Attachment Grant

Grant

DECISION submitted by FCC

Grant

2009-06-12

This document pretains to SES-STA-20090130-00111 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2009013000111_716950

                                                 E020233     SES—STA—20090130—00111           1B200900029®
                                                 EchoStar Corporation



                                                                                                                               Approved by OMB
                                                                                                                                      3060—0678

                            APPLICATION FOR EARTH STATION SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY



APPLICANT INFORMATIONEnter a description of this application to identify it on the main menu:
 Special Temporary Authority to Operate E020233 to Move EchoStar 1 to 77 W.L.
 1. Applicant

           Name:        EchoStar Corporation                Phone Number:                            303—723—1000
           DBA Name:                                        Fax Number:
           Street:      90 Inverness Circle E.              E—Mail:


           City:        Englewood                           State:                                   CO
           Country:     USA                                 Zipcode:                                 80112         —
           Attention:   Linda Kinney —(202)293—0981




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                                                                     Call Sign ",' 0433 Grant Date Q“al‘(za
                                                                     (or other identifier)
                                                       zectf                        ,        Term Dates
                                                       * En é‘”                                    To: +3jda‘7)



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                                Attachment


SES—STA—20090130—00111
E020233

Conditions:

EchoStar Corporation will coordinate its TT&C operations with all potentially affected
operating satellite networks.

No harmful interference will be caused to any lawfully operating satellite network or
radiocommunication system and EchoStar Corporation operations will cease immediately
upon notification of harmful interference. Further, EchoStar Corporation shall notify the
Commission immediately, in writing, of such an event.

EchoStar Corporation will accept interference from any lawfully operating satellite
network or radiocommunication system.




                                                                     (./\-j\\&'/{/\   QK\/)'\(QU*'L {*~3



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                                                                 Call Sign2020 235Grant Date G@/4£2/49
                                             s\ §7 &             (or otheridentifier)
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                                       |_ International Bureau   Approved:        }/(/(/T?//

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                                                                                    CEryimeer,
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2. Contact


             Name:         Pantelis Michalopoulos               Phone Number:                         202—429—6494
             Company:      Steptoe & Johnson LLP                Fax Number:
             Street:        1330 Connecticut Ave. NW            E—Mail:                               pmichalopoulos@steptoe.com


             City:         Washington                           State:                                 DC
             Country:      USA                                  Zipcode:                              20036       —
             Attention:                                         Relationship:                          Legal Counsel


(If your application is related to an application filed with the Commission, enter eitherthe file number or the IB Submission ID of the related
application. Please enter only one.)
 3. Reference File Number or Submission ID
 4a. Is a fee submitted with this application?
@ IfYes, complete and attach FCC Form 159.          If No, indicate reason for fee exemption (see 47 C.F.R.Section 1.1114).
[ Governmental Entity         ¢3 Noncommercial educational licensee
C Other(please explain):

4b. Fee Classification    CGX — Fixed Satellite Transmit/Receive Earth Station

5. Type Request

g34 Use Prior to Grant                            g7y Change Station Location                         { Other


6. Requested Use Prior Date


7. CityGilbert                                                             8. Latitude
                                                                           (dd mm ss.s h)   33   22    0.9    N


9. State   AZ                                                              10. Longitude
                                                                           (dd mm ss.s h)     111   48    52.9   W
11. Please supply any need attachments.
Attachment 1: Narrative                           Attachment 2:                                      Attachment 3:


12. Description.   (If the complete description does not appear in this box, please go to the end of the form to view it in its entirety.)
    EchoStar Corporation seeks STA to operate its transmit/receive earth station to move the
    EchoStar 1 satellite from 148 W.L.                     to 77 W.L. where it will operate as a Mexican—licenged
     satellite.       Pleasge see the attached narrative.




13. By checking Yes, the undersigned certifies that neither applicant nor any other party to the application is           @ Yes          «3 No
subject to a denial of Federal benefits that includes FCC benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of the Anti—Drug Act
of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862, because of a conviction for possession or distribution of a controlled substance.
See 47 CFR 1.2002(b) for the meaning of &quot;party to the application&quot; for these purposes.


14. Name of Person Signing                                                 15. Title of Person Signing
  Linda Kinney                                                               Vice President, Law and Regulation
           WILLFUL FALSE STATEMENTS MADE ON THIS FORM ARE PUNISHABLE BY FINE AND / OR IMPRISONMENT
                  (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001), AND/OR REVOCATION OF ANY STATION AUTHORIZATION
                   (U.S. Code, Title 47, Section 312(a)(1)), AND/OR FORFEITURE (U.S. Code, Title 47, Section 503).


