    at a later time, when compared with receivers using the more
    traditional FSS antennas. To determine whether a system of small
    VMES antennas would receive interference protection, Qualcomm asks
    the Commission to set a threshold size above which the VMES antennas
    would receive the same kind of protection as earth stations that
    operate in a service with primary status, and below which the
    antennas would be required to accept interference. If we adopt a
    primary status for VMES and apply section 25.209(c), there may be no
    need for such a rule for VMES earth stations.[^149] Additionally, we
    observe that Qualcomm proposes that the Commission adopt an antenna
    threshold rule for all categories of service that employ earth
    stations, including FSS, MSS, AMSS, and ESV stations, in the
    11.7-12.2 GHz band. We seek comment on Qualcomm\'s proposal to amend
    section 25.209 of the Commission's rules to set a threshold on
    antenna size, in the 11.7-12.2 GHz band, above which a VMES
    allocation would be primary and receive the appropriate interference
    protection and below which it would be secondary and thus less
    protected. What would be an appropriate threshold size and how would
    this threshold compare with the existing condition in section
    25.209(c)? In other respects, Qualcomm's proposal is overly broad
    for this particular proceeding, in that it proposes that the
    Commission adopt an antenna threshold rule for all categories of
    service that employ earth stations, including, in addition to VMES,
    FSS, MSS, AMSS, and ESV stations, in the 11.7-12.2 GHz band.

#### Power Densities in Directions Other Than the GSO Plane

45. ViaSat urges the Commission to seek comment on permitting VMES
    terminals to operate at greater power densities than the rules
    currently permit in the NGSO plane.[^150] ViaSat states that the
    commercial success of VMES will depend on using small, low-profile
    antennas on cars or trucks and that these antennas will emit at
    higher off-axis power-density levels in the NGSO elevation
    plane.[^151] ViaSat urges the Commission to explore the tradeoffs
    between relaxing off-axis density limits in the NGSO plane and
    constraining the types, sizes and costs of antenna technology that
    might be used to provide VMES.[^152]

46. Section 25.222(a)(1) describes the principal ESV E.I.R.P.-density
    envelope as applying in the plane of the GSO as it appears at the
    particular earth station location (that is, the plane determined by
    the focal point of the antenna and the line tangent to the arc of
    the GSO at the position of the target satellite). VMES antennas, of
    course, will radiate in all directions, with the majority of the
    power directed along the antenna main beam. ViaSat's reference to
    the E.I.R.P.-density limits in "NGSO plane" refers to section
    25.222(a)(2) and (a)(4) of the rules, which describes an
    E.I.R.P.-density envelope "in all other directions" than the GSO
    orbit.[^153] ViaSat states that "\[t\]here are no commercial NGSO
    Ku-band systems in operation, and none are planned to be deployed in
    the foreseeable future."[^154]

47. The ESV E.I.R.P. envelope in all directions other than along the GSO
    starts at an angle of 1.25 degrees from the antenna main lobe.[^155]
    In the *Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice*, the
    Commission revised the start of the antenna gain pattern envelope to
    three degrees off-axis outside the GSO orbital plane for earth
    stations operating in the conventional Ku-band. The Commission made
    this revision to facilitate the development of more advanced
    elliptical antennas without creating any additional interference
    issues.[^156] We seek comment on adopting this same three-degree
    starting angle for VMES antennas. We request comment on the
    possibility of modifying the current ESV non-GSO plane
    E.I.R.P.-density envelopes to accommodate small VMES antennas.
    Commenters should address the potential for interference to and from
    possible NGSO FSS systems as well as the possible trade-offs between
    relaxing off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits in directions away from
    the GSO plane, and the types, sizes and costs of antenna technology
    that might be used to provide VMES services under existing versus
    relaxed power-density limits.

#### Radiation Hazard Requirements

48. Section 25.222(a)(9) of the rules requires ESVs that exceed the
    radiation guidelines of section 1.1310 to provide an environmental
    assessment and a plan for mitigation of radiation exposure to the
    extent required to meet those guidelines.[^157] The mounting of
    earth stations on vehicles may pose the possibility of human
    exposure to radiofrequency ("RF") radiation. We ask commenters to
    describe what radiation hazard concerns may exist, and what steps
    should be taken to resolve any potential concerns. We ask commenters
    to discuss how exposure concerns and necessary rules for military
    applications may differ from VMES use as a general commercial
    application. We note that General Dynamics proposes that the
    immediate application for VMES operations would be to serve U.S.
    military communications test and training needs. We expect that
    trained personnel operating VMES would take reasonable steps to
    avoid accidental RF exposure for VMES, as they would for other small
    aperture antennas, and the nature of the military operations
    described in the Petition raises little likelihood of exposure of
    third parties. Nevertheless, the Petition discusses the use of these
    technologies for commercial markets as well. We direct commenters to
    section 1.1310 of our rules, which describes the different exposure
    limits for "general population" and "occupational/controlled"
    conditions, and we ask commenters to discuss how these rules should
    be applied to the proposed military and other potential uses for
    VMES. We seek comment as to whether we should require cautionary
    labeling for all VMES terminals and whether we should recommend
    professional installation for subscriber transceiver antennas. In
    this regard, we direct commenters to section 1.1307(b) of our rules,
    which requires licensees to perform routine exposure evaluation for
    all Part 25 transmitters, and to the references to our rules that
    describe the limits for RF exposure.[^158]

#### Equipment Certification

49. The Communications Act authorizes the Commission to make regulations
    to ensure that, before an RF device enters the stream of commerce,
    it complies with the appropriate technical rules to ensure that it
    will not cause harmful interference.[^159] Pursuant to that
    authority, the Commission has adopted rules to establish the current
    device authorization policy that is commonly known as our
    "certification" or "marketing" rules.[^160] The rules and
    requirements vary by device, but today the majority of radio
    transmitters that "intentionally radiate" radio waves must be
    certified as compliant with governing rules before being marketed,
    sold, or imported into the United States. In general, we require
    certification of "portable earth station transceivers" and certain
    other small-aperture terminals.[^161] The Petition and the record to
    date would seem to suggest that commenters seek to deploy VMES using
    mobile and/or portable VMES terminals. We would propose to certify
    VMES terminals pursuant to our Part 2 rules to ensure that they
    comply with the technical rules adopted for the service. We would
    make this proposal because of our past use of certification for
    earth station terminals and because the record to date suggests that
    VMES, or certain classes or sizes of VMES terminals, may be widely
    deployed for general public use and potentially might cause
    interference to space stations. We seek comment on this analysis and
    on other procedures that commenters may consider warranted. We ask
    commenters to describe such procedures and explain why they would
    serve the public interest better than certification.

### Limitations on Use of VMES

50. The comments suggest that the allocation and service rules proposed
    by General Dynamics potentially could result in terminals small
    enough, and inexpensive enough, to allow broad commercial use by the
    general public.[^162] This could result in a large number of
    ultra-small antenna terminals mounted on private vehicles traversing
    throughout the United States. We are concerned about whether the
    aggregation of the emissions from these ultra-small terminals may
    increase the risk of harmful interference to other FSS users. We are
    concerned that aggregate emissions from a VMES system using
    ultra-small antennas pointed with an accuracy that is some fraction
    of the antenna beam width could raise the potential for harmful
    interference to adjacent satellites, including those farther than
    six degrees from the target satellite. In this section, we discuss
    and seek comment on this concern. We also discuss and seek comment
    on possible rules that would be designed to prevent such potential
    interference concerns.

51. The Commission's two-degree FSS spacing rules require earth stations
    to take steps to prevent interference to FSS satellites within six
    degrees of the target satellite. The use of ultra-small mobile
    antennas by the general public potentially could expose FSS
    satellites farther away than six degrees to interference and raises
    a question about the applicability of the current technical rules to
    a system using ultra-small mobile antennas.[^163] If systems using
    this size of mobile antenna potentially could expose FSS satellites
    farther away from the target satellite to the same or higher level
    of interference power than the satellites directly adjacent to the
    target satellite, this situation would represent a departure from
    the long-standing assumptions underlying the two-degree spacing
    environment.

52. We seek comment on whether this scenario is likely and, if so, we
    ask whether we should adopt rules designed to prevent such potential
    interference concerns. Should we propose, for example, an
    E.I.R.P.-density envelope for VMES, or a class of VMES, that is
    different from the envelope for ESVs that is set out in section
    25.222 of the rules? If the VMES pointing restrictions are based
    upon some fraction of the antenna beam width, as suggested by ViaSat
    and Qualcomm, should a different E.I.R.P. envelope be applied?[^164]
    Are there other methods by which we might ensure that VMES use of
    the 14.0-14.5 GHz band would not cause harmful interference to
    adjacent FSS satellites, including those farther than six degrees
    from the target satellite?

53. For example, we ask whether we should propose limitations that would
    allow only government use, such as military testing/training,
    homeland security, and civil emergency applications, under the
    assumption that such applications likely would involve somewhat
    larger and better tracking antennas as well as operator training to
    mitigate against interference to neighboring satellites, as opposed
    to those terminals designed for general public use. One means of
    restricting the use of the band while at the same time granting
    General Dynamics' proposal would be to limit the use of VMES only to
    commercial contracts for government uses such as military
    testing/training, homeland security, and civil emergency
    applications. The General Dynamics proposal is directed primarily to
    military testing and training. Including other government
    applications such as homeland security and civil emergency would add
    significant utility to Ku-band land mobile applications, while
    maintaining the population of VMES terminals. We ask for comment on
    the effects and usefulness of such a limitation.

54. Currently, the FSS Ku-band is used heavily by commercial entities
    for commercial purposes and is used by the general public to some
    extent for broadband Internet access. Opening this band to larger
    numbers of small low-cost systems could make specific interference
    sources difficult to identify and control. If ultra-small antenna
    VMES systems with low-cost tracking mechanisms should come into
    widespread use, it could become difficult, if not impossible, to
    identify any single source of interference, and correspondingly
    difficult to ensure an interference-controlled environment for
    commercial interests using the Ku-band. We observe that, since 1991,
    the Commission has required satellite uplink transmissions carrying
    broadband video information to use an automatic transmitter
    identification system ("ATIS").[^165] Under this requirement,
    parties transmitting video signals to satellites must include
    information in the transmissions that identifies the source. The
    Commission adopted this requirement in response to an increase in
    harmful interference, including intentional interference, to
    satellite facilities. We ask whether a similar type of
    identification system should be used with VMES systems. If so, what
    should the characteristics of the identifying signal be in terms of
    format, information and structure?

## VMES Licensing Considerations

55. In establishing a regulatory framework for VMES, we endeavor to
    craft rules that will minimize licensees' regulatory burden.
    Therefore, we invite commenters to identify, either generally or in
    connection with specific proposals, any licensing methods that may
    simplify and speed the licensing process for VMES, while still
    addressing our core regulatory concern with avoiding harmful
    interference.

56. *Blanket licensing*. In connection with ESV and AMSS networks, the
    Commission has looked to blanket licensing methods to address
    situations in which a larger number of technically identical user
    terminals will be deployed.[^166] Similarly, if we adopt VMES
    service and licensing rules, we would propose to provide applicants
    with the option of seeking a VMES system license (consisting of a
    hub, located in the United States, and/or blanket earth station
    license). Whether or not an applicant requests hub authority, we
    would propose that the system license also would require that the
    licensee maintain in the United States both a network control and
    monitoring center and a twenty-four-hours-per-day,
    seven-days-per-week point of contact. We believe that, by making the
    VMES system licensee responsible for meeting whatever operational
    considerations we propose, we would be designing rules intended to
    enhance the protection of other in-band and out-of-band licensees.

57. We consider blanket licensing for VMES terminals because the number
    and mobility of VMES locations may make it impractical in many cases
    to license VMES terminals on a unit-by-unit basis. Under a blanket
    licensing approach, applicants would be required to file a narrative
    describing the overall system operations as well as specific
    information on the antennas, power density, and emission
    characteristics of each class of earth station comprising the
    network. We would propose requiring a point of contact to maintain
    information about the frequencies that the individual vehicles use.
    After the applicant submits point of contact and other relevant
    information, the Commission then could issue a blanket authorization
    for the system.

58. We also seek comment on whether we should provide for the licensing
    of individual earth stations, using the same technical criteria that
    are applied to the antennas in a blanket-licensed VMES network. We
    seek comment on whether there are specific rule provisions that
    might be required to address such cases.[^167] In addition, we
    invite comment regarding necessary modifications to FCC Form 312 to
    accommodate applications for VMES systems.[^168]

59. *ALSAT authority*. We also seek comment on whether we should
    authorize Ku-band VMES operators to operate with any U.S.-licensed
    satellite and non-U.S. satellites on the Permitted Space Station
    List using the parameters consistent with earth stations,
    specifically that the VMES terminals comply with the proposed
    off-axis E.I.R.P power-density requirements proposed herein (that
    is, grant VMES operators ALSAT authority).[^169] Or, for reasons
    relating to potential interference to two-degree spaced satellites,
    should VMES operators be granted authority to access individual
    satellites only? Because ALSAT authority is not available to FSS
    earth station applicants if their operations must be coordinated
    with adjacent satellite operators, we would propose that ALSAT
    authority would not be available to those VMES applicants if their
    operations must be coordinated with adjacent satellite operators,
    especially if the VMES terminals exceed the proposed off-axis
    E.I.R.P.-density requirements. We seek comment on this analysis.
    []{.mark}

60. *License term*. We seek comment on licensing VMES operations for a
    term of fifteen years. Other licensed networks of earth stations
    have fifteen-year license terms.[^170] We seek comment on whether
    there is any reason to diverge from the fifteen-year license terms.

# Conclusion

61. In this NPRM, we seek comment on General Dynamics' proposal that we
    allocate the conventional Ku-band for use with VMES terminals in the
    FSS on a primary basis. We also seek comment on service and
    licensing rules for VMES, possibly modeled on the current ESV rules.
    The proposed allocation and licensing procedures for Ku-band VMES
    reflect our interest in providing regulatory certainty to both new
    and incumbent operators in the Ku-band. The proposals set forth in
    this *Notice* are designed to: (1) promote efficient use of the
    spectrum by permitting new uses of the band by VMES terminals,
    thereby enabling important new communications services to be
    provided to consumers on board vehicles in motion; (2) protect
    existing and future FSS licensees and their customers from harmful
    interference; (3) propose procedures for coordination with existing
    and future SRS and RAS uses that may be affected by VMES terminals;
    and (4) establish rules and a regulatory framework that minimize the
    regulatory burden on VMES licensees to the extent possible. We seek
    comment on each of the matters set forth above.

# PROCEDURAL MATTERS

## Ex Parte Presentations

62. This proceeding shall be treated as a \"permit-but-disclose\"
    proceeding in accordance with the Commission\'s ex parte
    rules.[^171] Persons making oral ex parte presentations are reminded
    that memoranda summarizing the presentations must contain summaries
    of the substance of the presentations and not merely a listing of
    the subjects discussed. More than a one or two sentence description
    of the views and arguments presented is generally required.[^172]
    Other rules pertaining to oral and written presentations are set
    forth in section 1.1206(b) of the Commission\'s rules as well.

## Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

63. Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act ("RFA"),[^173] the
    Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
    ("IRFA") of the possible significant economic impact on small
    entities by the policies and actions considered in this *Notice*.
    The text of the IRFA is set forth in Appendix C. Written public
    comments are requested on this IRFA. Comments must be identified as
    responses to the IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines for
    comments on the *Notice* as provided in paragraph 88 below. The
    Commission will send a copy of the *Notice*, including the IRFA, to
    the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
    Administration.[^174]

## Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

64. *Paperwork Reduction Act*. This *Notice* contains proposed new and
    modified information collection(s). The Commission, as part of its
    continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general
    public and the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") to comment on
    the information collection(s) contained in this *Notice*, as
    required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law No.
    104-13. Public and agency comments are due 60 days from date of
    publication of the *Notice* in the Federal Register. Comments should
    address: (a) whether the proposed collection of information is
    necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
    Commission, including whether the information shall have practical
    utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission\'s burden estimates; (c)
    ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
    collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
    information on the respondents, including the use of automated
    collection techniques or other forms of information technology. In
    addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
    2002, Public Law No. 107-198, *see* 44 U.S.C. § 3506(c)(4), we seek
    specific comment on how we might "further reduce the information
    collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25
    employees."

65. A copy of any comments on the information collections contained
    herein should be submitted to Judy Boley Herman, Federal
    Communications Commission, Room 1-C804, 445 12th Street, SW,
    Washington, DC 20554, or via the Internet to jbHerman@fcc.gov and to
    Kristy L. LaLonde, OMB Desk Officer, Room 10234 NEOB, 725 17th
    Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20503, via the Internet to Kristy_L.
    LaLonde@omb.eop.gov, or via fax at 202-395-5167.

## Comment Filing Procedures

66. Pursuant to sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission\'s rules, 47
    C.F.R. §§ 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments in
    response to this Notice no later than on or before **30** days after
    Federal Register publication. Reply comments to these comments may
    be filed no later than on or before **45** days after Federal
    Register publication. All pleadings are to reference IB Docket No.
    07-101. Comments may be filed using the Commission\'s Electronic
    Comment Filing System ("ECFS") or by filing paper copies. Parties
    are strongly encouraged to file electronically. *See Electronic
    Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings*, 63 Fed. Reg. 24121
    (1998).

67. Comments filed through the ECFS can be sent as an electronic file
    via the Internet to http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Parties should
    transmit one copy of their comments to the docket in the caption of
    this rulemaking. In completing the transmittal screen, commenters
    should include their full name, U.S. Postal Service mailing address,
    and the applicable docket or rulemaking number. Parties may also
    submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing
    instructions for e-mail comments, commenters should send an e-mail
    to ecfs@fcc.gov and should include the following words in the body
    of the message, \"get form \<your e-mail address\>.\" A sample form
    and directions will be sent in reply.

68. Parties choosing to file by paper must file an original and four
    copies of each filing in IB Docket No. 07-101. Filings can be sent
    by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or
    by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although we
    continue to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service
    mail). If more than one docket or rulemaking number appears in the
    caption of this proceeding, commenters must submit two additional
    copies for each additional docket or rulemaking number. The
    Commission\'s mail contractor, Vistronix, Inc., will receive
    hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the
    Commission\'s Secretary at 236 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite
    110, Washington, D.C. 20002. The filing hours at this location are
    8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together
    with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be disposed of
    before entering the building. Commercial overnight mail (other than
    U.S. Postal Service Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to
    9300 East Hampton Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743. U.S. Postal
    Service first-class mail, Express Mail, and Priority Mail should be
    addressed to 445 12^th^ Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554. All
    filings must be addressed to the Commission\'s Secretary, Office of
    the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.

69. Comments submitted on diskette should be on a 3.5 inch diskette
    formatted in an IBM-compatible format using Word for Windows or
    compatible software. The diskette should be clearly labeled with the
    commenter\'s name, proceeding (including the docket number, in this
    case, IB Docket No. 07-101), type of pleading (comment or reply
    comment), date of submission, and the name of the electronic file on
    the diskette. The label should also include the following phrase
    \"Disk Copy - Not an Original.\" Each diskette should contain only
    one party\'s pleadings, preferably in a single electronic file.

70. All parties must file one copy of each pleading electronically or by
    paper to each of the following: (1) The Commission\'s duplicating
    contractor, Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th Street, S.W.,
    Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, telephone (202) 488-5300,
    facsimile (202) 488-5563, or via e-mail at FCC@BCPIWEB.COM; (2)
    Howard Griboff, International Bureau, 445 12^th^ Street, S.W.,
    Washington, D.C. 20554, e-mail Howard.Griboff@fcc.gov; (3) Paul
    Locke, International Bureau, 445 12^th^ Street, S.W., Washington,
    D.C. 20554, email Paul.Locke@fcc.gov; (4) Kathleen Collins,
    International Bureau, 445 12^th^ Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.
    20554, email Kathleen.Collins@fcc.gov.

71. Comments and reply comments and any other filed documents in this
    matter may be obtained from Best Copy and Printing, Inc., in person
    at 445 12th Street, S.W., Room CY-B402, Washington, D.C. 20554, via
    telephone at (202) 488-5300, via facsimile (202) 488-5563, or via
    e-mail at FCC@BCPIWEB.COM. The pleadings also will be available for
    public inspection and copying during regular business hours in the
    FCC Reference Information Center, Room CY-A257, 445 Twelfth Street,
    S.W., Washington, D.C. 20554 and through the ECFS, accessible on the
    Commission\'s World Wide Website, www.fcc.gov.

72. Comments and reply comments must include a short and concise summary
    of the substantive arguments raised in the pleading. Comments and
    reply comments also must comply with section 1.49 and all other
    applicable sections of the Commission\'s rules.[^175] All parties
    are encouraged to utilize a table of contents, and to include the
    name of the filing party and the date of the filing on each page of
    their submission. We also strongly encourage that parties track the
    organization set forth in this Notice in order to facilitate our
    internal review process.

73. Commenters who file information that they believe is proprietary may
    request confidential treatment pursuant to section 0.459 of the
    Commission\'s rules. Commenters should file both their original
    comments for which they request confidentiality and redacted
    comments, along with their request for confidential treatment.
    Commenters should not file proprietary information electronically.
    *See* *Examination of Current Policy Concerning the Treatment of
    Confidential Information Submitted to the Commission,* Report and
    Order, 13 FCC Rcd 24816 (1998), Order on Reconsideration, FCC
    99-262, 14 FCC Rcd 20128 (1999). Even if the Commission grants
    confidential treatment, information that does not fall within a
    specific exemption pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act
    ("FOIA") must be publicly disclosed pursuant to an appropriate
    request. *See* 47 C.F.R. § 0.461; 5 U.S.C. § 552. We note that the
    Commission may grant requests for confidential treatment either
    conditionally or unconditionally. As such, we note that the
    Commission has the discretion to release information on public
    interest grounds that does fall within the scope of a FOIA
    exemption.

## Further Information

74. For further information regarding this proceeding, contact Paul
    Locke, Policy Division, International Bureau at (202) 418-0756.
    Information regarding this proceeding and others may also be found
    on the Commission\'s website at www.fcc.gov.

# ORDERING CLAUSES

75. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to the authority contained
    in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 7(a), 301, 303(c), 303(f), 303(g),
    303(r), 303(y), and 308 of the Communications Act of 1934, as
    amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 151, 154(i), 154(j), 157(a), 301, 303(c),
    303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 303(y), 308, this Notice of Proposed
    Rulemaking IS ADOPTED.

76. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Commission\'s Consumer and
    Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center SHALL SEND
    a copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the initial
    regulatory flexibility analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy
    of the Small Business Administration, in accordance with section
    603(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. § 601, et seq.
    (1981).

> FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
>
> Marlene H. Dortch
>
> Secretary

**APPENDIX A**

**Petition For Rulemaking Commenters**

**Parties Filing Comments**

(7 Commenters)

[Name of Party]{.underline}

Association of Public Television Stations/Public Broadcasting Service

AvL Technologies Incorporation

Maritime Telecommunications Network, Inc.

QUALCOMM Incorporated

Satellite Industry Association

SES Americom, Inc./Americom Government Services

ViaSat, Inc.

**Parties Filing Reply Comments**

(1 Reply Commenter)

[Name of Party]{.underline}

General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, Inc.

**Parties Filing *Ex Parte* Comments**

(1 *ex parte*)

General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies, Inc.

**APPENDIX B**

**Proposed Rules**

For the reasons discussed above, the Federal Communications Commission
proposes to amend 47 C.F.R. Parts 2 and 25, as follows:

**PART 2 \--FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS AND RADIO TREATY MATTERS;**

**GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS**

1\. The authority citation for Part 2 continues to read as follows:

**AUTHORITY: 47 U.S.C. §§ 154, 302a, 303, and 336, unless otherwise
noted.**

2\. Section 2.106, the Table of Frequency Allocations, 47 C.F.R. §
2.106, is amended as follows:

a\. Revise pages 45, 46 and 47.

b. In the list of non-Federal Government footnotes, add footnotes NGxxx
and NGyyy in numerical order.

**[§ 2.106 Table of Frequency Allocations.]{.underline}**

The revisions and additions read as follows:

**\* \* \* \* \***

+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| Table of |           |           |           |   |           | Page 45 |
| F        |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| requency |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| All      |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| ocations |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| 10-14.2  |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| GHz      |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| (SHF)    |           |           |           |   |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| Inter    |           |           | United    |   |           | FCC     |
| national |           |           | States    |   |           | Rule    |
| Table    |           |           | Table     |   |           | Part(s) |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| Region 1 | Region 2  | Region 3  | Federal   | N |           |         |
| Table    | Table     | Table     | Table     | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | n |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | - |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | F |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | d |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | r |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | l |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | T |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | b |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | l |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 10-10.45 | 10-10.45  | 10-10.45  | 10-10.45  | 1 |           | Private |
|          |           |           |           | 0 |           | Land    |
| FIXED    | RADI      | FIXED     | RADI      | - |           | Mobile  |
|          | OLOCATION |           | OLOCATION | 1 |           | (90)    |
| MOBILE   |           | MOBILE    | G32       | 0 |           |         |
|          | Amateur   |           |           | . |           | Amateur |
| RADIO    |           | RADI      | 5.479     | 4 |           | (97)    |
| LOCATION | 5.479     | OLOCATION | US58      | 5 |           |         |
|          | 5.480     |           | US108     |   |           |         |
| Amateur  |           | Amateur   |           | R |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
| 5.479    |           | 5.479     |           | d |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | l |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | c |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | n |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | A |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | m |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | u |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | r |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 5 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | . |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 4 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 7 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 9 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | U |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 5 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 8 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | U |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 1 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 0 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 8 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | N |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | G |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 4 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 2 |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 10       |           |           | 1         | 1 |           |         |
| .45-10.5 |           |           | 0.45-10.5 | 0 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | . |           |         |
| RADIO    |           |           | RADI      | 4 |           |         |
| LOCATION |           |           | OLOCATION | 5 |           |         |
|          |           |           | G32       | - |           |         |
| Amateur  |           |           |           | 1 |           |         |
|          |           |           | US58      | 0 |           |         |
| A        |           |           | US108     | . |           |         |
| mateur-s |           |           |           | 5 |           |         |
| atellite |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | R |           |         |
| 5.481    |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | d |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | l |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | c |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | o |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | n |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | A |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | m |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | u |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | r |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | A |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | m |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | u |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | r |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | - |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | s |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | l |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | l |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | t |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | U |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 5 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 8 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | U |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 1 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 0 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 8 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | N |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | G |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 4 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 2 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | N |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | G |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 1 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 3 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 4 |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 10       | 1         |           | 1         |   |           | Private |
| .5-10.55 | 0.5-10.55 |           | 0.5-10.55 |   |           | Land    |
|          |           |           |           |   |           | Mobile  |
| FIXED    | FIXED     |           | RADI      |   |           | (90)    |
|          |           |           | OLOCATION |   |           |         |
| MOBILE   | MOBILE    |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           | US59      |   |           |         |
| Radio    | RADI      |           |           |   |           |         |
| location | OLOCATION |           |           |   |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 10       |           |           | 1         | 1 |           | Fixed   |
| .55-10.6 |           |           | 0.55-10.6 | 0 |           | Mi      |
|          |           |           |           | . |           | crowave |
| FIXED    |           |           |           | 5 |           | (101)   |
|          |           |           |           | 5 |           |         |
| MOBILE   |           |           |           | - |           |         |
| except   |           |           |           | 1 |           |         |
| aero     |           |           |           | 0 |           |         |
| nautical |           |           |           | . |           |         |
| mobile   |           |           |           | 6 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| Radio    |           |           |           | F |           |         |
| location |           |           |           | I |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | X |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | D |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 10       |           |           | 1         | 1 |           |         |
| .6-10.68 |           |           | 0.6-10.68 | 0 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | . |           |         |
| EARTH    |           |           | EARTH     | 6 |           |         |
| EXPLO    |           |           | EXP       | - |           |         |
| RATION-S |           |           | LORATION- | 1 |           |         |
| ATELLITE |           |           |           | 0 |           |         |
| (        |           |           | SATELLITE | . |           |         |
| passive) |           |           | (passive) | 6 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 8 |           |         |
| FIXED    |           |           | SPACE     |   |           |         |
|          |           |           | RESEARCH  | E |           |         |
| MOBILE   |           |           | (passive) | A |           |         |
| except   |           |           |           | R |           |         |
| aero     |           |           | US265     | T |           |         |
| nautical |           |           | US277     | H |           |         |
| mobile   |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | X |           |         |
| RADIO    |           |           |           | P |           |         |
| A        |           |           |           | L |           |         |
| STRONOMY |           |           |           | O |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | R |           |         |
| SPACE    |           |           |           | A |           |         |
| RESEARCH |           |           |           | T |           |         |
| (        |           |           |           | I |           |         |
| passive) |           |           |           | O |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | N |           |         |
| Radio    |           |           |           | - |           |         |
| location |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
| 5.149    |           |           |           | A |           |         |
| 5.482    |           |           |           | T |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | L |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | L |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | I |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | T |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | ( |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | p |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | s |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | s |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | v |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | ) |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | F |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | I |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | X |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | D |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | U |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 2 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 6 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 5 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | P |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | A |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | C |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | R |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | E |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | A |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | R |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | C |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | H |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | ( |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | p |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | a |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | s |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | s |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | i |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | v |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | e |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | ) |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | U |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | S |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 2 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 7 |           |         |
|          |           |           |           | 7 |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 10       |           |           | 1         |   |           |         |
| .68-10.7 |           |           | 0.68-10.7 |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| EARTH    |           |           | EARTH     |   |           |         |
| EXPLO    |           |           | EXP       |   |           |         |
| RATION-S |           |           | LORATION- |   |           |         |
| ATELLITE |           |           | SATELLITE |   |           |         |
| (        |           |           | (passive) |   |           |         |
| passive) |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           | RADIO     |   |           |         |
| RADIO    |           |           | ASTRONOMY |   |           |         |
| A        |           |           | US74      |   |           |         |
| STRONOMY |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           | SPACE     |   |           |         |
| SPACE    |           |           | RESEARCH  |   |           |         |
| RESEARCH |           |           | (passive) |   |           |         |
| (        |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| passive) |           |           | US246     |   |           |         |
|          |           |           | US355     |   |           |         |
| 5.340    |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| 5.483    |           |           |           |   |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 1        | 10.7-11.7 |           | 10.7-11.7 |   | 10.7-11.7 | Sa      |
| 0.7-11.7 |           |           |           |   |           | tellite |
|          | FIXED     |           | US211     |   | FIXED     | Communi |
| FIXED    |           |           |           |   |           | cations |
|          | FIXED-    |           |           |   | FIXED-    | (25)    |
| FIXED-S  | SATELLITE |           |           |   | SATELLITE |         |
| ATELLITE | (space-   |           |           |   | (         | Fixed   |
| (space-t | to-Earth) |           |           |   | space-to- | Mi      |
| o-Earth) | 5.441     |           |           |   |           | crowave |
|          | 5.484A    |           |           |   | Earth)    | (101)   |
| 5.441    |           |           |           |   | 5.441     |         |
| 5.484A   | MOBILE    |           |           |   | US211     |         |
| (Earth-t | except    |           |           |   | US355     |         |
| o-space) | aer       |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | onautical |           |           |   | NG104     |         |
| 5.484    | mobile    |           |           |   | NG182     |         |
|          |           |           |           |   | NGxxx     |         |
| MOBILE   |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| except   |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| aero     |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| nautical |           |           |           |   |           |         |
| mobile   |           |           |           |   |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
| 1        | 11.7-12.1 | 11.7-12.2 | 11.7-12.2 |   | 11.7-12.2 | Sa      |
| 1.7-12.5 |           |           |           |   |           | tellite |
|          | FIXED     | FIXED     |           |   | FIXED-    | Communi |
| FIXED    | 5.486     |           |           |   | SATELLITE | cations |
|          |           | MOBILE    |           |   | (         | (25)    |
| MOBILE   | FIXED-    | except    |           |   | space-to- |         |
| except   | SATELLITE | aer       |           |   |           |         |
| aero     | (space-   | onautical |           |   | Earth)    |         |
| nautical | to-Earth) | mobile    |           |   | NG143     |         |
| mobile   |           |           |           |   | NG145     |         |
|          | 5.484A    | BRO       |           |   | NG183     |         |
| BROA     |           | ADCASTING |           |   |           |         |
| DCASTING | Mobile    |           |           |   | NGyyy     |         |
|          | except    | BROA      |           |   |           |         |
| BROADC   | aer       | DCASTING- |           |   |           |         |
| ASTING-S | onautical | SATELLITE |           |   |           |         |
| ATELLITE | mobile    |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | 5.485     |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | 5.488     |           |           |   |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+
|          | 12.1-12.2 | 5.487     |           |   | 5.488     |         |
|          |           | 5.487A    |           |   | NG184     |         |
|          | FIXED-    | 5.492     |           |   |           |         |
|          | SATELLITE |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | (space-   |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | to-Earth) |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | 5.484A    |           |           |   |           |         |
|          |           |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | 5.485     |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | 5.488     |           |           |   |           |         |
|          | 5.489     |           |           |   |           |         |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---+-----------+---------+

