Comsat declined to respond - congressional request for details on lobbying costs

Television Digest with Consumer Electronics, Jan 12, 1998

Comsat declined to respond to congressional request for details on its lobbying costs. House Commerce Committee Chmn. Bliley (R-Va.) had asked Comsat Gen. Counsel Warren Zeger how much company has spent on all lobbying in last 5 years. Zeger replied that congressional lobbying expenses are excluded from Comsat's rate base and are not passed on to users.

Comsat's competitors aren't regulated as common carriers, Zeger said, so they can pass such costs on to consumers. Those competitors say Comsat is spending millions to defeat procompetitive legislation in Congress and to win nondominant carrier regulation from FCC. FCC International Bureau Chief Regina Keeney told Bliley that Comsat marks up Inmarsat and Intelsat services as high as 86% and 68%, and he said that showed that "satellite reform legislation is urgently needed." Comsat submitted documents to FCC Jan. 7 suggesting that Intelsat doesn't pose threat to competition and that it would be illegal for FCC to require direct access to Intelsat. Meanwhile, NTIA hasn't responded to its set of questions from Bliley on satellite competition. Responses by Dec. 22 were requested from FCC, Comsat and NTIA, but NTIA asked for one-inonth extension, which was denied, we're told.