Earlier this week, the Federal Communications Commission approved a series of measures designed to reform the local video franchise process and enable new multichannel video service providers a quicker entrance into the pay-TV market. The agency said its goals were to increase competition within the video marketplace thereby driving down increasing monthly cable bills.

What about satellite? According to some at the FCC, television services from the likes of DIRECTV and EchoStar’s DISH Network aren’t doing a good enough job at creating a more competitive marketplace and curbing cable rates.

But at a time when satellite services are getting the short end of the stick in a debate it never asked to be a part of, other actions by the FCC have spoken to the technology’s benefits to the entire communications industry.

Also this week the agency granted Intelsat North America conditional authority to modify its earth station in Nuevo, California to provide launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) service to newly launched C-band satellites. The FCC green-lighted Intelsat to increase the emission power at the station for its Earth-to-space transmissions to U.S. licensed or non-U.S. licensed C-band satellites.

Commissioners also approved Virtual Geosatellite’s plan to construct a satellite system of highly-elliptical, non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) fixed-satellite service (FSS) satellites to operate in C- and Ku-band frequencies. Specifically, the agency authorized the company to construct 18 NGSO FSS satellites capable of operating service links, infrastructure and relay links, telemetry, tracking, and command links.

According to FCC documents, after Virtual Geo meets certain orbital debris requirements, the authorization will allow the company to offer a range of data, voice, and video broadband fixed satellite services to businesses and consumers around the globe, and will promote competition and investment in broadband services.

Maybe satellite is creating competition after all.