International Satellite Industry Opposes Effort to Introduce Terrestrial Service in Ku-Band

After the C-band fight at WRC-07, it looks as if the battle between satellite and terrestrial operators is moving to the Ku-band.   Not surprising, perhaps, given the general scarcity of spectrum.   Battles over spectrum are likely to be the general state of affairs over the next decade, with a risk that the satellite operators will be pushed towards higher frequencies as the terrestrial and mobile operators move into the lower frequencies.

News clipping: International Satellite Industry Opposes Effort to Introduce Terrestrial Service in Ku-Band.

WASHINGTON - (Business Wire) The global satellite communications sector has opposed a proposal made at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to allow terrestrial fixed services to operate in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, a move that would cause harmful interference to fixed and mobile satellite-based services currently being provided to millions of users throughout the nation. Following successive meetings held recently with the FCC, the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) filed comments yesterday jointly with the European Satellite Operators Association (ESOA), calling upon the U.S. regulatory agency to dismiss a Petition for Rulemaking submitted by the Utilities Telecom Council and Winchester Cator, LLC. The two non-profit associations called upon the FCC to determine that the petition to permit shared, secondary terrestrial fixed service (FS) use of the 14.0-14.5 GHz band is “ill-conceived, technically flawed, and glaringly unjustified.”