+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| Table of    |           |           |         |           | Page   |
| Frequency   |           |           |         |           | 47     |
| Allocations |           |           |         |           |        |
| 14.2-17.7   |           |           |         |           |        |
| GHz (SHF)   |           |           |         |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| In          |           |           | United  |           | FCC    |
| ternational |           |           | States  |           | Rule   |
| Table       |           |           | Table   |           | P      |
|             |           |           |         |           | art(s) |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| Region 1    | Region 2  | Region 3  | Federal | No        |        |
| Table       | Table     | Table     | Table   | n-Federal |        |
|             |           |           |         | Table     |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| (See        |           |           | 14      | 1         | Sat    |
| previous    |           |           | .2-14.4 | 4.2-14.47 | ellite |
| page)       |           |           |         |           | Co     |
|             |           |           |         | FIXED-    | mmunic |
|             |           |           |         | SATELLITE | ations |
|             |           |           |         | (Earth-   |        |
|             |           |           |         | to-space) | \(25\) |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         | NG183     |        |
|             |           |           |         | NGyyy     |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         | Mobile-   |        |
|             |           |           |         | satellite |        |
|             |           |           |         | (Earth-   |        |
|             |           |           |         | to-space) |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 14.25-14.3  |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| FIXE        |           |           |         |           |        |
| D-SATELLITE |           |           |         |           |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.457A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.457B      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.484A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506       |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506B      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| RADI        |           |           |         |           |        |
| ONAVIGATION |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.504       |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Mobil       |           |           |         |           |        |
| e-satellite |           |           |         |           |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.508A      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Space       |           |           |         |           |        |
| research    |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.504A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.505 5.508 |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.509       |           |           |         |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 14.3-14.4   | 14.3-14.4 | 14.3-14.4 |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| FIXED       | FIXED-    | FIXED     |         |           |        |
|             | SATELLITE |           |         |           |        |
| FIXE        | (Earth-   | FIXED-    |         |           |        |
| D-SATELLITE | to-space) | SATELLITE |         |           |        |
| (Eart       |           | (Earth-   |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) | 5.457A    | to-space) |         |           |        |
|             | 5.484A    |           |         |           |        |
| 5.457A      | 5.506     | 5.457A    |         |           |        |
| 5.457B      | 5.506B    | 5.484A    |         |           |        |
| 5.484A      |           | 5.506     |         |           |        |
| 5.506       | Mobile-   | 5.506B    |         |           |        |
| 5.506B      | satellite |           |         |           |        |
|             | (Earth-   | MOBILE    |         |           |        |
| MOBILE      | to-space) | except    |         |           |        |
| except      |           | aer       |         |           |        |
| a           | 5.506A    | onautical |         |           |        |
| eronautical |           | mobile    |         |           |        |
| mobile      | Radiona   |           |         |           |        |
|             | vigation- | Mobile-   |         |           |        |
| Mobil       | satellite | satellite |         |           |        |
| e-satellite |           | (Earth-   |         |           |        |
| (Eart       | 5.504A    | to-space) |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506A      |           | 5.506A    |         |           |        |
|             |           | 5.509A    |         |           |        |
| 5.509A      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           | Radiona   |         |           |        |
| Rad         |           | vigation- |         |           |        |
| ionavigatio |           | satellite |         |           |        |
| n-satellite |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           | 5.504A    |         |           |        |
| 5.504A      |           |           |         |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 14.4-14.47  |           |           | 14.     | NG184     |        |
|             |           |           | 4-14.47 |           |        |
| FIXED       |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | Fixed   |           |        |
| FIXE        |           |           |         |           |        |
| D-SATELLITE |           |           | Mobile  |           |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.457A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.457B      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.484A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506       |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506B      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| MOBILE      |           |           |         |           |        |
| except      |           |           |         |           |        |
| a           |           |           |         |           |        |
| eronautical |           |           |         |           |        |
| mobile      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Mobil       |           |           |         |           |        |
| e-satellite |           |           |         |           |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.509A      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Space       |           |           |         |           |        |
| research    |           |           |         |           |        |
| (spac       |           |           |         |           |        |
| e-to-Earth) |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.504A      |           |           |         |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 14.47-14.5  |           |           | 14.     | 1         |        |
|             |           |           | 47-14.5 | 4.47-14.5 |        |
| FIXED       |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | Fixed   | FIXED-    |        |
| FIXE        |           |           |         | SATELLITE |        |
| D-SATELLITE |           |           | Mobile  | (Earth-   |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         | to-space) |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           | US203   |           |        |
| 5.457A      |           |           | US342   | NG183     |        |
| 5.457B      |           |           |         | NGyyy     |        |
| 5.484A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506       |           |           |         | Mobile-   |        |
| 5.506B      |           |           |         | satellite |        |
|             |           |           |         | (Earth-   |        |
| MOBILE      |           |           |         | to-space) |        |
| except      |           |           |         |           |        |
| a           |           |           |         | US203     |        |
| eronautical |           |           |         | US342     |        |
| mobile      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Mobil       |           |           |         |           |        |
| e-satellite |           |           |         |           |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.504B      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.506A      |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.509A      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Radio       |           |           |         |           |        |
| astronomy   |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.149       |           |           |         |           |        |
| 5.504A      |           |           |         |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 14.5-14.8   |           |           | 14.5-   | 14.5-14.8 |        |
|             |           |           | 14.7145 |           |        |
| FIXED       |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | FIXED   |           |        |
| FIXE        |           |           |         |           |        |
| D-SATELLITE |           |           | Mobile  |           |        |
| (Eart       |           |           |         |           |        |
| h-to-space) |           |           | Space   |           |        |
| 5.510       |           |           | r       |           |        |
|             |           |           | esearch |           |        |
| MOBILE      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
| Space       |           |           |         |           |        |
| research    |           |           |         |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
|             |           |           | 14.71   |           |        |
|             |           |           | 45-14.8 |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | MOBILE  |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | Fixed   |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | Space   |           |        |
|             |           |           | r       |           |        |
|             |           |           | esearch |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 14.8-15.35  |           |           | 14.8-   | 14.       |        |
|             |           |           | 15.1365 | 8-15.1365 |        |
| FIXED       |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | MOBILE  | US310     |        |
| MOBILE      |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | SPACE   |           |        |
| Space       |           |           | R       |           |        |
| research    |           |           | ESEARCH |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | Fixed   |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | US310   |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+
| 5.339       |           |           | 15.136  | 15.1      |        |
|             |           |           | 5-15.35 | 365-15.35 |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | FIXED   | 5.339     |        |
|             |           |           |         | US211     |        |
|             |           |           | SPACE   |           |        |
|             |           |           | R       |           |        |
|             |           |           | ESEARCH |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | Mobile  |           |        |
|             |           |           |         |           |        |
|             |           |           | 5.339   |           |        |
|             |           |           | US211   |           |        |
+-------------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+--------+

\* \* \* \* \*

[**Non-Federal** **Government (NG) Footnotes**]{.smallcaps}

\* \* \* \* \*

NGxxx In the bands 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth),
Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations (VMES) as regulated under 47 CFR part 25
may be authorized to communicate with space stations of the
fixed-satellite service but must accept interference from stations of
the fixed service operating in accordance with the Commission\'s Rules.

NGyyy In the bands 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 14.0-14.5 GHz
(Earth-to-space), Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations (VMES) as regulated
under 47 CFR part 25 are an application of the fixed-satellite service
and may be authorized to communicate with space stations of the
fixed-satellite service on a primary basis.

\* \* \* \* \*

**PART 25 -- SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS**

3\. The authority citation for Part 25 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. §§ 701-744. Interprets or applies Sections 4, 301,
302, 303, 307, 309 and 332 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47
U.S.C. §§ 154, 301, 302, 303, 307, 309, and 332, unless otherwise noted.

4\. Part 25 is amended by adding new Section 25.XXX to the Table of
Contents to read as follows:

\* \* \* \* \*

§ 25.XXX Blanket Licensing provisions for Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations
(VMESs) receiving in the 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth), 11.45-11.7 GHz
(space-to-Earth), and 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) frequency bands and
transmitting in the 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space) frequency band,
operating with Geostationary Satellites in the Fixed-Satellite Service.

\* \* \* \* \*

5\. Section 25.115 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(2)(iii) to read
as follows:

**[§ 25.115 Application for earth station authorizations]{.underline}.**

\*\*\*\*\*

(a)(2)(iii) The earth station is not an ESV or a VMES.

\*\*\*\*\*

6\. Section 25.130 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as
follows:

**[§ 25.130 Filing requirements for transmitting earth
stations]{.underline}.**

\(a\) Applications for a new or modified transmitting earth station
facility shall be submitted on FCC Form 312, and associated Schedule B,
accompanied by any required exhibits, except for those earth station
applications filed on FCC Form 312EZ pursuant to § 25.115(a). All such
earth station license applications must be filed electronically through
the International Bureau Filing System (IBFS) in accordance with the
applicable provisions of part 1, subpart Y of this chapter. Additional
filing requirements for Earth Stations on Vessels are described in §§
25.221 and 25.222 of this part. Additional filing requirements for
Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations are described in § 25.XXX of this part.
In addition, applicants not required to submit applications on Form
312EZ, other than ESV or VMES applicants, must submit the following
information to be used as an "informative" in the public notice issued
under § 25.151 as an attachment to their application:

\* \* \* \* \*

7\. Section 25.132 is amended by revising paragraph (b)(3) to read as
follows:

**§ 25.132 Verification of earth station antenna performance
standards.**

\* \* \* \* \*

(b)(3) Applicants seeking authority to use an antenna that does not meet
the standards set forth in §25.209(a) and (b), pursuant to the procedure
set forth in § 25.220 or subject to rules in § 25.XXX, are required to
submit a copy of the manufacturer\'s range test plots of the antenna
gain patterns specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

\* \* \* \* \*

8\. Section 25.201 is amended by adding the following definition in
alphabetical order to read as follows:

**[§ 25.201 Definitions]{.underline}.**

\* \* \* \* \*

[Vehicle-Mounted Earth Station (VMES).]{.underline} A VMES is an earth
station, operating from a motorized vehicle that travels primarily on
land, that receives from and transmits to fixed-satellite space stations
and operates pursuant to the requirements set out § 25.XXX of this part.

\* \* \* \* \*

9\. Section 25.202 is amended by adding paragraph (a)(9**)** to read as
follows:

**[§ 25.202 Frequencies, frequency tolerance and emission
limitations]{.underline}.**

\* \* \* \* \*

(a)(9) The following frequencies are available for use by
Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations (VMESs):

10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)

11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth)

11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)

14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space)

 

VMESs shall be authorized as set forth in § 25.XXX of this chapter.

\* \* \* \* \*

10\. Section 25.203 is amended by revising paragraphs (a), (b), (d) and
(k) and the introductory language in paragraph (c) to read as follows:

**[§ 25.203 Choice of sites and frequencies]{.underline}.**

\(a\) Sites and frequencies for earth stations, other than ESVs or
VMESs, operating in frequency bands shared with equal rights between
terrestrial and space services, shall be selected, to the extent
practicable, in areas where the surrounding terrain and existing
frequency usage are such as to minimize the possibility of harmful
interference between the sharing services.

\(b\) An applicant for an earth station authorization, other than an ESV
or a VMES, in a frequency band shared with equal rights with terrestrial
microwave services shall compute the great circle coordination distance
contour(s) for the proposed station in accordance with the procedures
set forth in § 25.251. The applicant shall submit with the application a
map or maps drawn to appropriate scale and in a form suitable for
reproduction indicating the location of the proposed station and these
contours. These maps, together with the pertinent data on which the
computation of these contours is based, including all relevant
transmitting and/or receiving parameters of the proposed station that
are necessary to assess the likelihood of interference, an appropriately
scaled plot of the elevation of the local horizon as a function of
azimuth, and the electrical characteristics of the earth station
antenna(s), shall be submitted by the applicant in a single exhibit to
the application. The coordination distance contour plot(s), horizon
elevation plot, and antenna horizon gain plot(s) required by this
section may also be submitted in tabular numerical format at 5°
azimuthal increments instead of graphical format. At a minimum, this
exhibit shall include the information listed in paragraph (c)(2) of this
section. An earth station applicant shall also include in the
application relevant technical details (both theoretical calculations
and/or actual measurements) of any special techniques, such as the use
of artificial site shielding, or operating procedures or restrictions at
the proposed earth station which are to be employed to reduce the
likelihood of interference, or of any particular characteristics of the
earth station site which could have an effect on the calculation of the
coordination distance.

