Attachment request

request

REQUEST submitted by Intelsat

request

2006-04-13

This document pretains to SAT-RPL-20041015-00201 for Replacement Application on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATRPL2004101500201_529324

                                                                                                          Jennifer D. Hindin
1 7 7 6 K STREET NW            April 13,2006                                                              202.719.4975
WASHINGTON, D C 20006
                                                                                                          jhindin@wrf.Com
PHONE           202.719.7000
FAX             202.719.7049
                                                                             S2647        SATAMD-2006M0740~              IB20060009~’
Virginia Office
                               Marlene H. Dortch                             lntelsat North America LLC
7 9 2 5 JONES BRANCH DRIVE     Secretary                                     lntelsat Americas8
SUITE 6 2 0 0                  Federal Communications Commission
MCLEAN, VA 2 2 1 0 2
                               445 12th Street, SW
PHONE       703.905.2800
FAX         703.905.2820
                               Washington, DC 20554

                               Re:        Intelsat North America LLC Request for Confidential Treatment
www.wrf.com                               File No. SAT-AMD-              ; Call Sign: S2467

                               Dear Ms. Dortch:

                               Intelsat North America LLC (“Intelsat North America”), by its attorneys,
                               respectfully requests that, pursuant to Sections 0.457 and 0.459 of the
                               Commission’s rules, 47 C.F.R. $9 0.457 & 0.459, the Commission withhold from
 r
                               public inspection and accord confidential treatment to the attached contract between
 0
 cy
 0
                               Intelsat LLC and Space Systems/Loral, Inc. (“Space Systems/Loral”) for the Intelsat
 9
                               Americas 9 (“IA-9”) spacecraft, including exhibits A-G thereto (“Contract”) dated
                               March 1 1 , 2005. This agreement contains commercially sensitive information that
                               falls within Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). See 5
                               U.S.C. 8 552(b)(4); 47 C.F.R. 8 0.457(d).

                               Exemption 4 permits parties to withhold from public information “trade secrets and
                               commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or
                               confidential-categories of materials not routinely available for public inspection.”
                               Id. Applying Exemption 4, the courts have stated that commercial or financial
                               information is confidential if its disclosure will either ( I ) impair the government’s
                               ability to obtain necessary information in the future; or (2) cause substantial harm to
                               the competitive position of the person from whom the information was obtained.
                               See Nutioizal Pal-ks and Coiiservatioii Ass’iz 11. Mol-ton, 498 F.2d 765, 770 (D.C. Cir.
                               1974) (footnote omitted); see also Critical Mass Energy Project v. NRC, 975 F.2d
                               871, 879-80 (D.C. Cir. 1992), cert deizied, 507 U.S. 984 (1993).

                               Section 0.457(d)(2) allows persons submitting materials that they wish be withheld
                               from public inspection in accordance with Section 552(b)(4) to file a request for
                               non-disclosure, pursuant to Section 0.459. In accordance with the requirements
                               contained in Section 0.459(b), for such requests, lntelsat North America hereby
                               submits the following:

                               (1)                                        ioiz for Wliiclz Coifideiitiul Ti-eatiizeizr is
                               so“g 11t                                   rth America seeks confidential treatment


        Ms. Marlene Dortch

    I   April 13, 2006
        Page2


        for the enclosed binding non-contingent agreement between Intelsat North America
        and Space S ystems/Loral for construction of the IA-9 satellite. The agreement
        contains commercially sensitive information that falls within Exemption 4 of FOIA,
        and such information is inextricably intertwined with other provisions of the
        Contract. See Mead Data Cent. v. United States Dep ’t of the Air Force, 566 F.2d
        242,260 (D.C. Cir. 1977).

        (2)     Description of Circumstances Giving Rise to Submission (Section
        0.459(b)(2)): lntelsat North America submits this Contract to demonstrate
        compliance with the first milestone for construction of IA-9 and thereby obtain a
        reduction in the amount of the bond required by the Commission. See Amendment
        to Reduce Bond Requirement f o r IA-9, File No. SAT-AMD-                  (filed
        Apr. 13,2006).



’
~       (3)     Explanation of the Degree to Which the lizformatioiz is Commercial or
        Financial, or Contains a Trade Secret or Is Privileged (Section 0.459(b)(3)): The
        Contract contains sensitive commercial and financial information that competitors
        could use to lntelsat North America’s disadvantage. The courts have given the
        terms “commercial” and “financial,” as used in Section 552(b)(4), their ordinary
        meanings. See Board of Trade v. Commodity Futures Trading Comm’n, 627 F.2d
        392,403 & n.78 (D.C. Cir. 1980). The Commission has broadly defined
        commercial information, stating that ‘”[c]ommercial’ is broader than information
        regarding basic commercjal operations, such as sales and profits; it includes
        information about work performed for the purpose of conducting a business’s
        commercial operations.” Southerii Company Request for Waiver of Section 90.629
        of the Commissiori ’s Rules, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 14 FCC Rcd 1851,
        1860 (1998) (citing Public Citizen Health Research Group v. FDA, 704 F.2d 1280,
        1290 (D.C. Cir. 1983)).

