Transcript:

Jill Sorgi:
If you’re wondering if you are C-band ready for 5G, you are in the right place. Today we are going to talk about things like how the 5G repack will affect your signal service, why it’s important to install new equipment sooner than later, and the next steps that you can take to be sure you’re C-band ready for the 5G C-band frequency relocation. And then, at the end, we’re going to have some Q&A time. So, if you have any questions at all, please drop them in the chatbox here, and we will do our best to address them at the end. And if for some reason we can’t get to them all, we will get back to you or you can contact us. We’re here for you, so we want to hear from you. My name is Jill Sorgi and who I have here today with me is Gene Sorgi and Bob Cato. Hey guys.

Gene Sorgi:
Hey, how’s it going, Jill?

Bob Cato:
Hi, Jill.

Jill Sorgi:
Thank you, you guys. You’re such great sports, and I’m thanking you so much for being here today with us. So, I am just going to go ahead and get started. So, in its 20-22 report and order, the FCC established procedures to relocate existing operations into the upper part of the C-band spectrum. So, Bob, can you please just give us a quick summary of the C-band relocation and the deadlines that we need to know?

Bob Cato:
All right. So, the FCC has established a timeline for us to transition off from the lower C-band portion to the upper 200 megahertz. We’re going to do that in two phases. The first phase has to be completed by December 5th of this year. The antenna program companies that are receiving services right now, they will need to either re-point antennas or move through different frequencies, whatever’s required in order to get them into the 200 megahertz range. Our first deadline, as I said, is December 5th of 2021, and that’ll complete the first phase of this transition.

Jill Sorgi:
Excellent. So, Bob, what happens if a C-band user does not take action by these deadline dates?

Bob Cato:
Well, the program service providers that they’re using currently are going to be moving to different satellites, moving to a different frequency if they’re not above the 400 megahertz range. They’ll all need to be able to move and coordinate programming to continue getting their revenue that there’ve been getting in the past. If they don’t move, if they don’t do anything, they’re going to lose their services, and they’re going to lose their programming.

Jill Sorgi:
Gotcha. Now, along with these technical questions that we’re talking about, you had mentioned to me about something called dual illumination, and I found that interesting. Can you share some more about that with our viewers today?

Bob Cato:
Well, the dual illumination process will be programmers that have to move either to another frequency, another satellite; whatever the need is for them to be able to continue getting and providing programming, they’ll more than likely be providing dual illumination. The dual illumination allows them to continue with the original programming that the customer is used to getting, plus they’ll be able to illuminate on a secondary frequency or a secondary satellite, which will allow the customer time to get their equipment in place, to get their programming all taken care of and get a smooth transition from the current frequency that they’re on to the new frequencies.

Jill Sorgi:
Okay. Is there any deadline or dates associated with dual illumination that you know about?

Bob Cato:
Dual illumination will depend on the service and the provider. Some people won’t need much because the equipment can be automated to the point where all it has to do is change to another frequency on the current satellite that it’s on. Others will need more time because new equipment will have to be installed, additional filtering, feeds, LNBs, everything that’s needed to get the new service running on a new satellite, and that’ll take much more time. So, dual illumination will be varied throughout the field as to how long it runs. If you’re any concern at all, you need to try to get with your program service provider and find out what they’re going to do for dual illumination or how they’re going to help you with your transition.

Jill Sorgi:
Okay. Got it. So, our most important things so far are those dates and also that you have to have the proper ground equipment installed. So, Gee, I’d like to ask you that question. What is the proper ground equipment that is required?

Gene Sorgi:
Well, I’m glad you asked that question, Jill. The proper equipment is going to require feeds, LNBs, filters and the right size antenna because size does matter.

Jill Sorgi:
Oh, gotcha. Size does matter. Well, that works out well for Challenger because we are constantly building 3.8 meter and 4.5 meter antennas, and we do offer 6.3 and 7.5 meter antennas for those who are farther away from the orbital slot that they need, like for example, Alaska and Hawaii. And if you check out our website, it’s cbandready.com, you can see a lot more about our dishes, the sizes, feeds, filters, all sorts of things like that. So, definitely check that out. And then another question, Gene. Does the material that the dish is made of matter?

