STA Request

0083-EX-ST-1998 Text Documents

COMSAT CORPORATION

1999-12-13ELS_26335

    |                                                                0083—EXST— /17
‘       us     _                       ORI G I NAL                         Robert A. Mansbach /g
                                                                                      Senior Counselt

                                                                              6560 Rock Spring Drive
                                                                                Bethesda, MD 20817
                                                                            Telephone 301 214 3459
                                                                                   Fax 301 214 7145
                                                                                       Telex 197800
                                                                Internet robert.mansbach@comsat.com


                                         December   9,   1998




        Ms. Magalie R.      Salas
        Secretary
        Federal Communications Commission
        Experimental Radio Service
        P.0. Box 358320
        Pittsburgh, PA  15251—5320

             Re:      COMSAT Corporation, Extension of Special Temporary
                      Authority for a Maritime C—Band Radio Experiment,
                      Call Sign WAOXBL, File No. S—3451—EX—1998

             Attn:    Office of Engineering and Technology

        Dear Ms.   Salas:

             COMSAT Corporation, through its COMSAT Mobile
        Communications business unit ("CMC"), herein requests
        extension of the Special Temporary Authority ("STA") granted
        on July 6, 1998, in File No. S—3451—EX—1998 .   This STA
        authorizes CMC to conduct a maritime radio experiment at C—
        band for six months, under Sections 5.202 (i) and 5.202 (j) of
        the Rules, utilizing six shipboard earth stations installed
        on vessels traveling in the Caribbean and in the U.S.
        coastal waters, a temporary—fixed earth station at Ft.
        Lauderdale,    Florida and Santa Paula,   California    ,   and the
        COMSTAR D—4 and GE Americom Aurora 2 satellites.            The
        current STA is due to expire on January 6, 1999.

             To date, CMC has successfully installed five C—band
        stablized antennas on foreign registry cruise ships owned by
        Celebrity Cruise Lines and operated in the Caribbean and in
        U.S. coastal waters.  Should the Commission decline to
        extend CMC‘s STA, its customers will suffer from
        interruption of their ongoing communications operations and
        investments.  Such a result would not be in the public
        interest.


1.0 General

COMSAT Mobile Communications (CMC), a business unit of
COMSAT, has been conducting an experiment to determine the
viability of providing communications using C—band to ships
in the Caribbean Sea and in U.S. coastal waters.   The
continuing technical results of this experiment are most
promising.   System performance and communications
availability has been very high and meets customer
expectations .

The following provides a summary of spacecraft performance
and interference potential.

2.0 Spacecraft Performance

The COMSTAR D—4 spacecraft is performing to specification
and has shown no sign of degradation since it was placed
into inclined orbit.  See COMSAT General Corp., 4 FCC Red
3820 (1989).  The spacecraft is currently in an inclined
orbit with a north/south inclination of approximately 10
degrees.  A satellite life of at least four more years is
expected.  The anticipated rate of change in inclination per
year was previously reported to the FCC (File No. 130/134—
SAT—STA—9%6)   as   follows:

DATE                INCLINATION    INCLINATION GROWTH RATE

2/26/97              9.24 DEG           0.52 DEG/YEAR
2/26/ 98              9.76 DEG          0 .46 DEG/YEAR
2/26/99              10.22 DEG          0.41 DEG/YEAR
2/26/00              10.63 DEG          0.37 DEG/YEAR

The Aurora 2 spacecraft continues to provide reliable
service and excellent coverage of the waters around Alaska
and along the Pacific coast during the Alaskan cruise
season.

3.0    Interference Potential

There have been no reports of interference to other radio
communications facilities due to the operation of this C—
band experiment.  Interference from other C—band radio
communications facilities has not affected the performance
of this C—band experiment.


          TEST REPORT
              for
 COMSAT MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
       C—BAND EXPERIMENT




December 9,   1998


        Particulars in support of this request are set forth in
File No.      S$—2769—EX—97,    as well as      in previous     filings
regarding the COMSTAR D—4 experiment.  Attached to this
request is a technical report describing the results of
CMC‘s experimental operations over the past six months.                       As
shown in the report,          the two spacecraft have provided
reliable service to shipboard earth stations and there have
been no reports of interference to other radio
communications facilities due to the operation of this
experiment.           Continuation of this experiment will serve the
public interest by demonstrating the utility of the two
spacecraft and the stabilized VSAT antennas in the provision
of C—band service to maritime users.

       The COMSTAR D—4 continues to operate in inclined orbit
at 76° W.L.           Grant of this request will not have a
significant environmental             impact   and,   thus,   does not    require
an Environmental Statement under Section 1.1307 of the
Commission‘s Rules.  CMC certifies that neither the
applicant nor any other party to this application is subject
to a denial of Federal benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of
the Anti—Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. § 853a.

     Accordingly,  CMC respectfully submits that the public
interest would be served by extension of the requested
experimental authorization for up to an additional six
months until June 6,          1999.


                                          Respectfully submitted,




                                         Robert A.     Mansbach




Attachment

co:r   Carl Huie




. . . /COMSTAR. doc



Document Created: 2001-08-07 12:14:44
Document Modified: 2001-08-07 12:14:44

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