106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 376

AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

November 10, 1999.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 376) entitled

‘‘An Act to amend the Communications Satellite Act of 1962

to promote competition and privatization in satellite communications, and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Communications Sat3 ellite Competition and Privatization Act of 1999’’.

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

5 It is the purpose of this Act to promote a fully competi6 tive global market for satellite communication services for

7 the benefit of consumers and providers of satellite services

8 and equipment by fully privatizing the intergovernmental

9 satellite organizations, INTELSAT and Inmarsat.

10 SEC. 3. REVISION OF COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE ACT OF

11 1962.

12 The Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C.

13 101) is amended by adding at the end the following new

14 title:
2

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘TITLE VI—COMMUNICATIONS

2 COMPETITION AND PRIVAT3 IZATION

4 ‘‘Subtitle A—Actions To Ensure

5 Procompetitive Privatization

6 ‘‘SEC. 601. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

7 LICENSING.

8 ‘‘(a) LICENSING FOR SEPARATED ENTITIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) COMPETITION TEST.—The Commission may

10 not issue a license or construction permit to any sep11 arated entity, or renew or permit the assignment or

12 use of any such license or permit, or authorize the use

13 by any entity subject to United States jurisdiction of

14 any space segment owned, leased, or operated by any

15 separated entity, unless the Commission determines

16 that such issuance, renewal, assignment, or use will

17 not harm competition in the telecommunications

18 market of the United States. If the Commission does

19 not make such a determination, it shall deny or re20 voke authority to use space segment owned, leased, or

21 operated by the separated entity to provide services to,

22 from, or within the United States.

23 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR COMPETITION TEST.—In

24 making the determination required by paragraph (1),

25 the Commission shall use the licensing criteria in sec-
3

•S 376 EAH

1 tions 621 and 623, and shall not make such a deter2 mination unless the Commission determines that the

3 privatization of any separated entity is consistent

4 with such criteria.

5 ‘‘(b) LICENSING FOR INTELSAT, INMARSAT, AND

6 SUCCESSOR ENTITIES.—

7 ‘‘(1) COMPETITION TEST.—The Commission shall

8 substantially limit, deny, or revoke the authority for

9 any entity subject to United States jurisdiction to use

10 space segment owned, leased, or operated by

11 INTELSAT or Inmarsat or any successor entities to

12 provide non-core services to, from, or within the

13 United States, unless the Commission determines—

14 ‘‘(A) after April 1, 2001, in the case of

15 INTELSAT and its successor entities, that

16 INTELSAT and any successor entities have been

17 privatized in a manner that will not harm com18 petition in the telecommunications markets of

19 the United States; or

20 ‘‘(B) after April 1, 2000, in the case of

21 Inmarsat and its successor entities, that

22 Inmarsat and any successor entities have been

23 privatized in a manner that will not harm com24 petition in the telecommunications markets of

25 the United States.
4

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR COMPETITION TEST.—In

2 making the determination required by paragraph (1),

3 the Commission shall use the licensing criteria in sec4 tions 621, 622, and 624, and shall not make such a

5 determination unless the Commission determines that

6 such privatization is consistent with such criteria.

7 ‘‘(3) CLARIFICATION: COMPETITIVE SAFE8 GUARDS.—In making its licensing decisions under

9 this subsection, the Commission shall consider whether

10 users of non-core services provided by INTELSAT or

11 Inmarsat or successor or separated entities are able to

12 obtain non-core services from providers offering serv13 ices other than through INTELSAT or Inmarsat or

14 successor or separated entities, at competitive rates,

15 terms, or conditions. Such consideration shall also in16 clude whether such licensing decisions would require

17 users to replace equipment at substantial costs prior

18 to the termination of its design life. In making its li19 censing decisions, the Commission shall also consider

20 whether competitive alternatives in individual mar21 kets do not exist because they have been foreclosed due

22 to anticompetitive actions undertaken by or resulting

23 from the INTELSAT or Inmarsat systems. Such li24 censing decisions shall be made in a manner which
5

•S 376 EAH

1 facilitates achieving the purposes and goals in this

2 title and shall be subject to notice and comment.

3 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN DETERMINA4 TIONS.—In making its determinations and licensing deci5 sions under subsections (a) and (b), the Commission shall

6 take into consideration the United States obligations and

7 commitments for satellite services under the Fourth Protocol

8 to the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

9 ‘‘(d) INDEPENDENT FACILITIES COMPETITION.—Noth10 ing in this section shall be construed as precluding COM11 SAT from investing in or owning satellites or other facili12 ties independent from INTELSAT and Inmarsat, and suc13 cessor or separated entities, or from providing services

14 through reselling capacity over the facilities of satellite sys15 tems independent from INTELSAT and Inmarsat, and suc16 cessor or separated entities. This subsection shall not be con17 strued as restricting the types of contracts which can be exe18 cuted or services which may be provided by COMSAT over

19 the independent satellites or facilities described in this sub20 section.

21 ‘‘SEC. 602. INTELSAT OR INMARSAT ORBITAL LOCATIONS.