\(c\) Prior to the filing of its application, an applicant for operation
of an earth station, other than an ESV or a VMES, shall coordinate the
proposed frequency usage with existing terrestrial users and with
applicants for terrestrial station authorizations with previously filed
applications in accordance with the following procedure:

\* \* \* \* \*

\(d\) An applicant for operation of an earth station, other than an ESV
or a VMES, shall also ascertain whether the great circle coordination
distance contours and rain scatter coordination distance contours,
computed for those values of parameters indicated in § 25.251 (Appendix
7 of the ITU RR) for international coordination, cross the boundaries of
another Administration. In this case, the applicant shall furnish the
Commission copies of these contours on maps drawn to appropriate scale
for use by the Commission in effecting coordination of the proposed
earth station with the Administration(s) affected.

\* \* \* \* \*

\(k\) An applicant for operation of an earth station, other than an ESV
or a VMES, that will operate with a geostationary satellite or
non-geostationary satellite in a shared frequency band in which the
non-geostationary system is (or is proposed to be) licensed for feeder
links, shall demonstrate in its applications that its proposed earth
station will not cause unacceptable interference to any other satellite
network that is authorized to operate in the same frequency band, or
certify that the operations of its earth station shall conform to
established coordination agreements between the operator(s) of the space
station(s) with which the earth station is to communicate and the
operator(s) of any other space station licensed to use the band.

11\. Section 25.204 is amended by modifying the introduction to
paragraph (a) and adding paragraph (j) to read as follows:

**[§ 25.204 Power limits]{.underline}.**

\(a\) In bands shared coequally with terrestrial radio communication
services, the equivalent isotropically radiated power transmitted in any
direction towards the horizon by an earth station, other than an ESV or
a VMES, operating in frequency bands between 1 and 15 GHz, shall not
exceed the following limits except as provided for in paragraph (c) of
this section:

\* \* \* \* \*

\(j\) Within 125 km of the Tracking and Data Relay System Satellite
(TDRSS) sites identified in § 25.XXX(a)(11) of this chapter, VMES
transmissions in the 14.0-14.2 GHz (Earth-to-space) band shall not
exceed an EIRP spectral density towards the horizon of 12.5 dBW/MHz, and
shall not exceed an EIRP towards the horizon of 16.3 dBW.

12\. Section 25.205 is amended by adding paragraph (c) to read as
follows:

**[§ 25.205 Minimum angle of antenna elevation]{.underline}.**

\* \* \* \* \*

\(c\) VMESs making a special showing requesting angles of elevation less
than 5° measured from the horizontal plane to the direction of maximum
radiation pursuant to (a) of this section must still meet the EIRP and
EIRP density towards the horizon limits contained in § 25.204(j) of this
chapter.

13\. Part 25 is amended by adding new Section 25.XXX to read as follows:

**[§ 25.XXX Blanket Licensing provisions for Vehicle-Mounted Earth
Stations (VMESs) receiving in the 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth),
11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth), 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)
frequency bands and transmitting in the 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space)
frequency band, operating with Geostationary Satellites in the
Fixed-Satellite Service]{.underline}.**

\(a\) All applications for licenses for VMESs receiving in the
10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth), 11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth), and
11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) frequency bands, and transmitting in the
14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space) frequency band, to geostationary
satellites in the fixed-satellite service shall provide sufficient data
to demonstrate that the VMES operations meet the following criteria,
which are ongoing requirements that govern all VMES licensees and
operations in these bands:

\(1\) The off-axis EIRP spectral density for co-polarized signals,
emitted from the VMES in the plane of the geostationary satellite orbit
as it appears at the particular earth station location (*i.e.*, the
plane determined by the focal point of the antenna and the line tangent
to the arc of the geostationary satellite orbit at the position of the
target satellite), shall not exceed the following values:

15 -- 25log(θ) -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 1.25° ≤ θ ≤ 7.0°

--6 -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 7.0° \< θ ≤ 9.2°

18 -- 25log(θ) -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 9.2° \< θ ≤ 48°

--24 -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 48° \< θ ≤ 180°

where (θ) is the angle in degrees from the axis of the main lobe. For a
VMES network using frequency division multiple access (FDMA) or time
division multiple access (TDMA) technique, N is equal to one. For a VMES
network using code division multiple access (CDMA) technique, N is the
maximum number of co-frequency simultaneously transmitting earth
stations in the same satellite receiving beam.

\(2\) In all other directions, the off-axis EIRP spectral density for
co-polarized signals emitted from the VMES shall not exceed the
following values:

18 -- 25log(θ) -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 1.25° ≤ θ ≤ 48.0°

--24 -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 48.0° \< θ ≤ 180°

where θ and N are defined as set forth in paragraph (a)(1) of this
section.

\(3\) For θ \>7.0°, the values given in paragraphs (a)(1) of this
Section may be exceeded by no more than 10% of the sidelobes, provided
no individual sidelobe exceeds the criteria given by more than 3 dB.

\(4\) In all directions, the off-axis EIRP spectral density for
cross-polarized signals emitted from the VMES shall not exceed the
following values:

5 -- 25log(θ) -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 1.8° ≤ θ ≤ 7.0°

--16 -- 10\*log(N) dBW/4kHz for 7.0° \< θ ≤ 9.2°

where (θ) and N are defined as set forth in paragraph (a)(1) of this
section.

\(5\) For non-circular VMES antennas, the major axis of the antenna will
be aligned with the tangent to the geostationary satellite orbital arc
at the target satellite point, to the extent required to meet specified
off-axis EIRP criteria.

\(6\) A pointing error of less than 0.2°, between the orbital location
of the target satellite and the axis of the main lobe of the VMES
antenna.

\(7\) All emissions from the VMES shall automatically cease within 100
milliseconds if the angle between the orbital location of the target
satellite and the axis of the main lobe of the VMES antenna exceeds
0.5°, and transmission will not resume until such angle is less than
0.2°.

\(8\) There shall be a point of contact in the United States, with phone
number and address included with the application, available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, with authority and ability to cease all emissions
from the VMES.

\(9\) A VMES that exceeds the radiation guidelines of section 1.1310 of
this chapter, Radiofrequency radiation exposure limits, must provide,
with its environmental assessment, a plan for mitigation of radiation
exposure to the extent required to meet those guidelines.

\(10\) A VMES receiving in the 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth),
11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth), 11.7-12.2 GHz (space-to-Earth)
frequency bands, and transmitting in the 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space)
frequency band shall operate with the following provisions:

\(i\) For each VMES transmitter a record of the vehicle location
(*i.e.*, latitude/longitude), transmit frequency, channel bandwidth, and
satellite used shall be time annotated and maintained for a period of
not less than one year. Records will be recorded at time intervals no
greater than every 20 minutes while the VMES is transmitting. The VMES
operator will make this data available upon request to a coordinator,
fixed-satellite system operator, NTIA, or the Commission within 24 hours
of the request.

\(ii\) VMES operators shall control all VMESs by a Hub earth station
located in the United States.

\(11\) Operations of VMESs in the 14.0-14.2 GHz (Earth-to-space)
frequency band within 125 km of the NASA TDRSS facilities on Guam
(latitude 13° 36\' 55\'\' N, longitude 144° 51\' 22\'\' E) or White
Sands, New Mexico (latitude 32° 20\' 59\'\' N, longitude 106° 36\'
31\'\' W and latitude 32° 32\' 40\'\' N, longitude 106° 36\' 48\'\'W)
are subject to coordination with NASA. When NASA seeks to provide
similar protection to future TDRSS sites that have been coordinated
through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC) Frequency
Assignment Subcommittee process, NTIA will notify the Commission that
the site is nearing operational status. Upon public notice from the
Commission, all Ku-band VMES operators must cease operations in the
14.0-14.2 GHz band within 125 km of the new TDRSS site until they have
coordinated with the new site. After coordination, VMES operations will
then again be permitted to operate in the 14.0-14.2 GHz band within 125
km of the new TDRSS site, subject to any operational constraints
developed in the coordination process.

\(12\) Operations of VMESs in the 14.47-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space)
frequency band within (1) 45 km of the radio observatory on St. Croix,
Virgin Islands (latitude 17° 46\' N, longitude 64° 35\' W); (2) 125 km
of the radio observatory on Mauna Kea, Hawaii (latitude 19° 48\' N,
longitude 155° 28\' W); (3) 90 km of the Arecibo Observatory on Puerto
Rico (latitude 18° 20\' 46\'\' N, longitude 66° 45\' 11\'\' W); and (4)
160 km of the radio observatories listed in US203 as observing in the
14.47-14.5 GHz band are subject to coordination with the National
Science Foundation (NSF).

\(13\) In the 10.95-11.2 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 11.45-11.7 GHz
(space-to-Earth) frequency bands a VMES shall not claim protection from
interference from any authorized terrestrial stations to which
frequencies are either already assigned, or may be assigned in the
future.

\(14\) VMES antennas licensed for reception of radio transmissions from
space stations in the fixed-satellite service in the 10.95-11.2 GHz
(space-to-Earth), 11.45-11.7 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 11.7-12.2 GHz
(space-to-Earth) bands for which they have equal status with respect to
other fixed-satellite service applications are protected from harmful
interference caused by other space stations only to the degree to which
an earth station employing an antenna conforming to the referenced
patterns defined in § 25.209(a) and (b) of the rules is protected from
radio interference.

\(b\) Applications for VMES operation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz
(Earth-to-space) to geostationary satellites in the fixed-satellite
service must include, in addition to the particulars of operation
identified on Form 312 and associated Schedule B, the following data for
each earth station antenna type:

(1)(i) A series of EIRP density charts or tables at the maximum EIRP
density listed in Schedule B, calculated for a production earth station
antenna, based on measurements taken on a calibrated antenna range at
14.25 GHz, with the off-axis EIRP envelope set forth in paragraphs
(a)(1) through (a)(4) of this section superimposed, as follows:

> \(i\) showing off-axis co-polarized EIRP spectral density in the
> azimuth plane, at off-axis angles from minus 10° to plus 10°and from
> minus 180° to plus 180°.
>
> \(ii\) showing off-axis co-polarized EIRP spectral density in the
> elevation plane, at off-axis angles from 0° to plus 30°.
>
> \(iii\) showing off-axis cross-polarized EIRP spectral density in the
> azimuth plane, at off-axis angles from minus 10° to plus 10°.
>
> \(iv\) showing off-axis cross-polarized EIRP spectral density in the
> elevation plane, at off-axis angles from minus 10° to plus 10°;

or

(1)(ii) A certification, in Schedule B, that the VMES antenna conforms
to the gain pattern criteria of § 25.209(a) and (b), that, combined with
the maximum input power density calculated from the EIRP density less
the antenna gain, which is entered in Schedule B, demonstrates that the
off-axis EIRP spectral density envelope set forth in paragraphs (a)(1)
through (a)(4) of this section will be met.

\(2\) The Multiple Access technique being employed and the value of N.

\(3\) A certification from the antenna manufacturer countersigned by the
applicant that the antenna complies with the requirements in paragraphs
(a)(6) and (a)(7) of this section.

\(4\) The contact information pursuant to paragraph (a)(8) of this
section.

(5) The mitigation plan pursuant to paragraph (a)(9) of this section.

\(6\) Indication of whether the VMES will operate in the regions
indicated in paragraph (a)(11) or (a)(12) of this section.

\(7\) For the hub station, as required pursuant to paragraph
(a)(10)(ii) of this section, the call sign for a previously authorized
earth station, the call sign of a pending earth station application, or
the technical information in Schedule B, pursuant to § 25.115, if
the earth station is to be licensed concurrently with the VMES
terminals.  The call sign of hub station is to be listed in the remote
control section of the Form 312 Schedule B.

14\. Section 25.271 is amended by revising paragraphs (b) and (f) and
the introduction to paragraph (c), to read as follows:

**[§ 25.271 Control of transmitting stations]{.underline}.**

\* \* \* \* \*

\(b\) The licensee of a transmitting earth station, other than an ESV or
a VMES, licensed under this part shall ensure that a trained operator is
present on the earth station site, or at a designated remote control
point for the earth station, at all times that transmissions are being
conducted. No operator\'s license is required for a person to operate or
perform maintenance on facilities authorized under this part.

\(c\) Authority will be granted to operate a transmitting earth station,
other than an ESV or a VMES, by remote control only on the conditions
that:

\* \* \* \* \*

\(f\) Rules for control of transmitting ESVs are provided in §§ 25.221
and 25.222 and rules for control of transmitting VMESs are provided in §
25.XXX.

**APPENDIX C**

**Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis**

As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended
("RFA"),[^176] the Commission has prepared this present Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis ("IRFA") of the possible significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities by the
policies and rules proposed in this *Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the
Commission's Rules to Allocate Spectrum and Adopt Service Rules and
Procedures to Govern the Use of Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations in
Certain Frequency Bands Allocated to the Fixed Satellite Service*,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("*Notice*").[^177] Written public
comments are requested on this IRFA. Comments must be identified as
responses to the IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines for comments on
the *Notice* provided in paragraph 88 of the *Notice*. The Commission
will send a copy of the *Notice*, including this IRFA, to the Chief
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration ("SBA").[^178]
In addition, the *Notice* and IRFA (or summaries thereof) will be
published in the Federal Register.[^179]

**A. Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed Rules**

In this *Notice* the Commission makes proposals and seeks information on
measures to provide a level of regulatory certainty to government, space
research, radio astronomy, and fixed satellite service operators
regarding operations of Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations ("VMES"). As
discussed in greater detail below, the Commission seeks comment on rules
and procedures to license VMES for operation in the Ku-band similar to
the Commission's current licensing rules for Earth Stations on Vessels
("ESVs") that operate in the Ku-band, with appropriate modifications.
The record established in the proceeding will allow the Commission to
determine the effect of authorizing VMES terminals and will facilitate
the development of any future rules for VMES. Any future rules would be
designed to support the deployment of VMES terminals to the benefit of
the American public without adversely affecting the operation and
continued growth of incumbent radio services. In this regard, the
objective is to create a licensing program that ensures incumbent radio
services protection against harmful interference.

**B. Legal Basis**

The *Notice* is adopted pursuant to Sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 7(a), 301,
303(c), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 303(y), and 308 of the Communications
Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. Sections 151, 154(i), 154(j), 157(a),
301, 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 303(y), 308.

