Attachment Exhibit 1 Narrative

This document pretains to SAT-STA-20160902-00086 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATSTA2016090200086_1148231

                                             EXHIBIT 1

           REQUEST FOR RENEWAL OF SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY


          Pursuant to 47 C.F.R. § 25.120(b), EchoStar Satellite Operating Corporation (together

with its affiliates, “EchoStar”) requests a 30-day renewal of its special temporary authority

(“STA”) to continue operating the EchoStar 12 satellite (Call Sign S2653) as an in-orbit spare at

the 61.2º W.L. orbital location for fleet management purposes.1

          EchoStar is authorized on a regular basis to operate EchoStar 12 at 61.35° W.L. on

Direct Broadcast Satellite channels 3 through 32,2 and on channels 1-2 under STA.3 Under

separate STA, EchoStar relocated EchoStar 12 to 61.2° W.L. for fleet management purposes –

specifically, to accommodate the arrival of the EchoStar 18 satellite at 61.35° W.L.4

          EchoStar 12’s operations at 61.2º W.L. will not cause harmful interference to other

authorized co-frequency DBS/broadcasting satellite service (“BSS”) operations. The nearest co-

frequency satellites are EchoStar 15 and EchoStar 16 (as well as planned EchoStar 18) at the

61.5° W.L. orbital cluster and Nimiq 5 at 72.7° W.L., which are being utilized by EchoStar for

provision of DBS/BSS. In the unlikely event of harmful interference, EchoStar is prepared to

take appropriate measures to eliminate the interference, including immediately terminating

communications upon receiving notice of such interference.

          Grant of the requested STA renewal will serve the public interest by allowing EchoStar

the flexibility to manage its satellite fleet efficiently and ensure that sufficient capacity is


1
    EchoStar, Application for STA, IBFS File No. SAT-STA-20160805-00078 (granted Aug. 12, 2016).
2
    See EchoStar, IBFS File No. SAT-MOD-2030905-00113 (granted Feb. 27, 2014).
3
 See EchoStar, IBFS File No. SAT-STA-20160114-00003 (granted Feb. 24, 2016); EchoStar, IBFS File
No. SAT-STA-20160725-00072 (filed July 25, 2016).
4
    See DISH Operating L.L.C., IBFS File No. SAT-STA-20160725-00075 (granted Aug. 3, 2016).


available for service to consumers from the nominal 61.5° W.L. orbital location.5 Moreover, the

Commission recently expanded the fleet management notification procedures under Section

25.118(e) of its rules to permit the relocation of a satellite to a position within 0.15° of an orbital

location assigned to the same licensee, without obtaining prior FCC authorization.6 Concurrently

with this STA renewal filing and pursuant to revised Section 25.118(e), EchoStar also is filing a

30-day advance notification to obtain regular modification authority for operations at 61.2º W.L.

Until the 30-day advance notification becomes effective, grant of this STA renewal request will

serve the public interest, as demonstrated herein.




5
  The Commission has a longstanding policy of leaving fleet management decisions to satellite operators
because doing so generally serves the public interest. See SES Americom, Inc., Order and Authorization,
21 FCC Rcd. 3430, 3433 ¶ 8 (2006) (FCC “generally has allowed satellite operators to rearrange satellites
in their fleet to reflect business and customer considerations where no public interest factors are adversely
affected”); AMSC Subsidiary Corporation, Order and Authorization, 13 FCC Rcd 12316, 12318 ¶ 8 (IB
1998) (satellite operator “is in a better position to determine how to tailor its system to meet the particular
needs of its customers”).
6
 See Comprehensive Review of Licensing and Operating Rules for Satellite Services, Second Report and
Order, 30 FCC Rcd 14713, ¶¶ 295-96 (2015).


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Document Created: 2010-01-01 00:00:00
Document Modified: 2010-01-01 00:00:00

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