22 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED ACTIONS.—Unless, in a proceeding

23 under section 601(b), the Commission determines that

24 INTELSAT or Inmarsat have been privatized in a manner

25 that will not harm competition, then—
6

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(1) the President shall oppose, and the Commis2 sion shall not assist, any registration for new orbital

3 locations for INTELSAT or Inmarsat—

4 ‘‘(A) with respect to INTELSAT, after

5 April 1, 2001; and

6 ‘‘(B) with respect to Inmarsat, after April

7 1, 2000; and

8 ‘‘(2) the President and Commission shall, con9 sistent with the deadlines in paragraph (1), take all

10 other necessary measures to preclude procurement,

11 registration, development, or use of new satellites

12 which would provide non-core services.

13 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—

14 ‘‘(1) REPLACEMENT AND PREVIOUSLY CON15 TRACTED SATELLITES.—Subsection (a) shall not

16 apply to—

17 ‘‘(A) orbital locations for replacement sat18 ellites (as described in section 622(2)(B)); and

19 ‘‘(B) orbital locations for satellites that are

20 contracted for as of March 25, 1998, if such sat21 ellites do not provide additional services.

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON EXCEPTION.—Paragraph

23 (1) is available only with respect to satellites designed

24 to provide services solely in the C and Ku for

25 INTELSAT, and L for Inmarsat bands.
7

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘SEC. 603. ADDITIONAL SERVICES AUTHORIZED.

2 ‘‘(a) SERVICES AUTHORIZED DURING CONTINUED

3 PROGRESS.—

4 ‘‘(1) CONTINUED AUTHORIZATION.—The Com5 mission may issue an authorization, license, or per6 mit to, or renew the license or permit of, any provider

7 of services using INTELSAT or Inmarsat space seg8 ment, or authorize the use of such space segment, for

9 additional services (including additional applications

10 of existing services) or additional areas of business,

11 subject to the requirements of this section.

12 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SERVICES PERMITTED UNDER

13 NEW CONTRACTS UNLESS PROGRESS FAILS.—If the

14 Commission makes a finding under subsection (b)

15 that conditions required by such subsection have not

16 been attained, the Commission may not, pursuant to

17 paragraph (1), permit such additional services to be

18 provided directly or indirectly under new contracts

19 for the use of INTELSAT or Inmarsat space segment,

20 unless and until the Commission subsequently makes

21 a finding under such subsection that such conditions

22 have been attained.

23 ‘‘(3) PREVENTION OF EVASION.—The Commis24 sion shall, by rule, prescribe means reasonably de25 signed to prevent evasions of the limitations con26 tained in paragraph (2) by customers who did not
8

•S 376 EAH

1 use specific additional services as of the date of the

2 Commission’s most recent finding under subsection

3 (b) that the conditions of such subsection have not

4 been obtained.

5 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNUAL FINDINGS.—

6 ‘‘(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The findings

7 required under this subsection shall be made, after no8 tice and comment, on or before January 1 of 2000,

9 2001, and 2002. The Commission shall find that the

10 conditions required by this subsection have been at11 tained only if the Commission finds that—

12 ‘‘(A) substantial and material progress has

13 been made during the preceding period at a rate

14 and manner that is probable to result in achiev15 ing pro-competitive privatizations in accordance

16 with the requirements of this title; and

17 ‘‘(B) neither INTELSAT nor Inmarsat are

18 hindering competitors’ or potential competitors’

19 access to the satellite services marketplace.

20 ‘‘(2) FIRST FINDING.—In making the finding re21 quired to be made on or before January 1, 2000, the

22 Commission shall not find that the conditions re23 quired by this subsection have been attained unless

24 the Commission finds that—
9

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(A) COMSAT has submitted to the

2 INTELSAT Board of Governors a resolution

3 calling for the pro-competitive privatization of

4 INTELSAT in accordance with the requirements

5 of this title;

6 ‘‘(B) the United States has submitted such

7 resolution at the first INTELSAT Assembly of

8 Parties meeting that takes place after such date

9 of enactment; and

10 ‘‘(C) the INTELSAT Assembly of Parties

11 has created a working party to consider and

12 make recommendations for the pro-competitive

13 privatization of INTELSAT consistent with such

14 resolution.

15 ‘‘(3) SECOND ANNUAL FINDING.—In making the

16 finding required to be made on or before January 1,

17 2001, the Commission shall not find that the condi18 tions required by this subsection have been attained

19 unless the INTELSAT Assembly of Parties has ap20 proved a recommendation for the pro-competitive pri21 vatization of INTELSAT in accordance with the re22 quirements of this title.

23 ‘‘(4) THIRD ANNUAL FINDING.—In making the

24 finding required to be made on or before January 1,

25 2002, the Commission shall not find that the condi-
10

•S 376 EAH

1 tions required by this subsection have been attained

2 unless the pro-competitive privatization of

3 INTELSAT in accordance with the requirements of

4 this title has been achieved by such date.

5 ‘‘(5) CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF HINDERING

6 ACCESS.—The Commission shall not make a deter7 mination under paragraph (1)(B) unless the Commis8 sion determines that INTELSAT and Inmarsat are

9 not in any way impairing, delaying, or denying ac10 cess to national markets or orbital locations.