> **C. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which
> the Proposals Will Apply**

The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of and, where
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be
affected by the proposed rules, if adopted.[^180] The RFA generally
defines the term \"small entity\" as having the same meaning as the
terms \"small business,\" \"small organization,\" and \"small
governmental jurisdiction.\"[^181] In addition, the term \"small
business\" has the same meaning as the term \"small business concern\"
under the Small Business Act.[^182] A small business concern is one
that: (1) is independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in
its field of operation; and (3) satisfies any additional criteria
established by the SBA.[^183] Below, we further describe and estimate
the number of small entity licensees that may be affected by the adopted
rules.

***Satellite Telecommunications.*** The SBA has developed a small
business size standard for Satellite Telecommunications Carriers. This
category "comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing
point-to-point telecommunications services to other establishments in
the telecommunications and broadcasting industries by forwarding and
receiving communications signals via a system of satellites or reselling
satellite telecommunications."[^184] According to Census Bureau data for
2002, there were 371 firms in the category that operated for the entire
year.[^185] Of this total, 307 firms had annual receipts of under \$10
million, 26 firms had annual receipts of \$10 million to \$24,999,990,
and 38 firms had annual receipts of \$25 million or more.[^186] Thus,
under this size standard, the majority of firms can be considered small.

A second category for international service providers, called "Other
Telecommunications," "comprises establishments primarily engaged in (1)
providing specialized telecommunications applications, such as satellite
tracking, communications telemetry, and radar station operations; or (2)
providing satellite terminal stations and associated facilities
operationally connected with one or more terrestrial communications
systems and capable of transmitting telecommunications to or receiving
telecommunications from satellite systems."[^187] For this category,
Census Bureau data for 2002 show that there were a total of 332 firms
that operated for the entire year.[^188] Of this total, 303 firms had
annual receipts of under \$10 million, 15 firms had annual receipts of
\$10 million to \$24,999,999, and 14 firms had annual receipts of \$25
million or more.[^189] Consequently, we estimate that the majority of
Other Telecommunications firms are small entities that might be affected
by our action.

***Space Stations (Geostationary).*** Commission records reveal that
there are approximately 15 space station licensees authorized for use in
the Ku-band. We do not request nor collect annual revenue information,
and thus are unable to estimate of the number of geostationary space
stations that would constitute a small business under the SBA definition
cited above, or apply any rules providing special consideration for
Space Station (Geostationary) licensees that are small businesses.

***Fixed Satellite Transmit/Receive Earth Stations.*** Currently there
are approximately 2,532 operational fixed-satellite transmit/receive
earth stations authorized for use in the Ku-band. The Commission does
not request or collect annual revenue information, and thus is unable to
estimate the number of earth stations that would constitute a small
business under the SBA definition.

***Cellular Licensees*.** The SBA has developed a small business size
standard for wireless firms within the two broad economic census
categories of "Paging"[^190] and "Cellular and Other Wireless
Telecommunications."[^191] Under both categories, the SBA deems a
wireless business to be small if it has 1,500 or fewer employees. For
the census category of Paging, Census Bureau data for 2002 show that
there were 807 firms in this category that operated for the entire
year.[^192] Of this total, 804 firms had employment of 999 or fewer
employees, and three firms had employment of 1,000 employees or
more.[^193] Thus, under this category and associated small business size
standard, the majority of firms can be considered small. For the census
category of Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications, Census
Bureau data for 2002 show that there were 1,397 firms in this category
that operated for the entire year.[^194] Of this total, 1,378 firms had
employment of 999 or fewer employees, and 19 firms had employment of
1,000 employees or more.[^195] Thus, under this second category and size
standard, the majority of firms can, again, be considered small.

D.  **Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other
    Compliance Requirements**

The *Notice* seeks comment on whether to expand the applicability of the
current ESV rules to VMES. The proposed VMES rules, if adopted, would
require satellite telecommunications operators to establish a database
for tracking the location of VMES remote earth stations. This database
would assist investigations of interference claims. The *Notice* seeks
comment on this proposal, including the effectiveness and utility of the
proposal, and seeks comment regarding possible alternatives. The
proposed rules, if adopted, also would require VMES operators to name a
point of contact to maintain information about location and frequencies
used by VMES terminals. Such information would assist in investigating
interference claims. The Commission does not expect significant costs
associated with these proposals, if adopted. Therefore, we do not
anticipate that the burden of compliance would be greater for smaller
entities.

The *Notice* seeks comment on possible methods for coordinating VMES
operations with space research service and radio astronomy operations.

> **E. Steps Taken to Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small
> Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered**

The RFA requires that, to the extent consistent with the objectives of
applicable statutes, the analysis shall discuss significant alternatives
such as: (1) the establishment of differing compliance or reporting
requirements or timetables that take into account the resources
available to small entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or
simplification of compliance and reporting requirements under the rule
for small entities; (3) the use of performance, rather than design,
standards; and (4) an exemption from coverage or the rule, or any part
thereof, for small entities.[^196]

This *Notice* solicits comment on alternatives for more efficient
processing of VMES applications and simplification of VMES procedures,
for example, by migrating from non-conforming use licensing to a
licensing method that would provide for licenses with terms of fifteen
years. The *Notice* also seeks comment on streamlining the application
process for VMES operations by permitting blanket licensing of multiple
VMES terminals in a single application, as an alternative to requiring
all VMES terminals to be licensed individually. Adoption of some of
these proposals would simplify the application process for VMES and
establish licensing terms consistent with other satellite-based
services, such as ESV. Thus, adoption of the proposed rules should
reduce the costs associated with obtaining and maintaining authority to
operate a VMES network.

> **F. Federal Rules that May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict with the
> Proposed Rules**

None.

[^1]: For purposes of this *Notice*, the "conventional" Ku-band refers
    to frequencies in the 11.7-12.2 GHz (downlink) and 14.0-14.5 GHz
    (uplink) bands and excludes the so-called "extended Ku-band" at
    12.75-13.25 GHz, 13.75-14.0 GHz, 10.7-10.95 GHz, 10.95-11.2 GHz,
    11.2-11.45 GHz, and 11.45-11.7 GHz. The conventional Ku-band
    frequencies are allocated on a primary basis to the FSS. *See
    generally* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106. Co-primary systems generally are
    obligated to coordinate with each other on a first-come,
    first-served basis, whereas a system operating under a secondary
    allocation must not give interference to, and must accept
    interference from, systems operating with primary status. *See* 47
    C.F.R. § 2.105(c). The FSS is a radiocommunication service between
    earth stations at given positions, when one or more satellites are
    used; the given position may be a specified fixed point or any fixed
    point within specified areas; in some cases this service includes
    satellite-to-satellite links, which also may be operated in the
    inter-satellite service; the FSS also may include feeder links for
    other space radio-communication services. 47 C.F.R. § 2.1.

[^2]: Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the Commission's Rules to Allocate
    Spectrum in the Ku- and Extended Ku-Bands to the Vehicle Mounted
    Earth Station Satellite Service ("VMES") on a Shared Primary Basis
    and to Adopt Licensing and Service Rules for VMES Operations in the
    Ku- and Extended Ku-Bands, Petition for Rulemaking, RM No. 11336
    (filed May 24, 2006).

[^3]: Petition at ii, 13.

[^4]: The LMSS is a mobile-satellite service ("MSS") in which mobile
    earth stations are located on land. 47 C.F.R. § 2.1. The MSS is a
    radio-communication service between mobile earth stations and one or
    more space stations, or between space stations used by this service,
    or between mobile earth stations by means of one or more space
    stations. 47 C.F.R. § 2.1. A mobile earth station is an earth
    station intended for use while in motion or during halts at
    unspecified points. 47 C.F.R. § 25.21. A land mobile earth station
    is a mobile earth station in the LMSS capable of surface movement
    within the geographic limits of a country or continent. 47 C.F.R. §
    25.201.

[^5]: Petition at iii-iv, 4, 6-7. The Petition states that VMES is
    ideally suited for homeland defense and disaster recovery
    applications to supplement or replace disabled terrestrial
    communications systems. *Id*. at 6. The Petition also states that
    permitting broader VMES operations, under carefully prescribed
    conditions, would make the technology available for commercial uses
    such as satellite news gathering, weather services, mineral/fossil
    fuel exploration and extraction, and large-scale construction
    projects. *Id*. at 7.

[^6]: *Qualcomm, Inc., Application for Blanket Authority to Construct
    and Operate a Network of 12/14 GHz Transmit/Receive Mobile and
    Transportable Earth Stations and a Hub Earth Station*, Memorandum
    Opinion, Order and Authorization, FCC 89-24, 4 FCC Rcd 1543 (1989)
    ("*OmniTracs Licensing Order*").

[^7]: *OmniTracs Licensing Order*, 4 FCC Rcd at 1543, ¶ 3. Since 1989,
    the LMSS allocation in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band has been expanded to
    include all MSS applications. *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106.

[^8]: *OmniTracs Licensing Order*, 4 FCC Rcd at 1544, ¶¶ 11-13.

[^9]: *OmniTracs Licensing Order*, 4 FCC Rcd at 1545, ¶ 20.

[^10]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106.

[^11]: *See, e.g*., RaySat, Inc., Application for Authority to Operate
    4,000 In-Motion Mobile Satellite Antennas in the 14.0-14.5 GHz and
    11.7-12.2 GHz Frequency Bands, File No. SES-LIC-20060629-01083
    (filed June 29, 2006) (seeking to use secondary MSS allocation in
    uplink and requesting waiver of section 2.106 for non-conforming use
    in downlink, to provide two-way high-speed data communications,
    primarily to government and commercial enterprise customers, aboard
    vehicles in motion).

[^12]: Petition at 2.

[^13]: *Id*.

[^14]: *Id*. The system is designed to ensure a continuously stabilized
    mobile terminal to deal with the intense gyrations occurring as the
    vehicles move over rough terrain. The SOTM system uses Time-Division
    Multiple Access ("TDMA") technology and commercial Ku-band
    transponders to provide full-duplex, high data rate (tens of Mbps
    downlink and in excess of two Mbps uplink) communications, including
    voice and full-motion video, to coverage areas that are large and
    well defined. *Id*. at 2-3.

[^15]: Petition at 2-3, 5. The HMMWV is a light, highly mobile,
    diesel-powered, four-wheel-drive vehicle equipped with an automatic
    transmission. *See*
    http://www.army.mil/fact_files_site/hmmwv/index.html.

[^16]: *See* File Nos. 0640-EX-ST-2004, 0123-EX-PL-2005. *See also*
    Petition at 3 n.2.

[^17]: *See* File No. 0390-EX-ST-2005 (authorizing use, in addition to
    Intelsat 707 at 53º W.L., of the following satellites: AMC-9 at 83º
    W.L., Horizons 1 at 127º W.L., IA-5 at 97º W.L., IA-6 at 93º W.L.,
    IA-7 at 129º W.L., and IA-8 at 89º W.L.). *See also* Petition at 3
    n.3.

[^18]: *See* File No. 0117-EX-ML-2005. *See also* Petition at 3.

[^19]: Petition at 15.

[^20]: Petition at ii-iii, 10-11.

[^21]: Petition at iii, 11.

[^22]: Petition at 11.

[^23]: Public Notice, Report No. 2780, Consumer & Governmental Affairs
    Bureau, Reference Information Center, Petition for Rulemakings
    Filed, RM No. 11336 (July 20, 2006).

[^24]: Comments of AvL Technologies Incorporated, RM No. 11336 (filed
    Aug. 21, 2006) ("AvL"); Comments of Maritime Telecommunications
    Network, Inc., RM No. 11336 (filed Aug. 21, 2006) ("MTN"); Comments
    of QUALCOMM Incorporated, RM No. 11336 (filed Aug. 21, 2006)
    ("Qualcomm"); Comments of the Satellite Industry Association, RM No.
    11336 (filed Aug. 21, 2006) ("SIA"); Comments of SES Americom, Inc.
    and Americom Government Services, RM No. 11336 (Aug. 21, 2006) ("SES
    Americom"); Comments of ViaSat, Inc., RM No. 11336 (filed Aug. 21,
    2006) ("ViaSat").

[^25]: Reply Comments of General Dynamics Corporation, RM No. 11336
    (filed Sept. 5, 2006).

[^26]: Letter from Andrew D. Cotlar, Associate General Counsel,
    Association of Public Television Stations, to Marlene H. Dortch,
    Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, RM No. 11336 (filed
    Sept. 7, 2006) ("Request to Accept Late-Filed Comments"), attaching
    Letter from Lonna M. Thompson, Vice President and General Counsel,
    and Andrew D. Cotlar, Associate General Counsel, Association of
    Public Television Stations, and Katherine Lauderdale, Senior Vice
    President and General Counsel, Public Broadcasting Service, to
    Julius P. Knapp, Deputy Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology,
    Federal Communications Commission, RM No. 11336 (filed Sept. 7,
    2006) ("APTS"); *see also* Letter from McLean Sieverding, Counsel
    for General Dynamics Corporation, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary,
    Federal Communications Commission (filed Nov. 14, 2006); Letter from
    McLean Sieverding, Counsel for General Dynamics Corporation, to
    Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, Federal Communications Commission
    (filed Jan. 30, 2007). We grant the Request to Accept Late-Filed
    Comments and therefore accept the APTS pleading into the record.

[^27]: Letter from McLean Sieverding, Counsel for General Dynamics
    Corporation, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, Federal Communications
    Commission (filed Nov. 21, 2006) ("November 21 Response to
    Information Request"); Letter from McLean Sieverding, Counsel for
    General Dynamics Corporation, to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary,
    Federal Communications Commission (filed Dec. 18, 2006) ("December
    18 Response to Information Request").

[^28]: *See Service Rules and Procedures to Govern the Use of
    Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service Earth Stations in Frequency
    Bands Allocated to the Fixed Satellite Service*, IB Docket No.
    05-20, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 05-14, 20 FCC Rcd 2906
    (2005) ("*AMSS NPRM*") (proposing service rules and procedures for
    Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service ("AMSS") systems communicating
    with FSS networks in the Ku-band); *Procedures to Govern the Use of
    Satellite Earth Stations on Board Vessels in the 5925-6425
    MHz/3700-4200 MHz Bands and 14.0-14.5 GHz/11.7-12.2 GHz Bands*, IB
    Docket No. 02-10, Report and Order, FCC 04-286, 20 FCC Rcd 674
    (2005) ("*ESV Report and Order*") (petitions pending for
    reconsideration/clarification of ESV rules); *2000 Biennial
    Regulatory Review -- Streamlining and Other Revisions of Part 25 of
    the Commission's Rules Governing the Licensing of, and Spectrum
    Usage by, Satellite Network Earth Stations and Space Stations*, IB
    Docket No. 00-248, Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice
    of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC 05-62, 20 FCC Rcd 5593 (2005) ("*Sixth
    Report and Order and Third Further Notice*") (proposing off-axis
    power-density envelopes for the FSS); Amendment to the National
    Table of Frequency Allocations to Provide Allocation Status for
    Federal Earth Stations Communicating with Non-Federal Satellites,
    Petition for Rulemaking of the National Telecommunications and
    Information Administration, RM-11341 (filed Aug. 4, 2006) ("NTIA
    Petition") (seeking primary status protection for some Federal
    government earth stations communicating with non-Federal satellites
    in several frequency bands, including the FSS Ku-bands) ; *see also*
    Public Notice, Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference
    Information Center, Petition for Rulemakings Filed, Report No. 2789
    (Aug. 17, 2006) (placing NTIA Petition on public notice).

