Bermuda could be set for its first direct broadcast satellite service after regulators approved a plan from SES to move another operator’s spacecraft to 96.2W.
SES risked losing the orbital slot if it was unable to fill it by a 14 April 2013 deadline…
Bermuda could be set for its first direct broadcast satellite service after regulators approved a plan from SES to move another operator’s spacecraft to 96.2W.
SES risked losing the orbital slot if it was unable to fill it by a 14 April 2013 deadline set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
But the holding was rescued last week when US regulator FCC allowed Colorado-based Echostar to move one of its backup satellites from 76.8W.
Instead of waiting for a normal application process that could have seen SES miss its ITU deadline, Echostar in February applied to the FCC for “special temporary authority” to move the bird, called Echostar-6.
The FCC approved this request on 1 April, giving the operator 60 days to make the transfer.
Addressing concerns that Echostar was bypassing normal application procedures to bring the Bermuda filing into use, the FCC said it was not its place to assess the motivations of non-US commercial operators relating to their tactical approach to ITU filings.
“This approach potentially would place the Commission in the inappropriate role of an arbiter for disagreements primarily involving other Administrations,” it stated.
Furthermore, because Echostar-6 had been serving as a backup satellite before the move, the FCC said its decision would serve the public interest by bringing it into active use.
US DTH group DirecTV had also expressed concerns over Echostar’s request, because of the possibility of interference with a satellite it has at the nearby 101W orbital slot.
However, DirecTV withdrew its opposition after agreeing an undisclosed “operator-to-operator” arrangement with SES.
The Echostar-6 spacecraft was launched in mid-2000 and was designed to have a minimum 12 years of useful life. But in 2010 it suffered anomalies that reduced the number of solar array strings by 24 to 84, and it is unclear how long it will be able to provide services.
SES declined to comment. The FCC filing outlined how it plans to use the bird to evaluate and develop commercial service opportunities in the Caribbean, Latin American and North Atlantic markets outside of the US. It cited Echostar as saying such opportunities include the provision of video programming and international maritime services to consumers in Bermuda and elsewhere.
