Attachment Narrative

This document pretains to SAT-MOD-20100329-00058 for Modification on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATMOD2010032900058_808453

                                    Before the
                     FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                              Washington, D.C. 20554

                                                )
                                                )
In the Matter of                                )
                                                )
DISH OPERATING L.L.C.                           )
                                                ) File No. SAT-MOD-2010____-_____
Application for Minor Modification of           )
Authority To Allow Operation of EchoStar 7      )
at 118.8° W.L.                                  )
                                                )



                          APPLICATION FOR MINOR MODIFICATION

       By this application, DISH Operating L.L.C. (“DISH”)1 respectfully requests a minor

modification of its authority2 to allow DISH to operate the EchoStar 7 at 118.8 W.L. instead of

its currently authorized slot, 118.9° W.L., but still within the 119° W.L. Direct Broadcast

Satellite (“DBS”) orbital cluster.3 This move is intended simply to better accommodate EchoStar

14, which has just been licensed to operate at the 118.9° W.L. slot.4 Furthermore, the proposed



       1
        On August 11, 2009, EchoStar Satellite Operating L.L.C. changed its name to DISH
Operating L.L.C. See Letter from Pantelis Michalopoulos, Counsel for DISH Operating L.L.C.,
to Marlene H. Dortch, Secretary, FCC (Sept. 9, 2009).
       2
          DISH has applied for special temporary authority to move and operate the EchoStar 7
satellite at 118.8° W.L. See File No. SAT-STA-20100219-00031 (filed Feb. 19, 2010).
       3
         See In re EchoStar Satellite Corp. Application for Minor Modification of Direct
Broadcast Satellite Authorization, Launch and Operating Authority for EchoStar 7, 17 FCC Rcd.
894, ¶1 (rel. Jan. 16, 2002) (“EchoStar 7 Order”).
       4
         See DISH Operating L.L.C., Modification of Authority to Operate at the 118.9° W.L.
Orbital Location and Authority to Launch and Operate the EchoStar 14 Satellite, File Nos. SAT-
LOA-20090518-00053, SAT-AMD-20090604-00064, SAT-AMD-20100212-00027, Order and
Authorization, DA 10-407 (Int’l Bur. Mar. 10, 2010) (granted in part and deferred in part).


location will not increase interference. To the contrary, if anything, it will take EchoStar 7

farther away from the satellite of the only other DBS operator at 119° W.L., DIRECTV.

       For the reasons set forth below, the operation of EchoStar 7 at 118.8° W.L. will not cause

harmful interference to any authorized user of the spectrum, and would be in the public interest.

Accordingly, the Commission should grant the requested minor modification.

I.     DISCUSSION

       EchoStar 7 is currently operating at the 118.9° W.L. orbital location. DISH has received

launch and operating authority to launch EchoStar 14 to that orbital location,5 and the satellite

was successfully launched on March 20, 2010. To make “room” for EchoStar 14, DISH plans to

move the EchoStar 7 satellite to 118.8° W.L., and provide service that supplements the service to

be provided by EchoStar 14.

II.    GRANT OF THIS APPLICATION IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

       This application will not cause harmful interference and will serve the public interest,

convenience and necessity.6 The operation of EchoStar 7 at 118.8° W.L. will not cause harmful

interference to any other U.S.-licensed satellite operator. DISH has a long history of

coordinating with DIRECTV at the nominal 119 W.L. orbital slot, and believes that, to the

extent coordination is required, it will be achieved. DISH notes that the proposed slot is allotted

to the United States under the International Radio Regulations; it is the eastern boundary of the

119° W.L. cluster. Moreover, the closest operational BSS satellite to EchoStar 7’s proposed

location (except other DISH satellites) is DIRECTV 7S, which is operating at 119.05° W.L.

Because EchoStar 7 would be farther away from this satellite, operation there will not cause any

       5
           Id.
       6
         See e.g., Newcomb Communs., Inc., 8 FCC Rcd. 3631, 3633 (1993); Columbia Comms.
Corp., 11 FCC Rcd. 8639, 8640 (1996); Am. Tel. & Tel. Co., 8 FCC Rcd. 8742 (1993).



                                                 2


additional interference to DIRECTV 7S – indeed if anything it will decrease the risk of any

interference.

       As for the physical proximity of the satellite to any other spacecraft, Anik F3 is located at

118.7° W.L. Anik F3 is maintained within a +/- 0.05 stationkeeping tolerance,7 as is EchoStar

7.8 Therefore, the two satellites will not physically overlap. Furthermore, DISH has engaged in

coordination with Telesat Canada, which operates Anik F3, in the past (indeed DISH uses the

Anik F3 Ku-band payload), and anticipates that physical coordination of the satellites can be

achieved easily in the event it is necessary.