[^29]: Petition at 15. Part 2 of the rules includes the U.S. Table.
    *See* 47. C.F.R. § 2.106. Part 25 sets out the Commission's rules
    for the licensing of FSS earth and space stations. *See* 47 C.F.R.
    Part 25.

[^30]: Petition at 10.

[^31]: This alternative assumes that the LMSS operator provides a
    technical study demonstrating that the proposed system could protect
    other FSS licensees and their customers from harmful interference
    through other means. We also note that the Petition seeks a proposed
    regulatory framework for VMES only to test and train U.S. military
    personnel on VMES technologies within the United States, with the
    intent that the U.S. military's operational use of VMES would occur
    outside of the United States and subject to regulations issued by
    the relevant administration. November 21 Response to Information
    Request Attachment at 4-6. We ask whether the availability of
    secondary status and non-conforming use licenses, STAs, or
    experimental licensing for domestic testing and training activities
    within the United States might permit General Dynamics to develop
    the type of record it anticipates it will need to demonstrate to
    other administrations, at some future point, the compatibility of
    VMES operations with other existing Ku-band FSS uses. *See id*. at
    5-6.

[^32]: The use of ultra-small antennas, as proposed by some commenters,
    would reduce the available antenna gain isolation in the direction
    of other FSS satellite systems, potentially increasing the VMES
    interference vulnerability. Therefore, incumbent and future FSS
    systems would be in the position of having to provide protection to
    VMES antennas that are more susceptible to interference than
    traditional FSS antennas.

[^33]: *See Principles for Reallocation of Spectrum to Encourage the
    Development of Telecommunications Technologies for the New
    Millennium,* Policy Statement, FCC 99-354, 14 FCC Rcd 19868, 19870,
    ¶ 9 (1999) ("In the majority of cases," the Commission noted in
    1999, "efficient spectrum markets will lead to use of spectrum for
    the highest value end use" and "\[f\]lexible allocations may result
    in more efficient spectrum markets."). *See also Amendment of the
    U.S. Table of Frequency Allocations to Designate the
    2500-2520/2670-2690 MHz Frequency Bands for the Mobile-Satellite
    Service*, First Report and Order and Memorandum Opinion and Order,
    FCC 01-256, 16 FCC Rcd 17222, 17223, ¶ 2 (2001) (finding that
    investing incumbent licensees with more flexibility in the use of
    their assigned spectrum would foster the introduction of new
    services, promote competition, and permit market forces to determine
    the best use for the spectrum).

[^34]: 47 C.F.R. § 2.1 (defining MSS and LMSS).

[^35]: The Commission previously has authorized various mobile systems
    to operate with FSS space stations in the Ku-band. In doing so, the
    Commission has required that the various mobile systems meet the
    interference avoidance requirements applicable to the FSS, just as
    VSATs and other traditional FSS systems must avoid interference. For
    example, in 2005, the Commission authorized ESVs, establishing
    operational rules that are consistent with the VSAT rules and
    granting ESVs primary protection in the Ku-band FSS. The Commission
    added a footnote to the U.S. Table to recognize the allocation
    status of ESV systems as a mobile application of the FSS in both the
    14.0-14.5 GHz uplink and 11.7-12.2 GHz downlink frequencies. 47
    C.F.R. § 2.106 Footnote NG183 ("In the bands 11.7-12.2 GHz
    (space-to-Earth) and 14.0-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space), earth stations
    on vessels are an application of the fixed-satellite service (FSS)
    and may be authorized to communicate with space stations of the FSS
    on a primary basis."). Additionally, the Commission has licensed
    individual AMSS and LMSS systems to operate in the Ku-band FSS.
    These individual systems operate with non-conforming use licenses
    that require them to protect primary Ku-band FSS licensees.

[^36]: Petition at 6-7; November 21 Response to Information Request
    Attachment at 6-7.

[^37]: *See, e.g.,* ViaSat at 3 (urging the Commission to propose rules
    that would allow the operation of small, low-profile antennas that
    consumers affordably could install on standard vehicles) and at 9
    (stating that commercial success depends in part on ability to use
    small, low-profile antennas mountable on standard cars and trucks).

[^38]: A "VSAT," or very small aperture terminal, is a two-way satellite
    earth station with an antenna that is smaller than 3 meters in
    diameter. VSATs most commonly are used to transmit credit card or
    other data for point-of-sale transactions and to provide satellite
    Internet access to remote locations.

[^39]: December 21 Response to Information Request Attachment at 9
    (stating that "The design of a VMES terminal that could accurately
    track the desired satellite under any and all conditions would
    result in a terminal that is both too heavy and too expensive for
    virtually any user." and "General Dynamics has demonstrated that it
    is possible for the VMES antenna to be unable to move "fast enough"
    to satisfy extreme environments. Fortunately, we have also
    demonstrated that our transmitter mute function performs well enough
    to eliminate potential interference effects.").

[^40]: The Commission adopted a primary allocation for ESVs in an order
    released early in 2005, by adding footnotes to the U.S. Table to
    recognize ESVs as an application of the FSS with primary status.
    *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 676, ¶ 3. In doing so, the
    Commission implemented, in part, the decision reached at the 2003
    World Radiocommunications Conference ("WRC-03") of the International
    Telecommunications Union ("ITU"), which had added a footnote to the
    International Table of Frequency Allocations stating that, among
    other things, ESVs may communicate with FSS space stations in the
    14.0-14.5 GHz bands. *See ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 676,
    ¶ 3. WRC-03 also added a worldwide secondary AMSS allocation in the
    14.0-14.5 GHz band used for satellite uplinks. *See* *Final Acts
    WRC-03 World Radiocommunication Conference* (Geneva, 2003) at 34-38;
    *see also* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106 Footnote 5.504A. AMSS is a component of
    the MSS. 47 C.F.R. § 2.1. In 2003, the Commission conformed the U.S.
    Table to the international allocation. *Amendment of Parts 2, 25,
    and 87 of the Commission's Rules to Implement Decisions from the
    World Radiocommunication Conferences Concerning Frequency Bands
    Between 28 MHz and 36 GHz and to Otherwise Update the Rules in this
    Frequency Range*, ET Docket No. 02-305, Report and Order, FCC
    03-269, 18 FCC Rcd 23426, 23454, ¶ 76 (2003) ("*Above 28 MHz
    Order*") (adopting secondary allocation for MSS, including LMSS and
    AMSS, in 14.0-14.5 GHz band). *See also* 47 C.F.R § 2.106 Footnotes
    5.504A, 5.504B, 5.504C and 5.509A (international footnotes stating,
    among other things, that, in the band 14.0-14.5 GHz, aircraft earth
    stations in the secondary AMSS also may communicate with space
    stations in the FSS). In 2005, the Commission proposed to adopt a
    footnote to the U.S. Table to make aircraft earth stations in the
    AMSS an application of the FSS on a secondary basis in the 11.7-12.2
    GHz and 14.0-14.5 GHz bands, except that reception from GSO space
    stations in the FSS in the 11.7-12.2 GHz band would be protected in
    the United States on a primary basis, provided that the aircraft
    earth stations operated under the same parameters as earth stations
    in the FSS. *See AMSS NPRM*, 20 FCC Rcd at 2924, ¶ 31. At this time,
    the proposal remains pending.

[^41]: Additionally, despite the general international acceptance of
    ESVs, several administrations currently do not recognize ESVs, much
    less VMES, because they have allocated the 14.0-14.5 GHz band to the
    Fixed Service ("FS") on a primary basis. *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106
    Footnotes 5.505, 5.508. Other administrations treat ESVs as
    secondary mobile systems in the MSS. *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106
    Footnote 5.457B.

[^42]: November 21 Response to Information Request Attachment at 5.
    General Dynamics states that its proposal is intended to urge the
    Commission to provide a regularized licensing mechanism and service
    rules for VMES operations within the territory regulated by the
    Commission, through technical standards that render VMES terminal
    transmissions no different than those of ESVs, VSATs, and other FSS
    Ku-band terminals. *Id*. at 5-6.

[^43]: *Id*. at 6.

[^44]: *Id.* at 4. General Dynamics states that it has supplied SOTM
    terminals to ND-Satcom, a German satellite communications modem and
    system manufacturer and integrator, which in turn has supplied these
    systems to the German army. It states that the German administration
    has licensed the terminals and that the terminals currently are in
    operation in Germany. November 21 Response to Information Request
    Attachment at 5.

[^45]: Some commenters offer strong support. *See, e.g*., SES Americom
    at 2 (strongly supporting the General Dynamics proposal); ViaSat at
    1 (ViaSat has strong interest in proceeding because it is developing
    antenna and modulation technology for high-speed data communications
    in moving vehicles). Other commenters support the proposal if
    properly implemented. SIA, for example, supports the initiation of a
    rulemaking proceeding to address the orderly implementation and use
    of earth stations on moving land-based platforms, noting that, if
    properly implemented, such expanded use of the FSS will promote
    spectrum efficiency, improved access to spectrum by services with
    mutually compatible technical characteristics, and expanded
    broadband deployment. SIA at 3, 6. *See also* MTN at 2-3 (supporting
    rulemaking on implementation and use of earth stations on moving
    vehicles and land-based platforms; if properly implemented, expanded
    use of the FSS will promote spectrum efficiency, improve access to
    spectrum by services with mutually compatible technical
    characteristics, and contribute to broadband deployment); Qualcomm
    at 2 (as a general matter and as discussed in its comments, Qualcomm
    supports the Petition and believes that its adoption will promote
    greater flexibility in spectrum use). *See also* AvL at 1
    (unpaginated) (General Dynamics' request to apply ESV rules to VMES
    is logical, technically sound, and in best interest of satellite
    communications industry). *But see* APTS at 2-3 (APTS and Public
    Broadcasting Service voice concern that expanding limited military
    use of conventional and extended Ku-bands for VMES might create
    harmful interference that could affect their members' ability to
    deliver noncommercial educational programming using these bands).

[^46]: SES Americom at 4. *See also* ViaSat at 2 (stating that ViaSat
    has interests in both governmental and commercial applications and
    urging Commission to consider importance of commercial deployment in
    addition to U.S. military and governmental uses.

[^47]: SES Americom at 4. *See also* SIA at 5 (agreeing that potential
    commercial uses would include homeland security/national defense and
    disaster recovery to supplement or replace disabled terrestrial
    systems, satellite news gathering and weather services,
    mineral/fossil fuel exploration and extraction, and large-scale
    constructions projects, citing to Petition at 6-7); MTN at 3 (same).

[^48]: SES Americom at 4.

[^49]: SES Americom at 4.

[^50]: ViaSat at 4.

[^51]: *See* Qualcomm at 3, 5. With respect to the extended Ku-bands,
    10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz, Qualcomm observes that the FSS
    allocation currently is shared on a co-primary basis with the FS,
    requiring coordination among these stations. Qualcomm asserts that,
    as VMES is mobile, it is possible for VMES to receive interference
    from fixed, point-to-point microwave systems. Qualcomm at 3. Because
    of these difficulties, Qualcomm concurs that VMES operations in the
    extended Ku-bands must be secondary in nature and in accordance with
    footnote NG182, developed for ESVs. Qualcomm at 3 (noting
    consistency, in this regard, with the Petition). *See also* 47
    C.F.R. § 2.106 Footnote NG182. Qualcomm also believes that any
    rulemaking should be applied equally to both the Federal and
    non-Federal portions of the U.S. Table. Qualcomm at 3. Including
    co-primary MSS allocations, as Qualcomm suggests, in both the
    Federal and non-Federal portions of the U.S. Table would open the
    commercial Ku-band FSS frequencies to use by Federal government
    agencies with primary allocation status. This is a subject that is
    broader in scope than the General Dynamics Petition. *See, e.g.*,
    NTIA Petition, RM-11341, *supra* note 28.

[^52]: We also note that, in a recent petition, NTIA is seeking to
    authorize, on a primary, protected basis, some Federal government
    earth stations that communicate with non-Federal satellites in
    several frequency bands, including the FSS Ku-bands. NTIA Petition
    at 1-2. Because Federal earth stations operating with non-Federal
    satellites generally operate on a non-interference basis, and
    Federal policy promotes the use of commercial communication
    satellite systems, the NTIA Petition seeks to promote greater
    Federal use of non-Federal satellites. Because the Commission will
    address the NTIA Petition separately, we ask, for present purposes,
    that commenters only address those effects that they would envision
    that a grant of the NTIA Petition might have on the General Dynamics
    proposal to adopt an allocation and licensing scheme for VMES.

[^53]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106.

[^54]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 706, ¶ 79. In the *ESV
    Report and Order*, we also removed a mobile (except aeronautical
    mobile) allocation under which the Commission had licensed Local
    Television Transmission Service ("LTTS"). *ESV Report and Order*, 20
    FCC Rcd at 709-710, ¶¶ 82-84. As of March 1, 2005, we no longer
    consider LTTS license applications for the 11.7-12.2 GHz band,
    although we did "grandfather" pre-existing LTTS licensees to operate
    as a secondary mobile service in the 11.7-12.2 GHz band with the
    understanding that there will be no expectation of renewal. *ESV
    Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 710, ¶ 84.

[^55]: Qualcomm notes that MSS is allocated in the 14.0-14.5 GHz FSS
    uplink but that the corresponding downlink, in the 11.7-12.2 GHz
    band, needed for two-way communications, does not contain an MSS
    allocation. Qualcomm at 3. The lack of an MSS allocation, according
    to Qualcomm, requires that applicants seek a waiver of the
    Commission's rules, which, Qualcomm states, adds uncertainty and
    risk to the launch of commercial mobile operations. Qualcomm at 3.
    As noted above, Qualcomm suggests that the Commission treat VMES as
    an MSS and add an MSS allocation to the 11.7-12.2 GHz FSS downlink
    band. Qualcomm at 3. Qualcomm asserts that ESV terminals and mobile
    earth stations are indistinguishable to satellite networks, yet ESVs
    are licensed expeditiously and afforded co-primary status in the
    U.S. Table. Qualcomm at 3. We note that the ESV footnote allocations
    were modeled after the international footnotes developed at WRC-03.
    *See* ITU-R Footnote 5.457A ("In the bands 5 925-6 425 MHz and
    14-14.5 GHz, earth stations located on board vessels may communicate
    with space stations of the fixed-satellite service. Such use shall
    be in accordance with Resolution 902.").

[^56]: *See supra* note 6.

[^57]: *AMSS NPRM*, 20 FCC Rcd at 2915, ¶ 15. As noted, current AMSS
    operations in the 11.7-12.2 GHz FSS band are on a non-conforming use
    basis pursuant to grant of a rule waiver. *AMSS NPRM*, 20 FCC Rcd at
    2910-11, ¶ 5.

