Two organizations in Washington, D.C., filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday urging the agency to do something about TV signal strength standards. The controversial criteria used today for determining signal strength help determine eligibility for satellite-delivered distant network signals. In a 12-page filing, the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative said the current model for determining local TV signal strength should be updated to include clutter such as buildings and terrain. The organization, which delivers DirecTV to 1.428 million subscribers through its affiliates, also went a step further, suggesting that the commission create a new standard for determining signal strength. According to the NRTC filing, the FCC should, "in a separate rulemaking, establish a new signal strength standard specifically for the purposes" of new satellite regulations signed into law in November. "Failure to do so will render efforts to adopt an improved predictive model ineffective to determine whether viewers actually receive an acceptable picture over-the-air from local affiliates," the organization said. The Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association said it would support use of a "Land Use Land Cover" database operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. "On the other hand," the association wrote, "the SBCA agrees with its members DirecTV and EchoStar that these proposals do not yet incorporate several other highly relevant variables, such as building height and spacing, and the losses associated with these variables." The SBCA also said some sort of testing should be conducted to determine whether a household "is eligible for a distant signal retransmission in the first place - and not only to the testing prescribed by the SHVIA (Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act) at the subscriber's request after a waiver denial." The FCC is seeking comments on the signal strength standard and other proposals in its effort to roll out mandates contained in the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act.

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DISH Talks of Anti-Competitive Retrans Deals

In supplemental information submitted to the Federal Communications Commission regarding "good faith" negotiations for retransmission consent agreements, EchoStar told the agency that it must not permit broadcasters to leverage their significant market power to gain an anti-competitive advantage. EchoStar said broadcasters are making demands that "run afoul of the good faith requirement of the statute in retransmission negotiations." In its efforts to secure retransmission consent from broadcasters, EchoStar said that, "with very few exceptions, these broadcasters are all demanding significant monetary compensation in exchange for that consent." The average requirement is 50 cents per subscriber, per month, EchoStar said. In a few cases, broadcasters are demanding monetary compensation other than a monthly subscriber fee, EchoStar said. One of the claims centers on an unnamed broadcaster in California which requested that EchoStar sponsor a "Leadership Award" in the amount of $125,000 a year as well as commit 40 percent of its local advertising budget to the broadcaster's stations in the relevant DMAs. In another instance, EchoStar said that a broadcaster in Texas is seeking an annual advertising commitment from EchoStar of $250,000 instead of a 50 cents per subscriber, per month fee. Competitive marketplace considerations could cause a difference in retransmission consent agreements between broadcasters and multichannel video providers, but EchoStar said that is has not been provided with any proof that such conditions exist. The company said it believes the broadcasters in question haven't requested and do not receive any cash payments in exchange for retransmission consent from cable operators. Broadcasters are also refusing retransmission consent unless EchoStar agrees "to a condition prohibiting entirely the importation of distant network signals into their DMAs, even to unserved households within that area," even though such importation is expressly permitted by the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act.

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Globalstar Sees Another Downgrade

Globalstar Telecommunications, the Loral-backed sat-phone provider, saw another downgrade of its stock Tuesday despite pledges from its top executive that the new platform will eventually succeed. Armand Musey with Banc of America Securities lowered the firm's rating on Globalstar to "market perform" from "buy." In a report released Tuesday, Musey said although it's too early to speculate on Globalstar's successes and struggles so far, "we see no evidence that Globalstar is outselling Iridium at the roughly 10-to-1 level necessary to meet subscriber projections." Iridium, the first sat-phone provider to enter the market, is under bankruptcy proceedings. Cellular phone billionaire Craig McCaw is proposing to save the company with a package he unveiled last week. During an interview on CNBC, Globalstar Chairman Bernard Schwartz said the company is "on a long-term plan ... and there are bound to be little bumps in the road. But, generally speaking, we are pretty much on the plan that we had hoped to be on at this stage." Schwartz, who also is chairman of Loral - Globalstar's primary backer, said the sat-phone company should have enough gateways and telephones to serve 120 countries around the world by the end of the year. He also dismissed comparisons of Globalstar with Iridium. "Their market was different. We're on an entirely different model, and not only that, our system is much simpler, much less expensive and it works," he said.

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Historic Photo Shoot For Hughes Bird

Hughes Space and Communications, the world's top satellite manufacturer, captured images of a satellite unfolding its solar wings in orbit more than 22,000 miles above earth. The images of the solar wings were radioed from the Hughes-built Galaxy XI, a satellite manufactured for sister company PanAmSat. The bird was launched aboard an Ariane rocket on Dec. 21. Two cameras specially modified for the photo shoot captured the 30-minute milestone. The full wingspan of the satellite measures 111 feet. Images and other graphics and information outlining the Galaxy mission are available at the HSC web site, http://www.hughespace.com. The never-seen-before photos, courtesy of Hughes Space and Communications, can be seen at the SkyREPORT.COM home page.

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COMPETITIVE WATCH: Liberty Gets Ascent