Federal Communications Commission FCC 15-167
STATEMENT OF 
COMMISSIONER MIGNON L. CLYBURN
Re: Comprehensive Review of Licensing and Operating Rules for Satellite Services, IB Docket No. 
12-267
The commercial satellite industry is a sector that provides important voice, data, and 
entertainment services and is a driver of significant economic growth.  During large scale natural 
disasters, these networks play a major role in ensuring continuity of communications when wireline and 
wireless networks are damaged.  From Hurricane Katrina in 2005, to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, to the 
devastating Texas wildfires and the Japanese tsunami in 2011, to Super Storm Sandy in 2012 in the 
northeast and the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal in April this year, geostationary satellite operators, 
or GSOs, provided services that kept emergency responders, businesses and people connected when they 
needed it the most.  GSOs also deliver TV and radio service to millions of consumers and provide 
competition to incumbent media providers.  I might note that innovative non-geostationary satellite 
operators, or non-GSOs, plan to offer fixed satellite services, which promise to soon connect low income 
communities around the globe to the Internet.  This $190 billion global industry employs more than 
200,000 Americans and one of the best ways to encourage more innovation in this space is to remove 
outdated rules and unnecessary barriers to investment.
Today’s Order streamlines or updates more than 200 rule provisions.  We are giving GSOs the 
option to seek a faster way to register for International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recognition, 
which is a “must” for a successful satellite network operation.  Under our current rules, the International 
Bureau may not even begin the ITU registration process for a company until it submits a detailed 
application for the frequency band and orbital location of a proposed space station. The U.S. is the only 
administration in the world that imposes such a restriction.  Because of this, our satellite companies find 
themselves at a competitive disadvantage and foreign operators are able to secure ITU priority over 
American licensed companies.  The process we adopt today eliminates that unfavorable distinction.  
Additionally, we are revising the two-degree spacing requirements to better accommodate the use of 
small antennas and facilitate individualized coordination agreements between satellite companies.  We are 
eliminating all of the space station construction milestones except for the requirement to bring them into 
operation at the assigned locations within a specified period of time.  We are also simplifying routine 
earth station licensing.  With this Order, the Commission is continuing its comprehensive approach to 
revising its Part 25 rules so that they keep pace with technological developments and spur greater 
investment in the commercial satellite industry.
I wish to thank Clay DeCell for his excellent presentation, as well as Jose Albuquerque, Troy 
Tanner, Jennifer Gilsenan, Diane Garfield, Steve Duall, Chip Fleming, and Kerry Murray for their work 
on this item.  Diane Cornell and Mindel De La Torre should also be commended for their leadership in 
this proceeding.