Attachment Exhibit C LOI

This document pretains to SES-LFS-20141015-00799 for License to use Foreign Satellite (earth) on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESLFS2014101500799_1064769

                      Exhibit C Form 312 — Universal Space Network


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


In the Matter of                             )
                                             )
Universal Space Network, Inc.                ) File No.
                                             )
Letter of Intent for Authority to Operate a  )
Receive—Only Earth Station Associated With a )
Non—U.S. Licensed Satellite at the Center    )
Frequency 8090.0 MHz                         )
                                             )
                                             )
                                   LETTER OF INTENT




Joanne Greet                                     George Foote
Universal Space Network, Inc.                    Erin Chesney
417 Caredean Drive                               Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Suite A                                          1801 K Street NW
Horsham, PA 19044                                Suite 750
                                                 Washington, DC 20006
                                                 (202) 442—3518
                                                 Counselfor Universal Space Network, Inc.


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


In the Matter of                               )
                                               )
Universal Space Network, Inc.                  )   File No.
                                               )
Letter of Intent for Authority to Access the   )
U.S. Market Using a Non—U.S. License           )
Satellite at the Center Frequency 8090.0       )
MHz                                            )
                                               )
                                               )
                                     LETTER OF INTENT

       Universal Space Network, Inc. {"USN"), pursuant to Section 25.137 of the Commission‘s

rules and the Commission‘s Space Station Licensing Reform Order,‘ hereby files this Letter of

Intent seeking authority to operate a receive—only fixed earth station in North Pole, AK (the

"North Pole earth station") that will receive signals from the PROBA—V satellite ("PROBA—V")

in order to assist the European Space Agency ("ESA") and Swedish Space Corporation ("SSC")

with the collection of global environmental and agricultural monitoring images from the science

instrument on PROBA—V using the center frequency 8090.0 MHz (space—to—Earth). USN

provides in this Letter of Intent information required by 47 C.F.R. § 25.137 for applicants

seeking to operate a receive—only earth station that will receive signals from non—U.S.—licensed

spacecraft. Technical information relating to the proposed earth station is provided on the

attached Schedule S.




       See Amendment ofthe Commission‘s Space Station Licensing Rules and Policies, 18 FCC
       Red 10760, at [ 294 (2003) ("Space Station Licensing Reform Order").


 1.      GRANTING USN‘s LETTER OF INTENT WILL SERVE THE PUBLIC
         INTEREST.

         USN has previously demonstrated its qualifications as a Commission licensee of

 spacecraft and earth station networks. USN has a long history and extensive expertise in

 providing and developing satellite communications technologies for NASA, the U.S. Department

 of Defense, and other scientific research and commercial uses.

         Granting USN‘s request for authorization to operate the North Pole earth station is in the

 public interest because the North Pole earth station supports the science research operations of

 PROBA—V. Launched on May 7, 2013, PROBA—V is a small satellite that was specifically

 designed to perform global environmental and agricultural monitoring.2 PROBA—V captures

 image data that maps land cover and vegetation growth across the entire planet every two days,

 and provides images of most of Earth‘s landmasses every day. PROBA—V‘s satellite platform is

 controlled from ESA‘s Redu Centre in Belgium.3 The images that PROBA—V captures are used

 for science research that benefits the public interest, including climate impact assessments, water

 resource management, agricultural monitoring, and food security assessments.

        In addition to vegetation monitoring, researchers and service providers use the data

 provided by PROBA—V for day—by—day tracking of extreme weather effects, alerting authorities

 to crop failures, monitoring inland water resources, and tracing the spread of deforestation and

 desert. The data that PROBA—V collects is downlinked to the North Pole earth station once per

_ orbit, and is then relayed to the VITO Flemish Institute for Technological Research in Belgium




 2 See http://www.esa.int/Our Activities/Observing the Earth/Proba—V/About Proba—V.
 3 See http://www.esa.int/Our Activities/Operations/Redu station.


(the "Flemish Institute").4 Researchers at the Flemish Institute then process the data and

distribute it to users.