11 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR SERVICES UNDER EXISTING

12 CONTRACTS IF PROGRESS NOT MADE.—This section shall

13 not preclude INTELSAT or Inmarsat or any signatory

14 thereof from continuing to provide additional services under

15 an agreement with any third party entered into prior to

16 any finding under subsection (b) that the conditions of such

17 subsection have not been attained.

18 ‘‘Subtitle B—Federal Communica19 tions Commission Licensing Cri20 teria: Privatization Criteria

21 ‘‘SEC. 621. GENERAL CRITERIA TO ENSURE A PRO-COMPETI22 TIVE PRIVATIZATION OF INTELSAT AND

23 INMARSAT.

24 ‘‘The President and the Commission shall secure a pro25 competitive privatization of INTELSAT and Inmarsat that
11

•S 376 EAH

1 meets the criteria set forth in this section and sections 622

2 through 624. In securing such privatizations, the following

3 criteria shall be applied as licensing criteria for purposes

4 of subtitle A:

5 ‘‘(1) DATES FOR PRIVATIZATION.—Privatization

6 shall be obtained in accordance with the criteria of

7 this title of—

8 ‘‘(A) INTELSAT as soon as practicable, but

9 no later than April 1, 2001; and

10 ‘‘(B) Inmarsat as soon as practicable, but

11 no later than April 1, 2000.

12 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENCE.—The successor entities and

13 separated entities of INTELSAT and Inmarsat re14 sulting from the privatization obtained pursuant to

15 paragraph (1) shall—

16 ‘‘(A) be entities that are national corpora17 tions; and

18 ‘‘(B) have ownership and management that

19 is independent of—

20 ‘‘(i) any signatories or former signato21 ries that control access to national tele22 communications markets; and

23 ‘‘(ii) any intergovernmental organiza24 tion remaining after the privatization.
12

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNI2 TIES.—The preferential treatment of INTELSAT and

3 Inmarsat shall not be extended to any successor entity

4 or separated entity of INTELSAT or Inmarsat. Such

5 preferential treatment includes—

6 ‘‘(A) privileged or immune treatment by

7 national governments;

8 ‘‘(B) privileges or immunities or other com9 petitive advantages of the type accorded

10 INTELSAT and Inmarsat and their signatories

11 through the terms and operation of the

12 INTELSAT Agreement and the associated Head13 quarters Agreement and the Inmarsat Conven14 tion; and

15 ‘‘(C) preferential access to orbital locations,

16 including any access to orbital locations that is

17 not subject to the legal or regulatory processes of

18 a national government that applies due diligence

19 requirements intended to prevent the

20 warehousing of orbital locations.

21 ‘‘(4) PREVENTION OF EXPANSION DURING TRAN22 SITION.—During the transition period prior to full

23 privatization, INTELSAT and Inmarsat shall be pre24 cluded from expanding into additional services (in-
13

•S 376 EAH

1 cluding additional applications of existing services)

2 or additional areas of business.

3 ‘‘(5) CONVERSION TO STOCK CORPORATIONS.—

4 Any successor entity or separated entity created out

5 of INTELSAT or Inmarsat shall be a national cor6 poration established through the execution of an ini7 tial public offering as follows:

8 ‘‘(A) Any successor entities and separated

9 entities shall be incorporated as private corpora10 tions subject to the laws of the nation in which

11 incorporated.

12 ‘‘(B) An initial public offering of securities

13 of any successor entity or separated entity shall

14 be conducted no later than—

15 ‘‘(i) April 1, 2001, for the successor en16 tities of INTELSAT; and

17 ‘‘(ii) April 1, 2000, for the successor

18 entities of Inmarsat.

19 ‘‘(C) The shares of any successor entities

20 and separated entities shall be listed for trading

21 on one or more major stock exchanges with

22 transparent and effective securities regulation.

23 ‘‘(D) A majority of the board of directors of

24 any successor entity or separated entity shall not
14

•S 376 EAH

1 be subject to selection or appointment by, or oth2 erwise serve as representatives of—

3 ‘‘(i) any signatory or former signatory

4 that controls access to national tele5 communications markets; or

6 ‘‘(ii) any intergovernmental organiza7 tion remaining after the privatization.

8 ‘‘(E) Any transactions or other relation9 ships between or among any successor entity,

10 separated entity, INTELSAT, or Inmarsat shall

11 be conducted on an arm’s length basis.

12 ‘‘(6) REGULATORY TREATMENT.—Any successor

13 entity or separated entity shall apply through the ap14 propriate national licensing authorities for inter15 national frequency assignments and associated orbital

16 registrations for all satellites.

17 ‘‘(7) COMPETITION POLICIES IN DOMICILIARY

18 COUNTRY.—Any successor entity or separated entity

19 shall be incorporated and headquartered in a nation

20 or nations that—

21 ‘‘(A) have effective laws and regulations

22 that secure competition in telecommunications

23 services;
15

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(B) are signatories of the World Trade Or2 ganization Basic Telecommunications Services

3 Agreement; and

4 ‘‘(C) have a schedule of commitments in

5 such Agreement that includes non-discriminatory

6 market access to their satellite markets.

