On 19 October, ViaSat’s first ever satellite Viasat-1 was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, allowing the company to make its debut as satellite operator.
But the liftoff of the high-capacity Ka-band bird also marked a milestone for ManSat,…
On 19 October, ViaSat’s first ever satellite Viasat-1 was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, allowing the company to make its debut as satellite operator.
But the liftoff of the high-capacity Ka-band bird also marked a milestone for ManSat, provider of consultancy services for the commercial space industry on the Isle of Man.
For the first time, a satellite was launched to a Manx orbital slot, located at 115W. More specifically, working with its clients Telesat Isle of Man and ViaSat Isle of Man, ManSat took responsibility for filing an application with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), via UK communications regulator Ofcom, for the orbital position.
In an interview with SatelliteFinance, Chris Stott, the CEO of ManSat, explained: “A few years ago, we were approached by our long time client Telesat to work with ViaSat in helping their companies file for 115W. This is a lengthy and complex process. Unlike other companies in this sector of the market, we offer bespoke filing services to Manx operators at their specific request.”
In the past, operators, via their country’s regulator and administration, would only file for the orbital positions they needed. But in the early 1990s, TongaSat set a precedent when it started submitting filings for orbital positions, through the Tongan administration, ahead of finding customers for them. Since then, other companies have followed suit.
Kypros Satellites, a Cyprus-registered company, has acquired the right to use spectrum at 19 orbital positions via the Cypriot government. Nascent Australian satellite operator NewSat is the company’s first customer.
Angelos Pieri, Kypros Satellites CEO, said: “Kypros has agreed to contract usage rights to NewSat for primarily Ka-band spectrum at three orbital positions and extend options to NewSat at another four orbital positions.”
Two of these slots are expected to be used for NewSat’s debut satellite Jabiru-1, scheduled to be launched in 2013, and for Jabiru-2, which should follow shortly.
Kypros explained that it maintains full responsibility for the coordination and regulation of the spectrum rights under its licence with Cyprus. Indeed it does not intend to sell its slots, but instead focus on developing into becoming a satellite operator, both through its own projects and through partnerships and joint ventures with others, such as NewSat.
Kypros is also looking to become a turnkey satellite capacity provider involved in various stages of a bird’s life – including financing, insurance, technology procurement and launch.
But before going ahead with its plans, the company is seeking to sign spectrum agreements with one or two more customers.
However, under ITU rules, rights to unoccupied orbital slots come with an expiry date – seven years. This situation has encouraged some companies to come up with provisional solutions.
The future orbital slot of Azerbaijan’s first communication satellite’s Azerspace, at 46E, has been temporarily occupied since 2007 by Measat-1, the bird owned by Malaysian communications satellite operator Measat. SatelliteFinance understands that this agreement, aimed at satisfying ITU rules, could see the Asian operator share as much as 45% of Azerspace’s capacity once placed.
In an email to SatelliteFinance, Measat said: “Measat is working together with Azercosmos to develop the Azerspace/Africasat-1a satellite at the orbital slot of 46E. This is also to replace the Africasat-1 satellite that is currently at that position. The new satellite is planned for launch Q4 2012.”
For its part the ITU is currently looking into the practice of what constitutes an operational satellite at a specific orbital slot and is targeting next year’s UN World Radiocommunication Conference to clarify the guidelines.
The ITU told SatelliteFinance: “When examining the conformity of satellite networks over the last two years, ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau has been looking for information available from external sources, such as the GSO satellite databases, Satellite Technical User Guide and corporate websites along with any available evidence that would confirm regular operation of the satellite network. The Bureau has sought clarification whenever needed from the concerned notifying administration and taken further action accordingly.
“In order to determine the ‘regular’ operation of a network, the Bureau considers a minimum of three months as the period during which a satellite should be operating at an orbital location.
“As this three-month period of regular operation is not stipulated within the current Radio Regulations and its implementation may prove to be difficult, an agreement by the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) would be needed to ensure a clear and stable regulatory framework to enforce this requirement. WRC-12 will be held in Geneva, 23 January-17 February 2012.”