FCC NOTICE REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT

The public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 2 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions,
searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the required data, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. If you
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Remember — You are not required to respond to a collection of information sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may not
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THE FOREGOING NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995, PUBLIC LAW 104—13, OCTOBER
1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. SECTION 3507.


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




                                                     w Nt N) Ns Nt Ne Nt Nt Nt N/
In the Matter of

ECHOSTAR CORPORATION                                                                File No. SES—STA—2009
               '                                                                    Call Sign E980118
Application for Earth Station
Special Temporary Authority To Relocate                                             File No. SES—STA—2009
the EchoStar 1 Satellite to 77.15° W.L.                                             Call Sign E020233




   APPLICATION FOR EARTH STATION SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY‘

       EchoStar Corporation ("EchoStar") hereby requests, for a period of 60 days beginning on

April 15, 2008, earth station Special Temporary Authority for two earth stations (Call Signs

E980118 and EO20233) to perform telemetry, tracking and command ("TT&C") operations in

the C—band frequencies for the relocation of the satellite. To the extent necessary, EchoStar also




         ‘ Along with this application, EchoStar is or will be requesting: (1) earth station STA to
support the temporary operation of EchoStar 1 at 77.15° W.L. pending the re—flagging of
EchoStar 1 as a Mexican—licensed satellite; and (2) the modification of three existing earth
station licenses (Call Signs EO80058, E980118 and EOlOZ{L) to perform feeder link and TT&C
operations with EchoStar 1 at 77.15° W.L.   Ads
                                              Additionally, EchoStar‘s sister company, DISH
Network Corporation ("DISH"), will be requesting: (1) a blanket earth station license to operate
with EchoStar 1 at 77.15° W.L. as a Mexican—licensed satellite; (2) space station STA to move
the EchoStar 1 satellite to 77.15° W.L. and (3) space station STA to operate EchoStar 1 at 77.15°
W.L. pending the re—flagging of EchoStar 1 as a Mexican—licensed satellite. DISH will also file
an application to transfer the EchoStar 1 satellite to QuetzSat for operation under Mexican—
authority. EchoStar has received temporary authority to operate the EchoStar 8 satellite at 77.0°
W.L. under U.S. authority, File No. SAT—STA—20080616—00121 (granted Nov. 7, 2008), and has
requested a modification to its blanket earth station license to operate with the EchoStar 8
satellite after it is re—flagged under Mexican authority, File No. SES—MFS—20080724—00977
(filed Jul. 24, 2008).


requests a waiver of the Commission‘s rules to use two C—band frequencies for TT&C operations

during the relocation of the satellite.

        As the Commission is aware, QuetzSat is an affiliate of SES Latin America, S.A. ("SES—

LA") and SES S.A. (collectively, "SES"), with which EchoStar has entered into an agreement for

the development of the Mexican BSS location at 77° W.L." Pursuant to that agreement, the

EchoStar 4 satellite has already been deployed to 77° W.L. with the Commission‘s approval.3

EchoStar has also sought Commission approval to modify its blanket earth station to operate

with the EchoStar 8 satellite as a Mexican—licensed satellite from 77.0° W.L.*

        EchoStar 77 Corp., a wholly—owned subsidiary of EchoStar, recently entered into Satellite

Service Agreements with SES—LA and DISH ("EchoStar 77 SSAs"). Under those agreements,

QuetzSat will provide service to EchoStar 77 Corp. on its future QuetzSat—1 satellite over all 32

available channels at 77° W.L. subject to the receipt of all required approvals." EchoStar 77

Corp., in turn, will provide service to its parent, EchoStar, and, its affiliate, DISH. The EchoStar

77 SSAs also allow either DISH or EchoStar to move an "Interim Satellite" to the 77° W.L.

orbital location and use up to all 32 channels available at that location subject to the BSS



        See 77° W .L. Agreement, filed in File No. SAT—STA—20080616—00121, Attachment 3
("EchoStar 8 Application").

        * See EchoStar Satellite L.L.C., DA 06—868, Order and Authorization, 21 FCC Red 4077
(2006) ("77° W.L. Order"), assigned and transferred to EchoStar Corporation, File Nos. SES—
ASG—20071108—01575, SES—T/C—20071108—01566 (consummated Jan. 1, 2008).

        * File No. SES—MFS—20080724—00977 (filed Jul. 24, 2008).