7 ‘‘(8) RETURN OF UNUSED ORBITAL LOCA8 TIONS.—INTELSAT, Inmarsat, and any successor

9 entities and separated entities shall not be permitted

10 to warehouse any orbital location that—

11 ‘‘(A) as of March 25, 1998, did not contain

12 a satellite that was providing commercial serv13 ices, or, subsequent to such date, ceased to con14 tain a satellite providing commercial services; or

15 ‘‘(B) as of March 25, 1998, was not des16 ignated in INTELSAT or Inmarsat operational

17 plans for satellites for which construction con18 tracts had been executed.

19 Any such orbital location of INTELSAT or Inmarsat

20 and of any successor entities and separated entities

21 shall be returned to the International Telecommuni22 cation Union for reallocation.

23 ‘‘(9) APPRAISAL OF ASSETS.—Before any trans24 fer of assets by INTELSAT or Inmarsat to any suc25 cessor entity or separated entity, such assets shall be
16

•S 376 EAH

1 independently audited for purposes of appraisal, at

2 both book and fair market value.

3 ‘‘(10) LIMITATION ON INVESTMENT.—Notwith4 standing the provisions of this title, COMSAT shall

5 not be authorized by the Commission to invest in a

6 satellite known as K–TV, unless Congress authorizes

7 such investment.

8 ‘‘SEC. 622. SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR INTELSAT.

9 ‘‘In securing the privatizations required by section

10 621, the following additional criteria with respect to

11 INTELSAT privatization shall be applied as licensing cri12 teria for purposes of subtitle A:

13 ‘‘(1) NUMBER OF COMPETITORS.—The number of

14 competitors in the markets served by INTELSAT, in15 cluding the number of competitors created out of

16 INTELSAT, shall be sufficient to create a fully com17 petitive market.

18 ‘‘(2) PREVENTION OF EXPANSION DURING TRAN19 SITION.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Pending privatization

21 in accordance with the criteria in this title,

22 INTELSAT shall not expand by receiving addi23 tional orbital locations, placing new satellites in

24 existing locations, or procuring new or addi25 tional satellites except as permitted by subpara-
17

•S 376 EAH

1 graph (B), and the United States shall oppose

2 such expansion—

3 ‘‘(i) in INTELSAT, including at the

4 Assembly of Parties;

5 ‘‘(ii) in the International Tele6 communication Union;

7 ‘‘(iii) through United States instruc8 tions to COMSAT;

9 ‘‘(iv) in the Commission, through de10 clining to facilitate the registration of addi11 tional orbital locations or the provision of

12 additional services (including additional

13 applications of existing services) or addi14 tional areas of business; and

15 ‘‘(v) in other appropriate fora.

16 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN REPLACE17 MENT SATELLITES.—The limitations in subpara18 graph (A) shall not apply to any replacement

19 satellites if—

20 ‘‘(i) such replacement satellite is used

21 solely to provide public-switched network

22 voice telephony or occasional-use television

23 services, or both;

24 ‘‘(ii) such replacement satellite is pro25 cured pursuant to a construction contract
18

•S 376 EAH

1 that was executed on or before March 25,

2 1998; and

3 ‘‘(iii) construction of such replacement

4 satellite commences on or before the final

5 date for INTELSAT privatization set forth

6 in section 621(1)(A).

7 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL COORDINATION AMONG SIGNATO8 RIES.—Technical coordination shall not be used to

9 impair competition or competitors, and coordination

10 under Article XIV(d) of the INTELSAT Agreement

11 shall be eliminated.

12 ‘‘SEC. 623. SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR INTELSAT SEPARATED

13 ENTITIES.

14 ‘‘In securing the privatizations required by section

15 621, the following additional criteria with respect to any

16 INTELSAT separated entity shall be applied as licensing

17 criteria for purposes of subtitle A:

18 ‘‘(1) DATE FOR PUBLIC OFFERING.—Within one

19 year after any decision to create any separated enti20 ty, a public offering of the securities of such entity

21 shall be conducted.

22 ‘‘(2) PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.—The privi23 leges and immunities of INTELSAT and its signato24 ries shall be waived with respect to any transactions

25 with any separated entity, and any limitations on
19

•S 376 EAH

1 private causes of action that would otherwise gen2 erally be permitted against any separated entity shall

3 be eliminated.

4 ‘‘(3) INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES OR EMPLOY5 EES.—None of the officers, directors, or employees of

6 any separated entity shall be individuals who are of7 ficers, directors, or employees of INTELSAT.

8 ‘‘(4) SPECTRUM ASSIGNMENTS.—After the initial

9 transfer which may accompany the creation of a sep10 arated entity, the portions of the electromagnetic spec11 trum assigned as of the date of the enactment of this

12 title to INTELSAT shall not be transferred between

13 INTELSAT and any separated entity.

14 ‘‘(5) REAFFILIATION PROHIBITED.—Any merger

15 or ownership or management ties or exclusive ar16 rangements between a privatized INTELSAT or any

17 successor entity and any separated entity shall be

18 prohibited until 15 years after the completion of

19 INTELSAT privatization under this title.

20 ‘‘SEC. 624. SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR INMARSAT.