        Certain categories of confidential commercial and financial information appear
        throughout the Contract, jncluding without limitation: descriptions of technical
        work programs; spacecraft performance specifications; business planning
        information; financial terms and conditions; and pricing and financial
        nonperformance penalties. all of which were negotiated between lntelsat North
        America and Space Systendloral. The Contract provides for the custom design of
        1A-9, a state-of-the-art satellite. The Contract provides insight into the process for
        developing this modern satelljte. its design. and the process of managing
        construction and placement into service. This information is inextricably


Ms. Marlene Dortch
April 13,2006
Page 3


intertwined with the other provisions of the Contract. Thus, the Contract in its
entirety should be treated as confidential. A decision not to treat this information as
confidential could affect the Commission’s ability to obtain necessary information
in the future, and disclosure likely would cause substantial harm to the competitive
positions of Intelsat North America and Space S ystemsLora1.

(4)      Explanation of the Degree to Which the Informatioiz Concerns a Service that
is Subject to Competitioiz (Section 0.459(b)(4)):Substantial competition exists in
the telecommunications satellite industry. Other players in the geo-stationary
satellite services market include SES Americom, Eutelsat, Telesat, and Satmex,
among others. The Contract concerns the design, development, and construction of
the 1A-9 satellite, which will compete with satellite services offered by these other
companies, as well as with the services of terrestrial providers. The presence of
these many competitors makes imperative the confidential treatment of sensitive
commercial information.

(5)       Explaizatioiz of How Disclosure of the lizforinatioiz Could Result iiz
Substantial Competitive Harm (Section 0.459(b)(5)):Release of the Contract could
have a significant impact on Intelsat North America’s commercial operations. If
competitors had access to the information for which Intelsat North America seeks
confidential treatment, it could be used as the basis for negotiating their own
satellite construction contracts to meet their own milestones, to develop a competing
satellite network, and/or to develop competing service offerings, whether satellite or
terrestrial. If Intelsat North America’s competitors obtained access to this
information, they would unfairly benefit from the time and resources that lntelsat
North America expended in negotiating the Contract and meeting the construction
and CDR milestones for 1A-9, and could use this information to negotiate more
favorable terms in their own construction contracts. This could allow competitors
to better compete against lntelsat North America and could negatively affect Intelsat
North America’s future negotiations with potential and existing business
partners/customers. Thus, it is “virtually axiomatic’’ that the information qualifies
for withholding under Exemption 4 of FOIA, see Narioizal Parks and Conservatioiz
Ass’ii I). Kleppe, 547 F.2d 673, 684 (D.C. Cir., 1976), and under Sections
0.457(d)(2) and 0.459(b).

(6)      Ideiit~fificutioiiof A i i j ’ Measures Tukeii to Prevent Uiiautliorized Disclosure
(Section 0.459(b)(6)):lntelsat North America has gone to great lengths to ensure
that this Contract is not disclosed to third parties or otherwise disclosed to


    Ms. Marlene Dortch
    April 13, 2006
1   Page4


1   unauthorized parties. The Contract contains provisions requiring both parties to
    maintain confidentiality of proprietary information, which includes the terms of the
    Contract. The Contract includes detailed procedures for use of proprietary
    information by representatives of both Intelsat North America and Space
    S ystems/Loral, and requires written consent for the release of any proprietary
    information.

    (7)     Identification of Whether the Iizforniation is Available to the Public and the
    Extent of Any Previous Disclosure of the Iigormation to Third Parties (Section
    0.459(b)(7)):Intelsat North America has not made this Contract available to the
    public and has not disclosed this Contract to any third parties.

    (8)     Justification of Period During Which the Submitting Party Asserts that the
    Material Should Not be Available for Public Disclosure (Section 0.459(b)(8)):
    lntelsat North America respectfully requests that the Commission withhold this
    Contract from public inspection for the life of the satellite. On balance, the need to
    protect Intelsat North America from competitive harm as a result of disclosure of
    this Contract outweighs any benefit of public disclosure which, in the ordinary
    course of business, would not otherwise occur.

    Accordingly, for the foregoing reasons, lntelsat North America respectfully requests
    that the informatjon contained in its Contract with Space Systems/Loral for
    construction of the IA-9 satellite be kept confidential and be withheld from public
    inspection in its entirety .

    Please contact the undersigned with any questions.

    Re spect full y submitted,



Document Created: 2006-09-14 11:47:53
Document Modified: 2006-09-14 11:47:53

© 2024 FCC.report
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FCC