Letter LETTER by Intelsat License LLC SAT-MOD-20160425-00040 Notification.pdf

Notification.pdf

LETTER submitted by Intelsat License LLC

Letter

2017-06-16

This document pretains to SAT-MOD-20160425-00040 for Modification on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATMOD2016042500040_1238539

authorization permitted Intelsat 701 to operate using the 10.95-11.2 GHz and 12.5-12.75 GHz
Ku-band frequencies as well as other frequencies in the C- and Ku-bands.3 Intelsat 701 was
expected to operate through the end of 2018.4 However, Intelsat recently determined that Intelsat
701 did not have as much propellant as believed, likely due to a leak. Accordingly, Intelsat
decided to de-orbit the satellite much earlier than it had planned to. Intelsat recently notified the
Commission that Intelsat 701 completed its deorbit on May 25, 2017.5

Intelsat 9 was previously authorized to operate in the C- and Ku-bands at 43.1° W.L.6 In 2017,
Intelsat received Commission authorization to relocate Intelsat 9 to 29.5° W.L. in order to
provide additional capacity at that orbital location.7 However, Intelsat 9 is not authorized to
operate using the 10.95-11.2 GHz and 12.5-12.75 GHz Ku-band frequencies.8

II. DISCUSSION

A. The ITSO Agreement Prohibits the Commission from Re-Licensing Intelsat’s
Assigned Ku-Band Frequencies at the Nominal 29.5° W.L. Orbital Location.

Article XII(c)(i) of the ITSO Agreement obligates the United States, as transferee, to “authorize
the use of such [transferred] frequency assignments by the Company [Intelsat] so that the Core
Principles may be fulfilled.”9 The recent Columbia Amendment provides the only exception to
that international obligation:

In the event that the Company, or any future entity using the Common Heritage
frequency assignments, waives such frequency assignment(s), uses such
assignment(s) in ways other than those set forth in this Agreement, or declares
bankruptcy, the Notifying Administrations shall authorize the use of such
frequency assignment(s) only by entities that have signed a public services
agreement, which will enable ITSO to ensure that the selected entities fulfill the
Core Principles.10

3
Id.
4
Intelsat License LLC Request to Modify Authorization, File No. SAT-MOD-20160425-00040 (stamp grant
issued June 18, 2016) (extending Intelsat 701 license term through December 31, 2018).
5
Letter from Susan H. Crandall, Associate General Counsel, Intelsat Corporation, to Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, FCC, Re: Intelsat 701, Call Sign: S2400 (May 26, 2017).
6
See Application of Intelsat License, LLC to Modify Authorization for Intelsat 9, File No. SAT-MOD-
20120703-00110 (stamp grant May 21, 2014).
7
Application of Intelsat License LLC to Modify Authorization for Intelsat 9, File No. SAT-MOD-20161110-
00105 (stamp grant May 4, 2017).
8
See id.
9
ITSO Agreement, Article XII(c)(i).
10
Id. at subsection (c)(ii) (as amended).
2

With regard to the Ku-band frequencies at the nominal 29.5° W.L. orbital location, Intelsat has
not: (1) “waive[d] such frequency assignment[]”; (2) “use[d] such frequency assignment[] in
ways other than those set forth in [the ITSO Agreement]; or (3) “declare[d] bankruptcy.”
Accordingly, Article XII(c) of the ITSO Agreement does not permit the Commission, on behalf
of the United States, to re-license these frequencies to an entity other than Intelsat.

B. To the Extent Required, Intelsat Seeks Continuation of Its Replacement
Expectancy at the Nominal 29.5° W.L. Orbital Location.

In light of the deorbit of Intelsat 701, Intelsat is revising its satellite fleet deployment plan to
continue operations in the 10.95-11.2 GHz and 12.2-12.75 GHz Ku-band frequencies at the
nominal 29.5° W.L. orbital location. Intelsat plans to operate a satellite using these Ku-band
frequencies at nominal 29.5° W.L. within the next three years and, indeed, has plans to bring
another Intelsat satellite to the location in the next several months that will operate in 10.95-11.2
GHz. These timeframes satisfy the ITU’s requirement that suspended frequency assignments
must be brought back into use no later than three years from the date of suspension.11 Intelsat
will file an application or applications seeking to use these frequencies as soon as possible. To
the extent necessary, Intelsat requests that the FCC continue Intelsat’s replacement expectancy
for these Ku-band frequencies pending the filing and grant of such application or applications.

The retention of Intelsat’s replacement expectancy for its authorized Ku-band frequencies at
29.5° W.L. is consistent with FCC rules and precedent. The Commission codified its
longstanding policy to “grant[] applications by GSO satellite operators for authority to launch
and operate replacement satellites and ‘emergency’ replacement satellites without considering
competing applications.”12 Under Section 25.158, the Commission does not consider
applications that would compete with an application to launch and operate a replacement satellite
“that will be launched before the space station to be replaced is retired from service or within a
reasonable time after loss of a space station during launch or due to premature failure in orbit.”13

Here, Intelsat had planned to operate Intelsat 701 until the end of 2018. However, due to an
unexpected determination that the satellite had less propellant than assumed, Intelsat de-orbited
the satellite earlier than planned. Further, Intelsat plans to operate a satellite at 29.5° W.L. with
these frequencies in the next three years. Intelsat respectfully requests that the Commission
maintain Intelsat’s replacement expectancy during the reasonable period of time necessary to
develop a new deployment plan and file an application for continued use of the relevant Ku-band
frequencies at the nominal 29.5° W.L. orbital location.14 Indeed, because Intelsat will have “a

11
ITU RR 11.49.
12
Comprehensive Review of Licensing & Operating Rules for Satellite Servs., Second Report and Order, 30
FCC Rcd 14713, 14760-61 ¶ 131 (2015).
13
47 C.F.R. § 25.158(a)(2).
14
This outcome would be consistent with precedent in which the FCC found that satellite operators retained
their replacement expectancy at orbital locations where they sought to fill service gaps filled by unexpected failures
and at orbital locations from which operators moved space stations to meet gaps in service at other locations that
experienced such failures. See Petition of Panamsat Licensee Corp. for Specific Authority under Section 25.161(c)
3

concrete plan to reinstate service” and will “timely implement[] its plan,” retaining Intelsat’s
replacement expectancy at 29.5° W.L. will present “no conflicts with the Commission’s policy
against spectrum warehousing.”15

Please direct any questions to the undersigned at (703) 559-7848.

Sincerely,

/s/ Susan H. Crandall

Susan H. Crandall
Associate General Counsel
Intelsat Corporation

for C and Ku-band Frequencies at the Nominal 72° E.L. Orbital Location, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 27
FCC Rcd 2479, 2479 (2012) (concluding that Intelsat retained its replacement expectancy for certain C- and Ku-
band frequencies at the nominal 72° E.L. orbital location following a gap in service caused by an unexpected failure
of the satellite operating at that location) (“2012 Panamsat Order”); Application of Intelsat Licensee LLC to
Suspend Operations at the 129° W.L. Orbital Location, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 27 FCC Rcd 11234,
11238 (2012) (concluding that Intelsat retained its C-band replacement expectancy at 129° W.L. when it redeployed
the satellite intended for 129° W.L. to 133° W.L. as an emergency replacement when the C-band satellite operating
at 133° W.L. experienced a technical anomaly that rendered it incapable of providing service).
15
2012 Panamsat Order at 2483-84 ¶ 12.
4

Document Created: 2017-06-16 16:59:20
Document Modified: 2017-06-16 16:59:20

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