21 ‘‘In securing the privatizations required by section

22 621, the following additional criteria with respect to

23 Inmarsat privatization shall be applied as licensing cri24 teria for purposes of subtitle A:
20

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(1) MULTIPLE SIGNATORIES AND DIRECT AC2 CESS.—Multiple signatories and direct access to

3 Inmarsat shall be permitted.

4 ‘‘(2) PREVENTION OF EXPANSION DURING TRAN5 SITION.—Pending privatization in accordance with

6 the criteria in this title, Inmarsat should not expand

7 by receiving additional orbital locations, placing new

8 satellites in existing locations, or procuring new or

9 additional satellites, except for specified replacement

10 satellites for which construction contracts have been

11 executed as of March 25, 1998, and the United States

12 shall oppose such expansion—

13 ‘‘(A) in Inmarsat, including at the Council

14 and Assembly of Parties;

15 ‘‘(B) in the International Telecommuni16 cation Union;

17 ‘‘(C) through United States instructions to

18 COMSAT;

19 ‘‘(D) in the Commission, through declining

20 to facilitate the registration of additional orbital

21 locations or the provision of additional services

22 (including additional applications of existing

23 services) or additional areas of business; and

24 ‘‘(E) in other appropriate fora.
21

•S 376 EAH

1 This paragraph shall not be construed as limiting the

2 maintenance, assistance or improvement of the

3 GMDSS.

4 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF COMPETITORS.—The number of

5 competitors in the markets served by Inmarsat, in6 cluding the number of competitors created out of

7 Inmarsat, shall be sufficient to create a fully competi8 tive market.

9 ‘‘(4) REAFFILIATION PROHIBITED.—Any merger

10 or ownership or management ties or exclusive ar11 rangements between Inmarsat or any successor entity

12 or separated entity and ICO shall be prohibited until

13 15 years after the completion of Inmarsat privatiza14 tion under this title.

15 ‘‘(5) INTERLOCKING DIRECTORATES OR EMPLOY16 EES.—None of the officers, directors, or employees of

17 Inmarsat or any successor entity or separated entity

18 shall be individuals who are officers, directors, or em19 ployees of ICO.

20 ‘‘(6) SPECTRUM ASSIGNMENTS.—The portions of

21 the electromagnetic spectrum assigned as of the date

22 of the enactment of this title to Inmarsat—

23 ‘‘(A) shall, after January 1, 2006, or the

24 date on which the life of the current generation

25 of Inmarsat satellites ends, whichever is later, be
22

•S 376 EAH

1 made available for assignment to all systems (in2 cluding the privatized Inmarsat) on a non3 discriminatory basis and in a manner in which

4 continued availability of the GMDSS is pro5 vided; and

6 ‘‘(B) shall not be transferred between

7 Inmarsat and ICO.

8 ‘‘(7) PRESERVATION OF THE GMDSS.—The

9 United States shall seek to preserve space segment ca10 pacity of the GMDSS.

11 ‘‘SEC. 625. ENCOURAGING MARKET ACCESS AND PRIVATIZA12 TION.

13 ‘‘(a) NTIA DETERMINATION.—

14 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—Within 180

15 days after the date of the enactment of this section,

16 the Secretary of Commerce shall, through the Assist17 ant Secretary for Communications and Information,

18 transmit to the Commission—

19 ‘‘(A) a list of Member countries of

20 INTELSAT and Inmarsat that are not Members

21 of the World Trade Organization and that im22 pose barriers to market access for private sat23 ellite systems; and

24 ‘‘(B) a list of Member countries of

25 INTELSAT and Inmarsat that are not Members
23

•S 376 EAH

1 of the World Trade Organization and that are

2 not supporting pro-competitive privatization of

3 INTELSAT and Inmarsat.

4 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary’s deter5 minations under paragraph (1) shall be made in con6 sultation with the Federal Communications Commis7 sion, the Secretary of State, and the United States

8 Trade Representative, and shall take into account the

9 totality of a country’s actions in all relevant fora, in10 cluding the Assemblies of Parties of INTELSAT and

11 Inmarsat.

12 ‘‘(b) IMPOSITION OF COST-BASED SETTLEMENT

13 RATE.—Notwithstanding—

14 ‘‘(1) any higher settlement rate that an overseas

15 carrier charges any United States carrier to originate

16 or terminate international message telephone services;

17 and

18 ‘‘(2) any transition period that would otherwise

19 apply,

20 the Commission may by rule prohibit United States car21 riers from paying an amount in excess of a cost-based settle22 ment rate to overseas carriers in countries listed by the

23 Commission pursuant to subsection (a).

24 ‘‘(c) SETTLEMENTS POLICY.—The Commission shall,

25 in exercising its authority to establish settlements rates for
24

•S 376 EAH

1 United States international common carriers, seek to ad2 vance United States policy in favor of cost-based settlements

3 in all relevant fora on international telecommunications

4 policy, including in meetings with parties and signatories

5 of INTELSAT and Inmarsat.

