GAO-02-911R 

United States General Accounting Office

Washington, DC 20548 

B-290817 

July 11, 2002 

The Honorable Ernest F. Hollings 

Chairman 

The Honorable John McCain 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

United States Senate 

The Honorable W.J. “Billy” Tauzin 

Chairman 

The Honorable John D. Dingell 

Ranking Minority Member 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

House of Representatives 

Subject: Federal Communications Commission: Order to Permit Operation of NGSO 

FSS Systems Co-Frequency With GSO and Terrestrial Systems in the KuBand Frequency Range; Authorize Subsidiary Terrestrial Use of the 12.2-

12.7 GHz Band by Direct Broadcast Satellite Licensees and Their Affiliates; 

and in Re Applications of Broadwave USA, PDC Broadband Corporation, 

and Satellite Receivers, Ltd. in the 12.2-12.7 GHz Band

Pursuant to section 801(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code, this is our report on a 

major rule promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), entitled 

“Order to Permit Operation of NGSO FSS Systems Co-Frequency With GSO and 

Terrestrial Systems in the Ku-Band Frequency Range; Authorize Subsidiary 

Terrestrial Use of the 12.2-12.7 GHz Band by Direct Broadcast Satellite Licensees and 

Their Affiliates; and in Re Applications of Broadwave USA, PDC Broadband 

Corporation, and Satellite Receivers, Ltd. in the 12.2-12.7 GHz Band” (FCC 02-116). 

We received the rule on June 27, 2002. It was published in the Federal Register as a 

final rule on June 26, 2002. 67 Fed. Reg. 43031. 

The final rule establishes technical, service and licensing rules for Multichannel 

Video Distribution and Data Service in the 12 GHz band. 

Enclosed is our assessment of the FCC’s compliance with the procedural steps 

required by section 801(a)(1)(B)(i) through (iv) of title 5 with respect to the rule. 

Our review indicates that the FCC complied with the applicable requirements. 
Page 2 GAO-02-911R 

If you have any questions about this report, please contact James W. Vickers, 

Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 512-8210. The official responsible for GAO 

evaluation work relating to the subject matter of the rule is John Anderson, 

Managing Director, Physical Infrastructure. Mr. Anderson can be reached at (202) 

512-2834. 

 signed 

Kathleen E. Wannisky 

Managing Associate General Counsel 

Enclosure 

cc: Shellie Blakeney 

Legal Advisor 

Federal Communications 

 Commission 
GAO-02-911R 

ENCLOSURE 

ANALYSIS UNDER 5 U.S.C. § 801(a)(1)(B)(i)-(iv) OF A MAJOR RULE 

ISSUED BY THE 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 

ENTITLED 

"ORDER TO PERMIT OPERATION OF NGSO FSS SYSTEMS CO-FREQUENCY 

WITH GSO AND TERRESTRIAL SYSTEMS IN THE KU-BAND FREQUENCY 

RANGE; AUTHORIZE SUBSIDIARY TERRESTRIAL USE OF THE 12.2-12.7 GHZ 

BAND BY DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITE LICENSEES AND 

THEIR AFFILIATES; AND IN RE APPLICATIONS OF BROADWAVE USA, 

PDC BROADBAND CORPORATION, AND SATELLITE RECEIVERS, LTD. 

IN THE 12.2-12.7 GHZ BAND" 

(FCC 02-116) 

(i) Cost-benefit analysis

The FCC is not required to prepare and did not prepare a cost-benefit analysis for the 

final rule. 

(ii) Agency actions relevant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 603-605, 

607, and 609

The FCC prepared both an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and a Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis in connection with the proposed rulemaking and the 

final rule, respectively. 

The analyses comply with the requirements of the act, including the reasons and 

legal basis for the rule, a description and number of the small entities affected by the 

rule, and the steps taken to minimize the impacts on small entities. 

In order to reduce the impact, the FCC has provided bidding credits for 

entrepreneurs, small businesses, and very small businesses and permitted 

partitioning of service areas to encourage participation by small businesses. 

(iii) Agency actions relevant to sections 202-205 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 

Act of 1995, 2 U.S.C. §§ 1532-1535

As an independent regulatory agency, the FCC is not subject to the Unfunded 

Mandates Reform Act of 1995. 
Page 2 GAO-02-911R 

(iv) Other relevant information or requirements under acts and executive orders

Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq. 

The final rule was issued using the notice and comment procedures contained at 

5 U.S.C. 553. Two proposed rulemakings were published in the Federal Register. 

64 Fed. Reg. 7565, January 12, 1999, and 66 Fed. Reg. 30361, June 6, 2001. In 

response, the FCC received comments from 25 parties and reply comments from 17 

parties. 

Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. §§ 3501-3520 

The final rule contains information collections that are subject to review and 

approval by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. The preamble to the final rule contains the required information regarding the 

collections, including the estimated annual burden. 

Statutory authorization for the rule 

The final rule is promulgated pursuant to the authority of sections 4(i), 7(a), 301, 

303(c), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 308, and 309(j) of the Communications Act of 1934, as 

amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 157(a), 301, 303(c), 303(f), 303(g), 303(r), 308, and 309(j). 

Executive Order No. 12866 

As an independent regulatory agency, the FCC is not subject to the review 

requirements of the order.