III.   TECHNICAL INFORMATION

       The EchoStar 7 satellite’s physical and operational characteristics have previously been

provided to the Commission in File Nos. SAT-A/O-20010810-00073 and SAT-MOD-20010810-

00071. Other than the slight change in orbital location, these parameters are not affected by the

requested minor modification.9 Therefore, the technical information provided in the original

application is incorporated herein by reference.10



       7
        See File No. SAT-PPL-20060516-00061, Narrative, Exhibit I, Response to Section
25.114(c)(5) (granted Jan. 19, 2007).
       8
        See File No. SAT-MOD-20010810-00071, Technical Annex, Appendix 1 (filed Aug.
10, 2001).
       9
         47 C.F.R. §25.117(d) (“only those items of information listed in § 25.114 that change
need to be submitted, provided the applicant certifies that the remaining information has not
changed”). DISH notes that the original application was submitted in 2002 before the
Commission began requiring applicants to submit a Schedule S; however, the information
required in the Schedule S was provided in the original application.
       10
          See File Nos. SAT-A/O-20010810-00073, SAT-MOD-20010810-00071 (Call Sign
S2740), granted by In re EchoStar Satellite Corp. Application for Minor Modification of Direct
Broadcast Satellite Authorization, Launch and Operating Authority for EchoStar 7, 17 FCC Rcd.
894, ¶1 (rel. Jan. 16, 2002).



                                                 3


          Furthermore, a full orbital debris mitigation plan is not required for this minor

modification. The satellite is moving 0.1 degrees east of its current location, which will not

change the operating parameters already reviewed and approved by the Commission.11 Such a

slight change in orbital location does not change the overall orbital debris risk environment at the

119° W.L. orbital location, and therefore, no mitigation plan needs to be submitted.

          To the extent necessary, however, DISH requests a waiver of Section 25.114(d)(14)

requiring a full orbital debris mitigation statement. Commission rules may be waived if there is

good cause to do so.12 Good cause can be shown by demonstrating that the waiver “would not

undermine the policy objective of the rule or order in question, special circumstances warrant a

deviation from the general rule, and such a deviation will serve the public interest.”13 The

requested waiver meets all three of these standards. The requirement for DBS applicants to

submit orbital debris mitigation plans was established in June 2004, over two years after

EchoStar 7 was launched. The purpose was to “allow the Commission and potentially affected

third parties to evaluate debris mitigation plans prior to issuance of an FCC approval for

communications activities in space . . . [and to] aid in the wider dissemination of information

concerning debris mitigation techniques . . . .”14       EchoStar 7 was launched on February 21,




          11
               See EchoStar 7 Order.
          12
               See 47 C.F.R. § 1.3; WAIT Radio v. FCC, 418 F.2d 1153 (D.C. Cir. 1969).
          13
           Telephone Number Portability; Sprint Local Telephone Companies Petition for
Waiver, 19 FCC Rcd. 23962, ¶ 4 (rel. Dec. 13, 2004). See also U S West Petition for Waiver of
the Tariff Review Plan Rules, 12 FCC Rcd. 8343, ¶ 10 (rel. June 24, 1997). See also WAIT
Radio, 418 F.2d at 1159.
          14
               Mitigation of Orbital Debris, Second Order and Report, 19 FCC Rcd. 11567, ¶16
(2004).



                                                     4


2002, weeks before the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking preceding the order was published,15 and

has been operating without incident for eight years. Requiring DISH to prepare and submit an

orbital debris mitigation plan now for a 0.1 degree shift in orbital position would not serve the

purpose of the original rule and would increase the time and cost associated with this application.

Specifically, the minor shift in orbital location requested does not change the orbital debris risk

environment at 119° W.L.; therefore, there is nothing new for the Commission to evaluate.

Furthermore, DISH has considered all affected operators, DIRECTV and Telesat Canada, and

determined, as described above, that the minor shift will not create additional risk to either

operator. Additionally, the satellite is no longer the state of the art, and therefore the filing of a

plan would not add to the general knowledge of mitigation techniques.

IV.     SECTION 304 WAIVER

        In accordance with Section 304 of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. § 304,

DISH hereby waives any claim to the use of any particular frequency or of the electromagnetic

spectrum because of the previous use of the same, whether by license or otherwise.

V.      CONCLUSION

        For the foregoing reasons, DISH respectfully requests a minor modification of its

authority to operate EchoStar 7 at 118.8° W.L.

                                                Respectfully submitted,

                                                DISH Operating L.L.C.


                                                _________/s/_____________________




        15
          Mitigation of Orbital Debris, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 17 FCC Rcd. 5586 (rel.
Mar. 14, 2002).



                                                   5


Pantelis Michalopoulos              Linda Kinney
Petra A. Vorwig                     Vice President, Law and Regulation
L. Lisa Sandoval                    DISH Operating L.L.C.
Steptoe & Johnson LLP               1110 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 750
1330 Connecticut Avenue N.W.        Washington, DC 20005
Washington, D.C. 20036              (202) 293-0981
(202) 429-3000
Counsel for DISH Operating L.L.C.


March 29, 2010




                                      6



Document Created: 2010-03-29 16:45:58
Document Modified: 2010-03-29 16:45:58

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