        USN has been operating the North Pole earth station to receive signals from PROBA—V

since July 16, 2014 under several grants of Special Temporary Authority ("STA") from the

Commission. USN now wishes to obtain a standard 15—year authorization to operate the North

Pole earth station. The North Pole earth station and PROBA—V are engaged exclusively in the

scientific research described above, and will not impact the United States telecommunications

market in any way. Especially because PROBA—V‘s scientific research benefits the global

community, granting USN‘s request will serve the public interest.

IL.     MARKET ACCESS

        A.      The Operations of PROBA—V and the North Pole Earth Station Are Not
                Commercial And Will Not Affect Competition in the United States Market.

        Section 25.137 of the Commission‘s rules requires that applications proposing to use

U.S.—licensed earth stations to communicate with foreign—licensed spacecraft demonstrate that

the Commission‘s policies for U.S. market access are satisfied." Since Section 25.137 is directed

at situations when a non—U.S.—licensed satellite will "serve the United States,"this Section of

the Commission‘s rules does not apply to the North Pole earth station and its relationship with

PROBA—V. While the data collected by PROBA—V will ultimately benefit the United States

through its application in vegetation and climate studies, neither PROBA—V nor the North Pole

earth station will be used for any commercial operations, or otherwise serve the United States



4       VITO stands for Viaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek, which is Dutch for
        Flemish Institute for Technological Research.
5       47 CFR. § 25.137(a).
6       47 CFR. § 25.137(a).


market directly in any way. USN is not seeking permission for the North Pole earth station to

communicate with PROBA—V for purposes of providing service to the United States within the

meaning of Section 25.137, and therefore Section 25.137 does not apply to this request.

        To the extent the Commission disagrees with the above analysis, USN requests a waiver

of the market access and other requirements imposed by Section 25.137 of the Commission‘s

rules. The Commission may grant a waiver for good cause shown." Since the market access

analysis described in Section 25.137 is intended to ensure that U.S.—licensed satellite systems

have access to "effective competitive opportunities," and neither PROBA—V nor the North Pole

earth station will compete in the United States or any other market, granting a waiver of Section

25.137 is appropriate and will not affect the objectives of this rule.8

       B.      PROBA—V and the North Pole Earth Station Satisfy the Commission‘s
               DISCO II Requirements.

       Even if the Commission believes that a full analysis under the Commission‘s DISCO II

framework applies to this Letter of Intent, USN‘s request should be granted because PROBA—V

and the North Pole earth station satisfy the Commission‘s requirements." The DISCO II analysis

includes consideration of a number of factors, such as the effect on competition in the United

States, spectrum availability, eligibility requirements, technical requirements, national security,




7      47 C.F.R. 1.3
8      47 C.F.R. § 25.137(a).
       See Amendment ofthe Commission‘s Regulatory Policies to Allow Non—U.S. Licensed
       Satellites Providing Domestic and International Service in the United States, 12 FCC
       Red 24094, at [« 30—49 (1997) ("DISCO IF).


law enforcement, foreign policy and trade concerns.!" Each of these factors weighs in favor of

granting this Letter of Intent.

        A.       Effect on Competition in the United States

        In DISCO II, the Commission established a rebuttable presumption that it will further

competition in the United States to allow non—U.S. satellites authorized by WTO Members to

provide services covered by the U.S. commitments under the WTO Basic Telecommunications

Agreement."‘ PROBA—V is owned and operated by the ESA, an intergovernmental organization

that operates in cooperation with the European Union via a Framework Agreement implemented

in 2004.!2 The EU and ESA are subject to the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement, and

so the presumption in favor of entry applies to this request.

       B.        Spectrum Availability

       This Letter of Intent requests authorization for the North Pole earth station to receive

signals from PROBA—V using the center frequency 8090.0 MHz (space—to—Earth). The North

Pole earth station will be receive—only: it will not transmit any signals using this frequency. USN

does not request protection for this fréquency, and understands that there is a potential for

interference from Government users in this band.