Gene Sorgi:
Yes. I believe that, in my experience over the last 30 years of stamping reflectors, a metal dish has a higher gain than an SMC product.

Jill Sorgi:
Got it. So, for those of you listening and watching, Challenger has prepared a checklist for C-band users so they can determine if they have the proper equipment already. Those watching now, it’ll be sent via email when the webinar is over, and we have a follow up email. Anyone else watching this anytime on YouTube or anything like that, just contact us, email us, call us. We’ll get that checklist over to you, answer any questions that you might have. So, I want to get back a little bit to those important dates that Bob had mentioned earlier. And these are the important dates that really we all need to know about. So, December 5th, 2021 is what you mentioned. That’s the phase one accelerated location deadline. And then the second date is December 5th, 2023, which is the phase two accelerated relocation deadline. So, Gene, why are these dates so important?

Gene Sorgi:
Well, lead time for receiving and installing equipment, due to COVID, the lead times are much longer. Material costs have increased. Aluminum, steel, epoxy, trading materials, a large increase of pricing over the last 12 months.

Jill Sorgi:
Yeah, no doubt. So, we’ve definitely seen that. Just the cost of lumber alone is insane, and we’ve got to build those dish crates. Along with the aluminum and steel, we’ve been seeing it firsthand. So, definitely the sooner, the better. Place your orders. Hey Bob, what is another reason to get equipment on order right away?

Bob Cato:
Well, your technicians need to be deployed so that they can get out to the sites all across the country, help you with your re-points, your feed installs, LNBs, filters, whatever’s required to make sure that your services don’t drop off. So, in order to be able to go ahead and schedule all these people, we need to get the orders in as soon as possible. Whether it’s just a simple re-point, you need a qualified technician to help you. We’re seeing all kinds of things that are popping up all across the board. Changes in antenna sizes are required in some instances. There’s lots of things that have to be taken care of before this December 5th deadline.

Jill Sorgi:
Gotcha. So, very important, sooner than later. Don’t procrastinate. And so due to that accelerated schedule, Challenger will turn quotes on full packages or individual items as quickly as possible. Just reach out to us. We’re here for you. And speaking of our customers and everyone out there, we hear the term incumbent frequently when we’re discussing the C-band repack. Reading articles, I see incumbent. So, incumbent earth station operators is something I see a lot. So Bob, what are the different types of customers that we’re working with here?

Bob Cato:
So, incumbents are the folks that registered their C-band downlink sites and uplink sites, whatever, during the 2018 initial sign up for the repack. There’s four different types of categories involved in this. First category is the incumbents that are going to go ahead and take the lump sum buyout. They will actually have submitted their paperwork this last fall to go ahead and take the lump sum. Yes, they’re still waiting on checks. The Clearinghouse still hasn’t had the money that is needed to distribute to them, but they’re working on it and it should be soon. The second type of a group that is going to go ahead and be proactive that are incumbents that have registered. These folks will actually be the people that go out and grab the bull by the horns. They’re going to go ahead and get their own feeds, their LNBs, filters, whatever antennas that they need in order to re-point to the services so they’re prepared to do this transition quickly and smoothly. They will then actually go back to the Clearinghouse with the money that they’ve expended or whatever. They’ll go back to the Clearinghouse and request reimbursement.

Bob Cato:
The third group of people, which are the folks that we’re seeing right now, those folks are the satellite owners and program providers that are actually sending out people. And currently there’s several different companies out in the field that are doing the installations, re-points, feed work, whatever. And USSI is one of those companies. ATCI is obviously doing all of the Simulsat work now, and Pacific Gables is out there in the field. These folks will have their programming needs taken care of directly by the SES, Intelsat, Eutelsat, whoever it is that they’re getting their programming from. The fourth group of people. Those people are the ones that did not register in the 2018 signup time. We’re understanding at this point there are hundreds and hundreds of radio stations, small cable companies, backyard dish owners, whatever. These folks are going to have to just take the bull by the horns themselves. They’ll have to buy their own LNBs, buy their own feeds, their own antennas. There will be no reimbursement for these folks.