6 ‘‘Subtitle C—Deregulation and

7 Other Statutory Changes

8 ‘‘SEC. 641. ACCESS TO INTELSAT.

9 ‘‘(a) ACCESS PERMITTED.—Beginning on the date of

10 the enactment of this title, users or providers of tele11 communications services shall be permitted to obtain direct

12 access to INTELSAT telecommunications services and

13 space segment capacity through purchases of such capacity

14 or services from, or through investment in, INTELSAT.

15 ‘‘(b) RULEMAKING.—Within 180 days after the date

16 of the enactment of this title, the Commission shall complete

17 a rulemaking, with notice and opportunity for submission

18 of comment by interested persons, to determine if users or

19 providers of telecommunications services have sufficient op20 portunity to access INTELSAT space segment capacity di21 rectly from INTELSAT to meet their service or capacity

22 requirements. If the Commission determines that such op23 portunity to access does not exist, the Commission shall take

24 appropriate action to facilitate such direct access pursuant

25 to its authority under this Act and the Communications
25

•S 376 EAH

1 Act of 1934. The Commission shall take such steps as may

2 be necessary to prevent the circumvention of the intent of

3 this section.

4 ‘‘(c) CONTRACT PRESERVATION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be construed to permit the abrogation or modi6 fication of any contract.

7 ‘‘SEC. 642. SIGNATORY ROLE.

8 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON SIGNATORIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL SECURITY LIMITATIONS.—The

10 Federal Communications Commission, after a public

11 interest determination, in consultation with the exec12 utive branch, may restrict foreign ownership of a

13 United States signatory if the Commission determines

14 that not to do so would constitute a threat to national

15 security.

16 ‘‘(2) NO SIGNATORIES REQUIRED.—The United

17 States Government shall not require signatories to

18 represent the United States in INTELSAT or

19 Inmarsat or in any successor entities after a pro-com20 petitive privatization is achieved consistent with sec21 tions 621, 622, and 624.

22 ‘‘(b) CLARIFICATION OF PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES

23 OF COMSAT.—

24 ‘‘(1) GENERALLY NOT IMMUNIZED.—Notwith25 standing any other law or executive agreement, COM-
26

•S 376 EAH

1 SAT shall not be entitled to any privileges or immu2 nities under the laws of the United States or any

3 State on the basis of its status as a signatory of

4 INTELSAT or Inmarsat.

5 ‘‘(2) LIMITED IMMUNITY.—COMSAT and any

6 other company functioning as United States signa7 tory to INTELSAT or Inmarsat shall not be liable for

8 action taken by it in carrying out the specific, writ9 ten instruction of the United States issued in connec10 tion with its relationships and activities with foreign

11 governments, international entities, and the intergov12 ernmental satellite organizations.

13 ‘‘(3) PROVISIONS PROSPECTIVE.—Paragraph (1)

14 shall not apply with respect to liability for any ac15 tion taken by COMSAT before the date of the enact16 ment of the Communications Satellite Competition

17 and Privatization Act of 1999.

18 ‘‘(c) PARITY OF TREATMENT.—Notwithstanding any

19 other law or executive agreement, the Commission shall have

20 the authority to impose similar regulatory fees on the

21 United States signatory which it imposes on other entities

22 providing similar services.

23 ‘‘SEC. 643. ELIMINATION OF PROCUREMENT PREFERENCES.

24 ‘‘Nothing in this title or the Communications Act of

25 1934 shall be construed to authorize or require any pref-
27

•S 376 EAH

1 erence, in Federal Government procurement of tele2 communications services, for the satellite space segment pro3 vided by INTELSAT, Inmarsat, or any successor entity or

4 separated entity.

5 ‘‘SEC. 644. USE OF ITU TECHNICAL COORDINATION.

6 ‘‘The Commission and United States satellite compa7 nies shall utilize the International Telecommunication

8 Union procedures for technical coordination with

9 INTELSAT and its successor entities and separated enti10 ties, rather than INTELSAT procedures.

11 ‘‘SEC. 645. TERMINATION OF COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE

12 ACT OF 1962 PROVISIONS.

13 ‘‘Effective on the dates specified, the following provi14 sions of this Act shall cease to be effective:

15 ‘‘(1) Date of the enactment of this title: Sections

16 101 and 102; paragraphs (1), (5) and (6) of section

17 201(a); section 301; section 303; section 502; and

18 paragraphs (2) and (4) of section 504(a).

19 ‘‘(2) On the effective date of the Commission’s

20 order that establishes direct access to INTELSAT

21 space segment: Paragraphs (1), (3) through (5), and

22 (8) through (10) of section 201(c); and section 304.

23 ‘‘(3) On the effective date of the Commission’s

24 order that establishes direct access to Inmarsat space

25 segment: Subsections (a) through (d) of section 503.
28

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(4) On the effective date of a Commission order

2 determining under section 601(b)(2) that Inmarsat

3 privatization is consistent with criteria in sections

4 621 and 624: Section 504(b).

