The C-Band Alliance (CBA) has a new spokesperson: Peter Pitsch was appointed head of advocacy and government affairs, replacing Preston Padden, who left the position earlier this month to spend more time with his family in Colorado.
Pitsch is no stranger to the alliance and its goals. He has advocated in support of the CBA’s proposal on behalf of Intel since 2017; he previously served as associate general counsel for Intel until his retirement in 2018.
He also has a lot of experience in the halls of the FCC and Congress. Positions of note prior to his career at Intel include serving as chief of the Office of Plans and Policy and chief of staff to the chairman of the FCC during the Reagan administration. All total, he has more than three decades of experience advocating for public policy issues in front of the FCC and U.S. Congress.
“The appointment of Peter Pitsch, who is already well-versed in this complex proceeding at the FCC, allows the CBA to further amplify its advocacy efforts at the FCC and on Capitol Hill as we explain how our proposal best balances the needs of C-band incumbents with the need for speed when it comes to supplying spectrum for 5G in the United States,” said CBA CEO Bill Tolpegin in a press release. “Given his long experience with telecom policy and intimate knowledge of our proposal and the FCC proceeding, we are confident Peter will be a valuable leader in our efforts to build consensus on our proposal.”
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The CBA was formed by Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat and Telesat, the band’s incumbents and the leading continental U.S. satellite services operators. They have been advocating for what they call a market-based proposal for freeing up 200 megahertz of C-band spectrum, precious midband spectrum seen as key for 5G.
However, it has also garnered a fair share of critics, including T-Mobile, which has proffered its own ideas for an incentive auction for the spectrum. The CBA argues that its transition plan would accelerate the deployment of 5G services in the U.S. while also protecting the wide array of established C-band satellite services and the U.S. consumers that rely on them, such as the U.S. television and radio broadcasters and programmers.