Jill Sorgi:
Great. Gotcha. So, definitely for those people, we’re here to help you, and actually all of the customers. If you are looking to purchase and do reimbursement, or if there’s just something that you need, please give us a call. We’ll definitely help you out. And then also in the chats, if it’s not there yet, we’ll put a link in there for the RPC. That’s the Relocation Payment Clearinghouse. That’ll give you more information on who that is and what they’re doing. And then Bob, you brought something up that I’m glad you brought up. You had brought up the service providers. So, for example, when SES learned of this webinar, they contacted me and asked if we would share the following with our viewers. They said, “Please inform the attendees that vendors from USSI, ATCI and Pacific Cable will be reaching out on behalf of SES to schedule filter installation for the 5G C-band transition.”

Jill Sorgi:
They said that service providers need cable affiliates to answer their phones when the vendors are calling so that they can schedule those installations at their earth stations. So, if you are one of these people out there and you’ve got your service provider calling you, please make sure you pick up your phone and take that call. If they’re leaving you a message, make sure you get them a call back because they’re basically scheduling to get that equipment to you at no cost, and time is of the essence, because they’re going to book up fast and that’s going to push you out further if you wait.

Jill Sorgi:
So, Bob and Gene, this is some great information today. I hope everybody is finding it as interesting as I am, and I hope it’s really helpful. We do have some time to answer questions from people out there, if anybody’s got any just yet. I’m going to take a peak in the chat, see what we got. And I also have… Let’s see. So, I do have a question here. I think this is a good one for Gene. “Why is metal better than SMC?” It must be referring to antennas. Yeah. “Why is metal better than SMC?” Gene, go ahead.

Gene Sorgi:
Well, the metal reflector is the good RF bounce to your feed. An SMC reflector, without embedding a mesh or putting on a copper or nickel-based paint, would have zero bounce back. So, I feel that that’s one of the best reasons.

Jill Sorgi:
Gotcha. Okay. Well, that makes really good sense with the metal surface and then another factor, I think, just these metal antennas really are stronger and more rigid. Just for example, we have an installer who is an Iowa, and it was just last year Iowa had some really intense, straight winds come through. And I know a particular site, the installer went to see the customer. So, after the storm, there was a SMC antenna and it was next to a Challenger antenna. After that storm came through, it just completely destroyed the SMC antenna, but the Challenger was fine and still standing. So, I think that’s another great benefit to why metal is better than SMC. So, another question here I have. So, oh, okay. This says, “Is the deadline December 2025 or 2023?” So, Bob, maybe you can answer that one.

Bob Cato:
So, the final days of the accelerated program for the second phase is December of 2023. The FCC has built in a little cushion there just in case, and that final deadline is in 2025. What they’re attempting to do is get all this completed in a timely manner, making sure that you keep your program services, you keep your customers happy. And by doing the second phase and getting it done in 2023, that still allows for your programming, but it gives us a little cushion just in case things go awry and we have to fall back and start with another plan by the FCC in order to get things done. The cutoff deadline, the final day, is December of 2025. No matter what happens before that date, after that date we will have to make sure that we have all of our programming needs taken care of in the C-band because 5G will come in or the providers that are going to be picking up services for your cell phone will be cutting your services off if you’re not prepared and not done by that day.

Jill Sorgi:
Excellent. Okay. That’s good to know. Now, I got some other activity coming in here, so I don’t want to look distracted. I’m not Facebooking, I swear. This is a good question.

Bob Cato:
Sure.

Jill Sorgi:
So, this question is about, we talked about how important size is, and that size matters, and we talked about 3.8 meter and up. So, someone’s asking, “Why would a smaller dish not really be acceptable?” Maybe, Bob, maybe you can tell us a little bit more.