5 ‘‘(5) On the effective date of a Commission order

6 determining under section 601(b)(2) that INTELSAT

7 privatization is consistent with criteria in sections

8 621 and 622: Paragraphs (2) and (4) of section

9 201(a); section 201(c)(2); subsection (a) of section

10 403; and section 404.

11 ‘‘SEC. 646. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.

12 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The President and the Com13 mission shall report to the Committees on Commerce and

14 International Relations of the House of Representatives and

15 the Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

16 and Foreign Relations of the Senate within 90 calendar

17 days of the enactment of this title, and not less than annu18 ally thereafter, on the progress made to achieve the objectives

19 and carry out the purposes and provisions of this title. Such

20 reports shall be made available immediately to the public.

21 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF REPORTS.—The reports submitted

22 pursuant to subsection (a) shall include the following:

23 ‘‘(1) Progress with respect to each objective since

24 the most recent preceding report.
29

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(2) Views of the Parties with respect to privat2 ization.

3 ‘‘(3) Views of industry and consumers on privat4 ization.

5 ‘‘(4) Impact privatization has had on United

6 States industry, United States jobs, and United

7 States industry’s access to the global marketplace.

8 ‘‘SEC. 647. CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS.

9 ‘‘The President’s designees and the Commission shall

10 consult with the Committees on Commerce and Inter11 national Relations of the House of Representatives and the

12 Committees on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and

13 Foreign Relations of the Senate prior to each meeting of

14 the INTELSAT or Inmarsat Assembly of Parties, the

15 INTELSAT Board of Governors, the Inmarsat Council, or

16 appropriate working group meetings.

17 ‘‘SEC. 648. SATELLITE AUCTIONS.

18 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

19 Commission shall not have the authority to assign by com20 petitive bidding orbital locations or spectrum used for the

21 provision of international or global satellite communica22 tions services. The President shall oppose in the Inter23 national Telecommunication Union and in other bilateral

24 and multilateral fora any assignment by competitive bid-
30

•S 376 EAH

1 ding of orbital locations or spectrum used for the provision

2 of such services.

3 ‘‘SEC. 649. EXCLUSIVITY ARRANGEMENTS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No satellite operator shall acquire

5 or enjoy the exclusive right of handling telecommunications

6 to or from the United States, its territories or possessions,

7 and any other country or territory by reason of any conces8 sion, contract, understanding, or working arrangement to

9 which the satellite operator or any persons or companies

10 controlling or controlled by the operator are parties.

11 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—In enforcing the provisions of this

12 section, the Commission—

13 ‘‘(1) shall not require the termination of existing

14 satellite telecommunications services under contract

15 with, or tariff commitment to, such satellite operator;

16 but

17 ‘‘(2) may require the termination of new services

18 only to the country that has provided the exclusive

19 right to handle telecommunications, if the Commis20 sion determines the public interest, convenience, and

21 necessity so requires.
31

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘Subtitle D—Negotiations To

2 Pursue Privatization

3 ‘‘SEC. 661. METHODS TO PURSUE PRIVATIZATION.

4 ‘‘The President shall secure the pro-competitive

5 privatizations required by this title in a manner that meets

6 the criteria in subtitle B.

7 ‘‘Subtitle E—Definitions

8 ‘‘SEC. 681. DEFINITIONS.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As used in this title:

10 ‘‘(1) INTELSAT.—The term ‘INTELSAT’

11 means the International Telecommunications Satellite

12 Organization established pursuant to the Agreement

13 Relating to the International Telecommunications

14 Satellite Organization (INTELSAT).

15 ‘‘(2) INMARSAT.—The term ‘Inmarsat’ means the

16 International Mobile Satellite Organization estab17 lished pursuant to the Convention on the Inter18 national Maritime Organization.

19 ‘‘(3) SIGNATORIES.—The term ‘signatories’—

20 ‘‘(A) in the case of INTELSAT, or

21 INTELSAT successors or separated entities,

22 means a Party, or the telecommunications entity

23 designated by a Party, that has signed the Oper24 ating Agreement and for which such Agreement
32

•S 376 EAH

1 has entered into force or to which such Agree2 ment has been provisionally applied; and

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of Inmarsat, or Inmarsat

4 successors or separated entities, means either a

5 Party to, or an entity that has been designated

6 by a Party to sign, the Operating Agreement.

7 ‘‘(4) PARTY.—The term ‘Party’—

8 ‘‘(A) in the case of INTELSAT, means a

9 nation for which the INTELSAT agreement has

10 entered into force or been provisionally applied;

11 and

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of Inmarsat, means a na13 tion for which the Inmarsat convention has en14 tered into force.

15 ‘‘(5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’

16 means the Federal Communications Commission.

17 ‘‘(6) INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION

18 UNION.—The term ‘International Telecommunication

19 Union’ means the intergovernmental organization

20 that is a specialized agency of the United Nations in

21 which member countries cooperate for the development

22 of telecommunications, including adoption of inter23 national regulations governing terrestrial and space

24 uses of the frequency spectrum as well as use of the

25 geostationary satellite orbit.
33

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(7) SUCCESSOR ENTITY.—The term ‘successor

2 entity’—

3 ‘‘(A) means any privatized entity created

4 from the privatization of INTELSAT or

5 Inmarsat or from the assets of INTELSAT or

6 Inmarsat; but

7 ‘‘(B) does not include any entity that is a

8 separated entity.