[^58]: *See* ITU Radio Regulation 4.4, which permits operation in any
    band on a non-interference and non-protection basis. The full text
    of ITU Radio Regulation 4.4 reads as follows: "Administrations of
    the Member States shall not assign a station to any frequency in
    derogation of either the Table of Frequency Allocations in this
    Chapter or the other provisions of these Regulations, except on the
    express condition that such a station, when using such a frequency
    assignment, shall not cause harmful interference to, and shall not
    claim protection from harmful interference caused by, a station
    operating in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the
    Convention and these Regulations."

[^59]: Within the "extended" Ku-band downlink, the 10.7-10.95 GHz and
    11.2-11.45 GHz bands are authorized for use in accordance with ITU-R
    Appendix 30 B, which provides for the planned use of the GSO FSS.
    The rules we propose today only would apply to extended Ku-band
    downlink operations at 10.95-11.2 GHz and 11.45-11.7 GHz.

[^60]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106 Footnote NG104, which states that
    "\[t\]he use of the bands 10.7-11.7 GHz (space to Earth)...by the
    fixed satellite service in the geostationary-satellite orbit shall
    be limited to international systems, *i.e.*, other than domestic
    systems."

[^61]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 710, ¶ 86.

[^62]: VMESs, like ESVs, would use these portions of the Ku-band for
    reception only. *See ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 710, ¶ 86.
    Because Ku-band ESV downlink operations will not interfere with
    current or future FS operations, and because ESVs will not receive
    protection from the FS in these bands, the Commission determined
    that the intent of NG104 would not be undermined by allowing ESVs to
    operate domestically in these bands. *Id*. at 711, ¶ 86. We would
    propose to make the same determination with respect to VMESs
    operating domestically in these bands.

[^63]: 47 C.F.R. § 2.106.

[^64]: *See Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the Commission's Rules to
    Permit Operation of NGSO FSS Systems Co-Frequency with GSO and
    Terrestrial Systems in the Ku-Band Frequency Range*, ET Docket No.
    98-206, First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rule
    Making, FCC 00-418, 16 FCC Rcd 4096 (2000). The Commission, on
    delegated authority, recently authorized an NGSO applicant to
    construct, but not launch or operate, a system of NGSO satellites
    designed to use, among other bands, the 14.0-14.5 GHz FSS uplink
    band, but the licensee subsequently surrendered its license. *See
    Application of Virtual Geosatellite, LLC for Authority to Launch and
    Operate a Global Fixed-Satellite Service System Employing
    Non-Geostationary Satellites in Sub-Geosynchronous Elliptical
    Orbits*, Order and Authorization, DA 06-2560, 21 FCC Rcd 14687
    (Int'l Bur. 2006) ("*Virtual Geo Order*"); *see also* note 154,
    *infra*.

[^65]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106.

[^66]: In 2005, OmniTracs processed more than nine million transactions
    daily. *See* OmniTracs Keeps on Trucking, Dec. 1, 2005 at
    http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA6287997.html?spacedesc=Features
    (visited Jan. 26, 2007)**.**

[^67]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 706-07, ¶ 79.

[^68]: *See AMSS NPRM* at 2924, ¶ 31.

[^69]: In 1983, the Commission established a two-degree orbital spacing
    policy to maximize the number of in-orbit satellites serving the
    United States in either the C-band or the Ku-band. *See Licensing of
    Space Stations in the Domestic Fixed-Satellite Service and Related
    Revisions of Part 25 of the Rules and Regulations*, CC Docket No.
    81-704, Report and Order, FCC 83-184, 54 Rad. Reg. 2d (P & F) 577
    (1983) ("*Two-Degree Spacing Order*"); *summary printed in Licensing
    Space Stations in the Domestic Fixed-Satellite Service*, 48 Fed.
    Reg. 40233 (Sept. 6, 1983), *on recon.*, *Licensing of Space
    Stations in the Domestic Fixed-Satellite Service and Related
    Revisions of Part 25 of the Rules and Regulations*, CC Docket No.
    81-704, Memorandum Opinion and Order, FCC 84-487, 99 FCC 2d 737
    (1985). At that time, the Commission began assigning adjacent
    in-orbit satellites to orbit locations two degrees apart in
    longitude, rather than the three-to-four degrees longitude
    previously used.

[^70]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106. In WT Docket No. 01-289, the Commission
    removed a secondary non-Federal radionavigation allocation from the
    14.0-14.2 GHz band because the record demonstrated no existing or
    anticipated need to use Ku-band spectrum for radionavigation. *See
    Review of Part 87 of the Commission's Rules Concerning the Aviation
    Radio Service*, WT Docket No. 01-289, Second Report and Order and
    Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making, FCC 06-148, 21 FCC Rcd
    11582, 11595-96, ¶ 19 (2006).

[^71]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 2.106.

[^72]: *See Amendment of Parts 2, 25 and 73 of the Commission's Rules to
    Implement Decisions from the World Radiocommunication Conference
    (Geneva, 2003) (WRC-03) Concerning Frequency Bands Between 5900 KHz
    and 27.5 GHz and to Otherwise Update the Rules in this Frequency
    Range*, ET Docket No. 04-139, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC
    04-74, 19 FCC Rcd 6592, 6609, ¶ 42 n.74 (2004).

[^73]: For information on the filtering capabilities at the White Sands
    and Guam facilities, see Letter from Robert E. Spearing, Deputy
    Associate Administrator for Space Communications, Office of Space
    Flight, NASA, to Craig Holman, Regulatory Counsel, The Boeing
    Company, at Figure 2 (Dec. 18, 2001), *cited in ESV Report and
    Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 712 n.233.

[^74]: *See ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 712, ¶ 89.

[^75]: This is the same approach the Commission took for ESVs. *ESV
    Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 712-13, ¶ 90.

[^76]: If necessary, the Commission might be required to invoke section
    316 of the Communications Act to modify an authorization in order to
    protect TDRSS stations. *See* 47 U.S.C. § 316.

[^77]: NTIA is responsible for managing the Federal portion of the U.S.
    Table. In bands shared between Federal and non-Federal services, the
    Commission and NTIA operate under a long-standing coordination
    agreement. *See* NTIA Manual, Basic Coordination Arrangement Between
    IRAC and the FCC, *available at*
    http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/redbook/8.pdf, at Chapter 8.3.1
    (visited Mar. 16, 2007).

[^78]: This comports with the Commission's treatment of ESVs in this
    band. *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 713, ¶ 91.

[^79]: *See ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 713, ¶ 91.

[^80]: Similar to the 11.7-12.2 GHz band, the 14.2-14.4 GHz band had,
    until recently**,** a secondary mobile allocation for LTTS for
    television pickup and television non-broadcast pickup stations under
    Part 101 of our rules. *See* *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at
    713-14, ¶ 93; *see also* 47 C.F.R. § 101.147, note (24). As of March
    1, 2005, no new LTTS applications will be considered for this band,
    although pre-existing licensees have been grandfathered to operate
    as a secondary mobile service in the 14.2-14.4 GHz band with the
    understanding that there will be no expectation of renewal. *See*
    *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 714, ¶ 94.

[^81]: In the *ESV Report and Order*, the Commission noted that it had
    received no comment on secondary Federal mobile, fixed and
    transportable use of the 14.4-14.5 GHz band, and concluded that the
    standard primary/secondary sharing environment applies. *See ESV
    Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 714-15, ¶ 95.

[^82]: *See* *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 715, ¶ 97.

[^83]: This is the same approach the Commission took for ESVs. *ESV
    Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 715, ¶ 96.

[^84]: *See supra* note 77.

[^85]: This comports with the Commission's treatment of ESVs in this
    band. *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 715, ¶ 96.

[^86]: 47 U.S.C. § 301.

[^87]: *See generally Two-Degree Spacing Order*, 54 Rad Reg. 2d (P&F)
    577 (adopting 2º orbital spacing policy to maximize the number of
    in-orbit satellites operating in the Ku- and C-bands).

[^88]: Antenna gain is the ratio of the power required at the input of a
    loss-free reference antenna to the power supplied to the input of a
    given antenna to produce, in a given direction, the same field
    strength or the same power flux-density at the same distance. When
    not specified otherwise, the gain refers to the direction of maximum
    radiation. 47 C.F.R. § 2.1 (Gain of an Antenna). In other words,
    gain refers to an antenna's ability to collect, concentrate, and
    direct energy in a particular fashion, *i.e*., a beam. Many antennas
    are shaped like parabolas, or large curved bowls. The "axis," or
    boresight, is the line running through the center of the bowl and
    perpendicular to the plane of the edge of the bowl. The majority of
    the energy is transmitted along the boresight in what is called the
    main beam of the antenna. The "off-axis" angle is the angle formed
    by the axis and any other line running through the center of the
    bowl. The energy transmitted from an antenna forms "ripples,"
    alternately increasing and decreasing in magnitude as the off-axis
    angle increases. These ripples are called "side lobes."

[^89]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 682, ¶¶ 13-14, 716, ¶ 99.

[^90]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 682, ¶ 14. *See also* 47
    C.F.R. §§ 25.222 (Ku-band ESV rules), 25.209(a)-(b) (antenna gain
    patterns).

[^91]: Petition at 10-12. In this regard, General Dynamics proposes that
    the Commission include the text "and\[/or\] VMES" after most
    references to ESVs in section 25.222. *Id. See also* 47 C.F.R. §
    25.222.

[^92]: Petition at iii, 11. *See also* November 21 Response to
    Information Request Attachment at 7 (asserting that adoption of the
    Petition would permit increased efficiency in the use of FSS Ku-band
    spectrum because it would encourage the use of somewhat larger
    antennas than those previously licensed for use on land mobile and
    air mobile platforms, and would mandate that they be pointed and
    tracked effectively).

[^93]: Petition at 11.

[^94]: Petition at 11-12.

[^95]: *See, e.g*., December 18 Response to Information Request
    Attachment at 1 (stating that, as compared to ships and aircraft,
    the ground vehicle environment is considered the most challenging
    from a pointing accuracy viewpoint).

[^96]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.222, Blanket Licensing Provisions for Earth
    Stations on Vessels (ESVs) Receiving in the 10.95-11.2 GHz
    (Space-to-Earth), 11.45-11.7 GHz (Space-to-Earth), 11.7-12.2 GHz
    (Space-to-Earth) Frequency Bands and Transmitting in the 14.0-14.5
    GHz (Earth-to-Space) Frequency Band, Operating with Geostationary
    Satellites in the Fixed-Satellite Service.

[^97]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(1)-(5), (6), (7)-(8). In addition, the ESV
    service rules for Ku-band contain provisions that provide for
    protection of certain Federal stations operating in the Ku-band.
    *See* 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(d)-(e).

[^98]: ESVs are mobile transmitters operating in spectrum allocated for
    the FSS. To protect adjacent satellites from interference, the rules
    require that the off-axis power emitted by any single ESV antenna
    fall within a specified E.I.R.P.-density envelope pattern. The
    E.I.R.P.-density envelope pattern defines the level of power-density
    that is permitted to be emitted from an ESV antenna as a function of
    the angle measured from the main axis of the antenna. The ESV
    envelope patterns set out in section 25.222 of the rules are the
    same as those used generally for VSATs that operate in conjunction
    with the Commission's two-degree satellite spacing. These off-axis
    E.I.R.P-density limits are combined with the two other main
    requirements (the antenna pointing error allowance and the
    requirement to cease transmissions if an ESV antenna strays from its
    intended target) to keep the power emitted from the ESV transmitter
    at or below a level that will prevent harmful interference.

[^99]: *See* SIA at; *see also Two-Degree Spacing Order*, 54 Rad. Reg.
    2d (P&F) 577 (1983), *on recon.*, 99 FCC 2d 737 (1985).

[^100]: *See* SES Americom at 5 (ESV rules the "logical framework" and
    "with limited exceptions, ESV rules make sense as template for VMES
    rules because of operational similarities between land mobile and
    maritime mobile systems); ViaSat at 5 (generally agreeing with
    proposal to extend ESV service and licensing rules to VMES); MTN at
    2 (ESV rules "excellent starting point"); SIA at 3-4, 5 (ESV rules
    "useful starting point" as they include requirements for off-axis
    E.I.R.P. spectral density and antenna pointing accuracy designed to
    protect rest of FSS; rules are "appropriate starting point"). *But
    se*e SES Americom at 5 (cautioning that it may be difficult for VMES
    to meet the ESV antenna pointing and cessation requirements due to
    terrain variations encountered by vehicles, particularly during
    off-road operations); Qualcomm at 2 (supporting ESV rules as basis
    for technology-neutral VMES service rules, but stating that
    Commission should be vigilant in developing rules that control
    off-axis emissions because uplink interference from small antennas
    is a significant source of degraded quality of service).

[^101]: *See generally* 47 C.F.R. § 25.209. In the *Sixth Report and
    Order and Third Further Notice*, the Commission invited comment on
    replacing the current Part 25 earth station licensing regime for
    "routinely" licensed Ku-band earth stations with an off-axis
    E.I.R.P.-density approach. *Sixth Report and Order and Third Further
    Notice*, 20 FCC Rcd at 5597, ¶ 8. If adopted, this change could
    result in the routine licensing of antennas smaller than 1.2 meters.
    Routinely licensed earth stations are those that can be licensed
    without a case-by-case review. *Id*. at 5597, ¶ 6 n.18.

[^102]: Petition at 5 (stating that, after extensive testing, Ku-band
    antennas with apertures of as small as 0.45 meters have demonstrated
    no greater deviation from the Part 25 ESV radiation pattern
    requirements than have the 0.6 meter terminals that have met and
    exceeded the Part 25 requirements).

[^103]: *See, e.g*., ViaSat at 3 (urging rules that would allow the
    operation of small, low-profile antennas that consumers could afford
    to install on standard vehicles). *See also* November 21 Response to
    Information Request Attachment at 7 (typical parabolic antenna on
    order of 0.40 meter might be employed in VMES). *But see* November
    21 Response to Information Request Attachment at 11 (proposed VMES
    antenna pointing requirements will require additional level of
    design and production complexity that likely will keep VMES
    terminals above the range of consumer products).

[^104]: *See, e.g.,* December 18 Response to Information Request
    Attachment at 1 (stating that beam width of smaller-than-one-meter
    antennas is broad enough to disperse significant amount of energy
    onto an adjacent satellite).

[^105]: December 18 Response to Information Request Attachment at 6-7.
    General Dynamics describes driving conditions that are worse than
    those at the Aberdeen test course to provide an example of the
    interaction of the antenna pointing and transmit-control function in
    this situation. *Id*. at 7.

[^106]: December 18 Response to Information Request Attachment at 6**.**

[^107]: The E.I.R.P.-density envelope for ESV transmitters is consistent
    with the off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits for routinely-licensed
    VSAT transmitters for co-polarized signals transmitted toward the
    GSO. *See ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 716, ¶ 99. The
    off-axis E.I.R.P.-density limits for ESV transmitters are set out in
    47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(1)-(5).

[^108]: *See* The Boeing Company, Radio Station Authorization, E000723,
    File No. SES-MFS-20050701-00853, Special Provision 5411 (granted
    Dec. 20, 2005); *ARINC Incorporated, Application for Blanket
    Authority for Operation of Up to One Thousand Technically Identical
    Ku-band Transmit/Receive Airborne Mobile Stations Aboard Aircraft
    Operating in the United States and Adjacent Waters*, Order and
    Authorization, DA 05-1016, 20 FCC Rcd 7553, 7573, ¶ 58(k) (Int'l
    Bur. and OET 2005).