Bob Cato:
Yeah. Over the years we found that the reflective surface that are on the antennas, those smaller antennas, you have a lot more compression ratio now than you did in the past. Digital frequencies are much more susceptible to losses and things along that line. Several years ago, the radio industry put out a notice throughout the industry that 3.8 meter or larger was almost a requirement in order to keep good, strong C-band service to your radio station. And this has been several years ago. So, the larger the antenna is, the more surface gain that you have, the better your signals are going to be. You’re just overall doing yourself a favor by installing a good antenna that’s more than you need because when the weather’s terrible outside, you don’t want to be out there shoveling snow out of this thing, or rain off of it or whatever you need to do in order to keep your signal up. Buy a bigger antenna. It will allow you to have more margin so that when the weather’s bad, you can still have service.

Jill Sorgi:
Excellent. Well, that’s very… Thank you for sharing that. I’m sure a lot of people were wondering. Another question here I have. Oop. Okay. So, I have, well, someone was asking, “Can Challenger offer installations?”

Bob Cato:
Yeah. Challenger has installation companies that we work with. We have been Patriot initially, and now the Challenger name. We have been in the field and in the industry for years and years and years. We have qualified people we work with. We know all the people that are installing antennas, the qualified technicians, the experts in the field, if you will. We can do installations. We can help you with installations. We can put you in touch with the right installer if that’s what you need. But you’re going to have to reach out to us and let us know. Otherwise we can’t help you.

Jill Sorgi:
Definitely. Appreciate that, Bob. And then yes, so let us know. We can help you get your right equipment. And okay, I have… Let’s see. I know we’ve been running about 23 minutes. That’s great. I don’t want to keep you guys on too long. I know everybody’s got stuff to do. Maybe you’re getting hungry for lunch. Quick question right here. Oh, “Can we replace parts?” I’m sorry, where did it go? “Can Challenger provide replacement parts for old antennas in the field?” Maybe, Gene, maybe you can answer that one. They’re asking about, “Can Challenger provide replacement parts for old antennas in the field?”

Gene Sorgi:
Yes. Well, possibly, depending on the equipment. If it was an old Patriot antenna, most likely we would be able to help. For sure if it was a Challenger antenna, all these pieces that we build are interchangeable and can be replaced. So, pictures would be very helpful and we would get back with you in a quick response.

Bob Cato:
If you’ve got a slightly damaged antenna out there and the lawnmower guy hit it or a baseball hit it, the guy at the bar next door threw a beer bottle at it, if you have a damaged antenna, send us a picture of it. We’ll see if we can’t get you the replacement part. These are all interchangeable. This was a good antenna. It’s easy for you to just swap out a piece, put a new one in there and get your antenna back up running full strength again.

Jill Sorgi:
Excellent. So, yeah. And then just so, our listeners, just so you know, we’re referring to the, obviously Challenger now or the legacy Patriot. We are using the same tooling, so we can definitely help you out if that’s your case. Definitely the pictures are worth a thousand words. Because we’ve been through this before. Someone asks us. We say, “Send pictures of your dish.” Sometimes we can help them. Sometimes, maybe they’re too far along. It’s not something that we can help with, but that’s always the best way to know. I do have a question here. Actually, someone is here with us from Europe, and so he has a question. Well, I’m going to ask you guys. I don’t know if we’ll have the answer, but definitely want to ask just in case. Otherwise we’ll research more. I believe it’s Sten. He’s asking, “Will the C-band impact be the same in Europe as in the US? There is traditionally frequency differences so I’m wondering if the impact is the same in Europe.” I don’t… Bob, I hate to put you on the spot-

Bob Cato:
My research says that the Europeans are using a different frequency layout for their 5G. I’m not an expert in that, by any means. So, we would have to go and do a little more research in order to give a good educated answer to that question. Sorry.

Jill Sorgi:
Nope, totally fine. I think that’s great. And then we do have connections and resellers and integrators in Europe, so I’m definitely going to reach out following this and learn more about that. I’ve got a question here. Okay. So, this is a question. I’m just trying to see. The name’s a little bit cutoff of who it is. But it says, “I’ve seen many filters and LNB filter combos, and I have heard of the three phases. I’ve heard, depending how far the 5G tower is, is there one filter that will be a good one-size-fits-all or does it depend on tower locations, et cetera?”