9 ‘‘(8) SEPARATED ENTITY.—The term ‘separated

10 entity’ means a privatized entity to whom a portion

11 of the assets owned by INTELSAT or Inmarsat are

12 transferred prior to full privatization of INTELSAT

13 or Inmarsat, including in particular the entity whose

14 structure was under discussion by INTELSAT as of

15 March 25, 1998, but excluding ICO.

16 ‘‘(9) ORBITAL LOCATION.—The term ‘orbital lo17 cation’ means the location for placement of a satellite

18 on the geostationary orbital arc as defined in the

19 International Telecommunication Union Radio Regu20 lations.

21 ‘‘(10) SPACE SEGMENT.—The term ‘space seg22 ment’ means the satellites, and the tracking, telem23 etry, command, control, monitoring and related fa24 cilities and equipment used to support the operation
34

•S 376 EAH

1 of satellites owned or leased by INTELSAT,

2 Inmarsat, or a separated entity or successor entity.

3 ‘‘(11) NON-CORE SERVICES.—The term ‘non-core

4 services’ means, with respect to INTELSAT provi5 sion, services other than public-switched network voice

6 telephony and occasional-use television, and with re7 spect to Inmarsat provision, services other than global

8 maritime distress and safety services or other existing

9 maritime or aeronautical services for which there are

10 not alternative providers.

11 ‘‘(12) ADDITIONAL SERVICES.—The term ‘addi12 tional services’ means Internet services, high-speed

13 data, interactive services, non-maritime or non-aero14 nautical mobile services, Direct to Home (DTH) or

15 Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) video services, or

16 Ka-band services.

17 ‘‘(13) INTELSAT AGREEMENT.—The term

18 ‘INTELSAT Agreement’ means the Agreement Relat19 ing to the International Telecommunications Satellite

20 Organization (‘INTELSAT’), including all its an21 nexes (TIAS 7532, 23 UST 3813).

22 ‘‘(14) HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—The term

23 ‘Headquarters Agreement’ means the International

24 Telecommunication Satellite Organization Head-
35

•S 376 EAH

1 quarters Agreement (November 24, 1976) (TIAS 8542,

2 28 UST 2248).

3 ‘‘(15) OPERATING AGREEMENT.—The term ‘Op4 erating Agreement’ means—

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of INTELSAT, the agree6 ment, including its annex but excluding all titles

7 of articles, opened for signature at Washington

8 on August 20, 1971, by Governments or tele9 communications entities designated by Govern10 ments in accordance with the provisions of the

11 Agreement; and

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of Inmarsat, the Operating

13 Agreement on the International Maritime Sat14 ellite Organization, including its annexes.

15 ‘‘(16) INMARSAT CONVENTION.—The term

16 ‘Inmarsat Convention’ means the Convention on the

17 International Maritime Satellite Organization

18 (Inmarsat) (TIAS 9605, 31 UST 1).

19 ‘‘(17) NATIONAL CORPORATION.—The term ‘na20 tional corporation’ means a corporation the owner21 ship of which is held through publicly traded securi22 ties, and that is incorporated under, and subject to,

23 the laws of a national, state, or territorial govern24 ment.
36

•S 376 EAH

1 ‘‘(18) COMSAT.—The term ‘COMSAT’ means

2 the corporation established pursuant to title III of the

3 Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 731

4 et seq.)

5 ‘‘(19) ICO.—The term ‘ICO’ means the company

6 known, as of the date of the enactment of this title,

7 as ICO Global Communications, Inc.

8 ‘‘(20) REPLACEMENT SATELLITE.—The term ‘re9 placement satellite’ means a satellite that replaces a

10 satellite that fails prior to the end of the duration of

11 contracts for services provided over such satellite and

12 that takes the place of a satellite designated for the

13 provision of public-switched network and occasional14 use television services under contracts executed prior

15 to March 25, 1998 (but not including K–TV or simi16 lar satellites). A satellite is only considered a replace17 ment satellite to the extent such contracts are equal

18 to or less than the design life of the satellite.

19 ‘‘(21) GLOBAL MARITIME DISTRESS AND SAFETY

20 SERVICES OR GMDSS.—The term ‘global maritime

21 distress and safety services’ or ‘GMDSS’ means the

22 automated ship-to-shore distress alerting system

23 which uses satellite and advanced terrestrial systems

24 for international distress communications and pro25 moting maritime safety in general. The GMDSS per-
37

•S 376 EAH

1 mits the worldwide alerting of vessels, coordinated

2 search and rescue operations, and dissemination of

3 maritime safety information.

4 ‘‘(b) COMMON TERMINOLOGY.—Except as otherwise

5 provided in subsection (a), terms used in this title that are

6 defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934

7 have the meanings provided in such section.’’.

Attest:

Clerk.