       C.        National Security, Law Enforcement, and Public Safety Matters

       Grant of this Letter of Intent is consistent with U.S. national security, law enforcement,

and public safety considerations. PROBA—V‘s authorization is held by the ESA, which promotes

10     See, e.g., Telesat Canada, Petitionfor Declaratory Rulingfor Inclusion ofAnik F2 on the
       Permitted Space Station List, Petition for Declaratory Ruling to Serve the U.S. Market
       Using Ka—band Capacity on Anik F2, 17 FCC Red 25287, at « 6 (2002).
_      DISCO IL, at {39; see also 47 C.F.R. § 25.137(a)(2).
12     See
       http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/2894/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/
       native.


space research and technology for exclusively peaceful purposes. Similarly, USN has a long

history of providing satellite communication services to U.S. government users, including

NASA, to further scientific research. The data received by the North Pole earth station enables

researchers around the globe to closely monitor the status of climate and its impact on

vegetation, and availability of agricultural and water resources, all which impact national

security and public safety in a myriad of ways. Therefore, granting USN‘s request will benefit

public safety and national security in the United States.

IH.    LEGAL AND TECHNICAL INFORMATION

       A.      Legal Qualifications

       USN‘s legal qualifications are set forth in this Letter of Intent and in the attached

Form 312. Specifically, the Letter of Intent and attached Form 312 demonstrate USN‘s

satisfaction of the applicable requirements for receive—only earth station applicants set forth in

Section 25.137 of the Commission‘s rules.!3 As noted above, USN holds several Commission

licenses, and its legal qualifications are a matter of record before the Commission. USN

supports a similar U.S.—licensed spacecraft under authorization E110171 and formerly also under

authorization E120040.

       B.      Technical Qualifications

       Included with this Letter of Intent is the Schedule S for this request, which includes the

required Part 25 technical information.




13     See 47 C.F.R. § 25.114.


IV.    ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

       A.      Milestones and Bond Requirement

       It is USNs understanding that the ESA will continue to operate the PROBA—V spacecraft

in compliance with the Commission‘s milestones established in the Satel/ite Licensing Reform

Order:* As discussed above, PROBA—V was launched in May 2013 and has been operating in

accordance with these milestones since that time.

       B.      Reporting Requirements

       USN will comply with all applicable reporting requirements for the North Pole earth

station, and will work with the ESA to ensure that all applicable reporting requirements are met

for PROBA—V.

       C.      Spectrum Usage

       This request for market access is consistent with the limits of Section 25.137(d)(5) of the

Commission‘s rules.

       D.      Ownership Information

       USN is a United States—based subsidiary of SSC, which is a Swedish corporation. USN

operates as an independent U.S. corporation under a Special Security Agreement with the

Defense Security Service, with United States government approval and oversight, and is

headquartered at 417 Caredean Drive, Suite A, Horsham, PA, 19044. The following are the

officers and directors of USN, all of whom can be reached c/o USN at the address above.

       Directors

       Eric J. Zahler, Chairman
       James W. Cuminale
       Lt. Gen (Ret) Michael Hamel
       Stefan Gardefjord

14     See 47 C.F.R. § 25.137(d)(4). See also Space Station Licensing Reform Order, at 311.


       Ase Lagerqvist

       Officers/Senior Management

       John E. Williams, President and CEO
       Anita M. Primo, Vice President, Finance and Administration, and CFO
       Stephen M. Tanous, Vice President, Operations and Engineering
       Erik J. Eliasen, Vice President, National Security Space Programs and Strategy
       Dave Massey, Chief Technologist

vV.    CONCLUSION

       For the foregoing reasons, granting USN‘s Letter of Intent seeking authority to operate

the North Pole earth station to receive data from the PROBA—V satellite under the authority of

the ESA will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. USN respectfully requests

that the Commission promptly grant this Letter of Intent.

                                                Respectfully submitted,




                                                 Is/ %&%M %,,TZZ
                                                George Fooé
                                                Erin Chesney
                                                Dorsey & Whitney LLP
                                                1801 K Street NW
                                                Suite 750
                                                 Washington, DC 20006
                                                (202) 442—3518

                                                Counselfor Universal Space Network, Inc.



Document Created: 2014-10-13 09:32:38
Document Modified: 2014-10-13 09:32:38

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