Bob Cato:
Okay. So, the tower location is going to be a factor for you if you’re getting just saturated with ground level noise. The filter situation, what it boils down to is that the first phase filters will cut off a certain amount of the C-band frequency, the very lower portion of it. And they’re going to cut off up to the 3.8 frequency. Below that, they’re not going to allow that signal through. The insertion loss of that filter is going to actually cause a little bit of signal degradation. So, you’re going to find some issues with maybe getting enough signal level. Maybe not.

Bob Cato:
The thing that you’re going to look at is, if your programming has moved to above the 400 megahertz range, then all you’re going to need is a second phase filter. Because your programming isn’t down in that lower area. It’s going to have to transition over next year. So, if your programming’s already moved above the 400, then go ahead and get the second phase filter, save yourself the cost of buying two sets of different filters. As far as the tower on your antenna and such, that’s going to be a per site issue and you probably will need a good technician to come in to give you advice and to look over the situation, see what can be done to help you make sure you keep your programming.

Jill Sorgi:
Excellent. Bob, I really appreciate that. Actually, I realize now that came from Roger. Roger is in Canada. He’s a customer of ours. So, thank you for that question, Roger. I have another question here. This is a good question. This is from Crystal. “The US DoD is a significant user of the commercial C-band. Is there a DoD plan for readiness with the C-band transition?” That’s a really good question. I don’t know about that. Have you heard anything about that, Bob?

Bob Cato:
I have not. The DoD is sort of privileged in what they use and what frequencies that they can get. So, I’m really not sure about that and I’m not, again, I’m not an expert in this. I’m just learning as we go. Unfortunately, this part of the transition, this is all new stuff and we will have new issues crop up as we go through the transition. If you’ve been in the C-band industry the last 40 years, you know what all the quirks and such are of it. Not to go off topic here, but the DoD is going to have their own issues and we’ll need to take a look at each one of those individual sites to see if we can help.

Jill Sorgi:
Okay, great. That’s awesome. I appreciate that. And didn’t mean to put you on the spot, but I think that’s a really great question because that’s something I hadn’t even really thought about.

Bob Cato:
It is a great question. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll do some more research on that. If you want to get back with me later on, I’m happy to do some initial research and see what I can figure out.

Jill Sorgi:
Okay. Awesome. Thank you. All right. And I think just wrapping this up, I really appreciate everybody interacting, asking questions. We’re hitting the 30 minute mark, so I don’t want to keep everybody too long. We had one more question about… Oh, somebody in Minnesota asking if we offer any kind of de-icing equipment?

Bob Cato:
Absolutely. We have a couple of companies that we work with that we can provide either active anti-icing systems, which are gate units. We can offer full coverage or lower portion coverage. We also have available, snow covers. So, if you’re just in the need of keeping the snow down off the antenna, feel free to contact us. We can work with you to find out which is the best solution for you.

Jill Sorgi:
Okay. Excellent. So, with that, I think we’re going to go ahead and wrap this up. So, I, again, just want to say thank you so much to Bob Cato and Gene Sorgi for their time today. I hope this was informative and helpful to everybody out there. We’re here to provide support, so please contact us, and also please come see us at the trade shows, whether it’s virtual or in real life, because we’re definitely looking forward to getting back out there and seeing everybody.

Jill Sorgi:
We plan on exhibiting at the NAB show. It has October dates and we just received our booth location. We’re going to be out in the silver lot outside at NAB. So, great spot. Come and see us outside. Spend some time with us. And then also we do plan to attend the Satellite 2021 show. I believe the date and location just got moved. I believe that might be September. And then IBC is coming up too. So, we’ll see how that goes, if we can attend. We’d love to. Otherwise, we’ll be virtual. So, everybody, thank you so much, and I hope you all have a great day.

Bob Cato:
See ya, Jill.

Gene Sorgi:
Take care, Jill.