[^109]: This rule would be similar to the requirement set forth in
    section 25.220(e)(2) for VSAT transmitters. 47 C.F.R. §
    25.220(e)(2).

[^110]: SES Americom at 5. *See also* 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(6)-(7).

[^111]: SES Americom at 5.

[^112]: SES Americom at 5-6.

[^113]: ViaSat at 5-6. *See also* SES Americom at 5 (departure from ESV
    pointing accuracy requirement may be warranted where low
    power-density Code Division Multiple Access, or "CDMA," or similar
    technology is used for network transmission).

[^114]: ViaSat at 6.

[^115]: Qualcomm at 4.

[^116]: November 21 Response to Information Request Attachment at 13-14
    (stating that General Dynamics would prefer that the Commission not
    reduce the antenna pointing accuracy requirements and then have to
    compensate by reducing the permitted E.I.R.P.-density levels below
    those in the ESV regulations, and stating that such changes would
    tend to require VMES terminals to use additional spectral spreading
    to compensate for the reduced E.I.R.P.-density required by a lower
    pointing accuracy and therefore would make the terminals less
    spectrum efficient and less likely to be interoperable with other
    FSS Ku-band earth stations).

[^117]: ViaSat at 3, 5-7.

[^118]: ViaSat at 3. *See also* ViaSat at 6 (imposing antenna pointing
    accuracy requirements for systems using spread spectrum/multiple
    access and central power control would add costs that could make
    antennas too expensive for broad commercial deployment).

[^119]: ViaSat at 7; Qualcomm at 4.

[^120]: Qualcomm at 4. As discussed below, the 10\*log(N) limit
    represents the value of ten times the logarithm of the maximum
    expected number of simultaneous co-frequency, co-transponder
    transmitters.

[^121]: *See Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice*, 20 FCC
    Rcd at ¶ 63 n.177 (incorporating 10\*log(N) limit into section
    25.222).

[^122]: *See* 47 C.F.R. §§ 25.222(a)(1) (applicable to Ku-band ESV CDMA
    systems), 25.134(g) (applicable to VSAT CDMA systems).

[^123]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(1).

[^124]: ViaSat at 7; Qualcomm at 4.

[^125]: Qualcomm at 4. Qualcomm states that the Commission has licensed
    networks of technically identical earth stations that are controlled
    by a single VSAT hub and common access method so long as the
    aggregate off-axis emissions from such a network do not exceed that
    which would be produced by a single antenna conforming to section
    25.209(a) of the rules. *Id.* Qualcomm observes that, for access
    methods with emissions that overlap in frequency and time, the
    Commission's rules require that the input power-density to each
    antenna be reduced equally by a fixed factor of 10\*log(N), where N
    is the number of simultaneous emissions. *Id*. Qualcomm asserts that
    the rule is contrary to the Commission's objective of developing
    rules that are technology neutral. *Id*.

[^126]: ViaSat at 7; Qualcomm at 4.

[^127]: ViaSat at 8, citing *Sixth Report and Order and Third Further
    Notice*, 20 FCC Rcd at 5635-36, ¶ 119. The proposed contention
    protocol rule for VSATs would apply an aggregate limit on off-axis
    E.I.R.P.-density for VSAT networks using a contention protocol.
    *Id*. at 5635. The rule would require VSAT network operators using a
    contention protocol not to exceed the envelope by more than the
    allowable increase in aggregate E.I.R.P. set forth in the proposed
    contention table. *Id*. at 5635-36.

[^128]: ViaSat at 8.

[^129]: Contention protocols differ from "reservation protocols" such as
    TDMA, FDMA, and CDMA, which "reserve" a time slot, frequency or
    digital code for each transmission in the network. In contention
    protocols, transmissions from different terminals compete, or
    "contend," for the same resource, which might be a time slot,
    frequency or hub receiver.

[^130]: *See Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice*, 20 FCC
    Rcd at 5635-36, ¶ 119.

[^131]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 695-96, ¶ 48.

[^132]: *Id*. at 721, ¶ 112.

[^133]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(c)(1)-(3).

[^134]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(c)(1).

[^135]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(c)(1).

[^136]: Petition at 12-13.

[^137]: Petition at 12. General Dynamics states that FSS Ku-band
    transportable satellite news gathering terminals are not subject to
    data logging requirements, although General Dynamics asserts they
    have much higher power levels and are much larger potential sources
    of interference than either VSATs or VMES terminals. Petition at
    12-13; November 21 Response to Information Request Attachment at 12.

[^138]: Petition at 12. *See also* November 21 Response to Information
    Request Attachment at 12 (discussing geo-location systems, GPS
    position logging information, and uplink signal unique
    identification codes).

[^139]: SES Americom at 5.

[^140]: Qualcomm at 6. Qualcomm proposes waiving the requirement for
    good cause, rather than eliminating the general rule. *Id*. at 6.

[^141]: SIA at 4-5 (observing that the rule is designed to facilitate
    the rapid rectification of interference concerns, however unlikely);
    ViaSat at 8-9 (generally supporting requirement that operator track
    terminal locations to enforce interference protections).

[^142]: *See ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd at 721, ¶¶ 112-13.

[^143]: *See, e.g.,* Qualcomm at 5.

[^144]: *See, e.g.,* Qualcomm at 5.

[^145]: Qualcomm asserts that, independent of whether an antenna is
    in-motion or stationary, it is the beam width of the antenna that
    affects the level of interference received from adjacent satellites
    within the band. Qualcomm at 5.

[^146]: Qualcomm at 5.

[^147]: Qualcomm at 5.

[^148]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.209(a), (c). *See also* 47 C.F.R. § 25.222((b)(3)
    (requiring ESV operator certification that antenna conforms to the
    criteria of § 25.209); proposed § 25.XXX(b)(1)(ii)(same).

[^149]: In this regard, we seek comment on section 25.XXX(a)(14), which,
    if adopted, would grant VMES terminals primary receive antenna
    protection from FSS space stations only to the extent that the
    receive antenna complies with the receive antenna protection levels
    set forth in section 25.209(a)-(b) of the Commission's rules. *See*
    Appendix B, section 25.XXX(a)(14). *See also* 47 C.F.R. §
    25.209(a)-(b).

[^150]: ViaSat at 3, 9-10. *See also* 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(2), (a)(4).

[^151]: ViaSat at 9.

[^152]: ViaSat at 9. ViaSat asserts that, without an increased allowance
    for off-axis power-densities in the NGSO elevation plane, VMES
    service may be unduly constrained in favor of NGSO systems that
    never may be deployed. ViaSat at 10.

[^153]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(2), (a)(4).

[^154]: ViaSat at 9. We note that, on December 21, 2006, the
    International Bureau authorized Virtual Geosatellite, LLC ("Virtual
    Geo") to construct a system of eighteen NGSO FSS satellites to
    operate in a number of frequency bands, including the Ku-band. The
    Virtual Geo satellites would have operated in highly elliptical
    inclined orbits. *See Virtual Geo Order* at ¶ 10. In the operational
    portion of the orbits, the satellites would have had angular
    separation from the equator of greater than 45 degrees and,
    therefore, would have had a geographical separation from the GSO
    satellite orbit. *See Virtual Geo Order* at ¶ 10. On February 5,
    2007, Virtual Geo surrendered its NGSO FSS license. *See* Virtual
    Geosatellite LLC, SAT-LOA-19990108-00007, Public Notice, Policy
    Division Information, Actions Taken, Report No. SAT-00420, DA 07-617
    (Int'l Bur. Feb. 9, 2007).

[^155]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 25.222(a)(2).

[^156]: *Sixth Report and Order and Third Further Notice*, 20 FCC Rcd at
    5610, ¶¶ 37-38.

[^157]: 47 C.F.R. §§ 25.222(a)(9), 1.1310.

[^158]: *See* 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1307(b), 1.1310.

[^159]: 47 U.S.C. § 302.

[^160]: *See* 47 C.F.R. §§ 2.1201-2.1207, 2.801 *et seq*.

[^161]: Portable earth station transceivers are transceivers that are
    likely to be used within 20 centimeters of the operator's body.
    *See* 47 C.F.R. §§ 25.129, 25.149(c) (requiring certification for
    portable device earth station transceivers and small ancillary
    terrestrial component handheld terminals).

[^162]: General Dynamics identifies possible non-military applications
    for VMES systems, including "satellite news gathering, weather
    services, mineral/fossil fuel exploration and extraction and
    large-scale construction projects." Petition at 7. *See also*
    November 21 Response to Information Request Attachment at 6 (stating
    that, following adoption of regulations, General Dynamics envisions
    that it and other manufacturers will be able to develop new versions
    of VMES terminals designed for use in less demanding environments
    than a military off-road environment). ViaSat suggests an even
    broader application, with the possible use of VMES on cars and
    trucks using ultra-small antennas. ViaSat at 9. ViaSat states that
    commercial success depends in part upon the ability to use small,
    low‑profile antennas that can be mounted on standard cars and
    trucks. ViaSat at 9.

[^163]: The two-degree FSS spacing rules, initially designed for systems
    using relatively large earth station antennas that were fixed in
    place, were not concerned about the accuracy of antenna tracking
    systems mounted on moving cars or trucks. *See generally*
    *Two-Degree Spacing Order*, 54 Rad. Reg. 2d (P&F) 577 (1983), *on
    recon.*, 99 FCC 2d 737 (1985). The initial two-degree rules, as
    successfully modified to account for VSATs, ESVs, and AMSS
    applications, generally have been concerned with the protection of
    FSS satellites within six degrees of the target satellite. The
    current two-degree spacing rules limit the E.I.R.P.-density radiated
    from an FSS earth station antenna to the E.I.R.P.-density envelope
    and, with relatively large antennas, this limit will occur somewhere
    within a degree or two of the main beam of the earth station
    antenna. For a very small antenna, the limiting E.I.R.P-density may
    occur farther than six degrees away from the antenna main beam.

[^164]: ViaSat at 6; Qualcomm at 4. *See also, supra*, ¶¶ 52-55.

[^165]: ATIS transmits an encoded subcarrier message including, at a
    minimum, the earth station\'s call sign, a telephone number
    providing immediate access to someone capable of resolving
    interference problems, and a unique ten-digit serial number. *See An
    Automatic Transmitter Identification System for Radio Transmitting
    Equipment*, First Report and Order*,* GEN Docket No. 86-337, 5 FCC
    Rcd 3256 (1990); 47 C.F.R. § 25.281.

[^166]: *ESV Report and Order*, 20 FCC Rcd 674, 722-23, ¶¶ 114-15; *AMSS
    NPRM*, 20 FCC Rcd 2906, 2932, ¶¶ 48-49.

[^167]: Specifically, we seek comment on whether to license VMES
    terminals on an individual basis pursuant to the proposed off-axis
    E.I.R.P. requirements discussed above.

[^168]: Applications for new or modified transmitting and/or receiving
    earth stations must be filed on FCC Form 312. *See* 47 C.F.R. §§
    25.130, 25.131.

[^169]: "ALSAT" means "all U.S.-licensed space stations." It permits an
    earth station operator providing FSS in the Ku-band to access any
    U.S. satellite, and any foreign satellite on the Permitted Space
    Station List, without additional Commission action, provided that
    those communications are in accordance with the same technical
    parameters and conditions established in the earth stations'
    licenses. *See Amendment of the Commission's Regulatory Policies to
    Allow Non-U.S. Licensed Space Stations to Provide Domestic and
    International Satellite Service in the United States*, Report and
    Order, IB Docket No. 96-111, FCC 99-325, 15 FCC Rcd 7207, 7210-11, ¶
    6, 7215-16, ¶ 19 (1996).

[^170]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 25.121.

[^171]: 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.1200, 1.1206; *Amendment of 47 C.F.R. § 1.1200 et
    seq. Concerning Ex Parte Presentations in Commission Proceedings*,
    GC Docket No. 95-21, Report and Order, FCC 97-92, 12 FCC Rcd 7348
    (1997).

[^172]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.1206(b)(2).

[^173]: *See* 5 U.S.C. § 603. The RFA, *see* U.S.C. §601 *et seq*., has
    been amended by the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996,
    Pub. L. No. 104-121, 110 Stat. 847 (1996) ("CWAAA"). Title II of the
    CWAAA is the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
    1996 ("Small Business Act").

[^174]: 5 U.S.C. § 603(a).

[^175]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.49.

[^176]: *See* 5 U.S.C. § 603. The RFA, *see* 5 U.S.C. § 601 -- 612, has
    been amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
    Act of 1996 ("Small Business Act"), Pub. L. No. 104-121, Title II,
    110 Stat. 857 (1996).

[^177]: *See Amendment of Parts 2 and 25 of the Commission's Rules to
    Allocate Spectrum and Adopt Service Rules and Procedures to Govern
    the Use of Vehicle-Mounted Earth Stations in Frequency Bands
    Allocated to the Fixed Satellite Service*, IB Docket No. 07-101.

[^178]: *See* 5 U.S.C. § 603(a).

[^179]: *See* 5 U.S.C. § 603(a).

[^180]: 5 U.S.C. § 603(b)(3).

[^181]: *Id.* § 601(6).

[^182]: 5 U.S.C. § 601(3) (incorporating by reference the definition of
    \"small business concern\" in 15 U.S.C. § 632). Pursuant to the RFA,
    the statutory definition of a small business applies \"unless an
    agency, after consultation with the Office of Advocacy of the Small
    Business Administration and after the opportunity for public
    comment, establishes one or more definitions of such term which are
    appropriate to the activities of the agency and publishes such
    definition(s) in the Federal Register.\" 5 U.S.C. § 601(3).

[^183]: Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. § 632 (1996).

[^184]: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 North American Industry Classification
    System (NAICS) Definitions, "517410 Satellite Telecommunications";
    htpp://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.

[^185]: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series:
    Information, "Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
    Organization)," Table 4, NAICS code 517410 (issued Nov.. 2005).

[^186]: *Id*.

[^187]: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 NAICS Definitions, "517910 Other
    Telecommunications";
    http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/def/NDEF517.HTM.

[^188]:  U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series:
    Information, "Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
    Organization)," Table 4, NAICS code 517910 (issued Nov. 2005).

[^189]: *Id*.

[^190]: 13 C.F.R. § 121.201, NAICS code 517211.

[^191]: 13 C.F.R. § 121.201, NAICS code 517212.

[^192]: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series:
    Information, "Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
    Organization)," Table 5, NAICS code 517211 (issued Nov. 2005).

[^193]: *Id.* The census data do not provide a more precise estimate of
    the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer
    employees; the largest category provided is for firms with "1000
    employees or more."

[^194]: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census, Subject Series:
    Information, "Establishment and Firm Size (Including Legal Form of
    Organization," Table 5, NAICS code 517212 (issued Nov. 2005).

[^195]: *Id.* The census data do not provide a more precise estimate of
    the number of firms that have employment of 1,500 or fewer
    employees; the largest category provided is for firms with "1000
    employees or more."

[^196]: 5 U.S.C. § 603(c)(1)-(c)(4).