Global satellite services provider Intelsat put in a plug Wednesday (Feb. 20) for a proposal to pay it for giving up some of that satellite spectrum for terrestrial 5G.
That pitch came its report of fourth quarter and full-year financial results, in which Intelsat said it lost $111 million in the fourth quarter and $600 million in 2018.
The FCC is seeking ways to free up more spectrum for 5G. The C-Band Alliance, comprising fixed satellite service operators including Intelsat (SES, Eutelsat and Telesat are the others), has proposed a market-based solution to negotiate secondary-market agreements with satellite providers for up to 200 MHz of C-band (3.7-4.2 GHz band) spectrum.
Intelsat said that is the only way to go.
"[W]e continue to promote our FCC proposal to clear a portion of our U.S. spectrum to accelerate the deployment of 5G in the U.S., " it said in releasing its financials. "The C-Band Alliance proposal is the only path that protects the services essential to our customers’ businesses, while at the same time enabling the U.S. to win the race for 5G."
