Reflections on Satellite Communications

For a report summarizing the conference written by Daniel Henry Click Here

In Cooperation With the Federal Communications Bar Association

In many discussions of communications technology, policy, and business, satellite communications is an afterthought. But since the “open skies” policies spearheaded by the Office of Telecommunications Policy’s Tom Whitehead and introduced by the FCC in the early 1970s, satellite communications has fundamentally changed all segments of the telecommunications industry – video, voice, and data communications. In the case of video communications, the advent of competitive satellite services fueled the growth of cable networks like HBO and TBS. In the case of voice communications, satellite technology challenged AT&T’s long lines – and undersea cable – as the dominant mode of reaching distant locales. More recently, satellite communications, in the form of Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), challenged the dominant cable industry, deploying an all-digital system before the cable companies did. Finally, satellite communications is providing broadband Internet access to millions of subscribers around the world.

The rise and continuing role of satellite communications remains an underappreciated topic. Recently, however, policymakers have devoted more attention to satellite communications as a part of spectrum policy. Much of this attention reflects the discussion around Lightsquared’s plans to deploy a more terrestrial based system under the “ancillary terrestrial component” regime, raising concerns from the GPS community as to interference with the operations of GPS systems. At the same time, DISH Network is taking a greater interest in acquiring spectrum devoted for satellite communications, recently investing $2.9 billion in purchases of bankrupt satellite companies. It remains to be seen how DISH will use this spectrum, but one report suggested that it now “has pieces it can use to offer TV video programming in the home via satellite, through the Internet, or wirelessly outside the home to smartphones, tablets or cars.”

This conference will address the changing face of satellite communications, evaluating its overall impact, and placing it into context. To do so, it will bring together a range of leading policymakers, policy practitioners, and industry leaders, evaluating the international and domestic trends in satellite communications, with particular attention to its role in broadband communications. In so doing, it will seek to aid policymakers in what the Washington Post called Tom Whitehead’s principal mission – “to get the federal government to become ‘more anticipatory’ in addressing rapid technological changes.”