        ° Sections 2.H(5) of the Satellite Services Agreement between EchoStar 77 Corporation
and SES Latin America, S.A. and the Satellite Services Agreement between DISH Network
Corporation and EchoStar 77 Corp. ("EchoStar 77 SSAs"), filed in EchoStar Satellite Operating
L.L.C., File No. SES—LFS—2009____—            , Attachment 2 (filed Jan. 30, 2009) ("EchoStar 1
Application").


  Concession." DISH will move the EchoStar 1 satellite to 77.15° W.L. once it receives authority

  from the Commission and will provide DBS programming to consumers in the U.S. over the

_ requested blanket earth station license. The EchoStar 4 satellite will be temporarily moved to

  77.3° W.L., subject to Commission approval, which will be requested separately. The EchoStar

  1 satellite is intended to replace the EchoStar 4 satellite — which is nearing the end of its life—

  and will provide service to the United States and Mexico in conjunction with the EchoStar 8

  satellite.‘ EchoStar 1 will operate at 77.15° W.L. until the planned launch of the QuetzSat—1

  satellite to that orbital location in 2011.

          QuetzSat, which pursuant to the BSS Concession was authorized by Mexico to use the

  BSS frequencies at the 77° W.L. slot," has advised the Mexican Administration of its plan to

  replace the EchoStar 4 satellite with EchoStar 1 for service to Mexico and the United States, and

  EchoStar understands that the Mexican Administration has no objection to this plan. The two




          ° Id. EchoStar understands that the use of the EchoStar 1 satellite at 77° W.L. is directly
  encompassed within the authority granted in QuetzSat‘s existing concession. That concession is
  not limited to the operations of any particular satellite at 77° W.L. Secretariat of
  Communications and Transportation Vice—Ministry of Communications, Concesion Para Ocupar
  La Posicion Orbital Geoestacionaria 77° Oeste Asignada al Pais y Explotar Sus Respectivas
  Bandas de Frecuencias 12.2 — 12.7 GHz y 17.3—17.8 GHz, Asi como los Derechos de Emision y
  Recepcion de Sefiales, granted February 2, 2005 ("BSS Concession"), filed in EchoStar 8
  Application, Attachment 2 at 4 (defining the satellite system as "one or more satellites with
  associated frequencies and their control centers operating in an integral manner to make satellite
  capacity available for the rendering of satellite services").

           ‘ Amendment #4 to Satellite Relocation and Use Agreement for the 77° W.L. Orbital
  Location, filed in EchoStar 1 Application, Attachment 4. Note that EchoStar 4 and EchoStar 1
  may both operate at 77° W .L. for a short period prior to the end—of—life disposal of the EchoStar 4
  satellite.

          8 BSS Concession.


Administrations have already exchanged letters regarding the use of EchoStar 4, formerly a U.S.—

licensed satellite, at 77° W.L.

       For the reasons set forth herein, grant of this Application will serve the public interest and

not cause harmful interference to any authorized user of the spectrum. The redeployment of the

EchoStar 1 satellite, along with the EchoStar 8 satellite, into service at 77.15° W.L. will augment

the capacity that EchoStar and DISH will have available to serve the United States from that

Mexican 77° W.L. slot and result in a greater variety and quality of programming services,

including high definition programming and local channels.

I.     GRANT OF THIS APPLICATION IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

       Granting EchoStar‘s Application is in the public interest. EchoStar and its DBS affiliate,

DISH, will be able to take advantage of the greater capabilities that EchoStar 1 brings to bear

compared to EchoStar 4 to provide increased programming to U.S. consumers from 77° W.L.

while QuetzSat constructs the QuetzSat—1 satellite. EchoStar 4 suffers from two infirmities:

limited capacity and limited scope of coverage over the U.S. The Commission found that even

this limited service from the Mexican orbital slot at 77° W.L. "could serve the public interest by

providing service to areas in the Southern U.S., including additional Spanish language

programming to areas with significant Spanish—speaking populations.""" The redeployment of

EchoStar 1, alongside EchoStar 8, to 77° W.L. will achieve this and more, as it will ameliorate

both of EchoStar 4s defects. It will greatly enhance the programming available from 77° W.L.

to U.S. customers, and it will also enhance the scope of U.S. coverage beyond the southern

states. By operating both EchoStar 1 and EchoStar 8 at 77° W.L., EchoStar and DISH will have

        ° See 77° W.L. Order at Appendix A.

         See id. at [ 8.


greater operational flexibility to maximize the amount of service available to U.S. consumers

than if either satellite operated alone at 77° W.L. This greater operational flexibility will provide

the companies with expanded capacity to provide high—definition services and additional high—

definition local—into—local markets.

        All of this can be achieved without any disruption in service. All programming carried

by EchoStar 1 at 148° W.L. today can be switched to another DISH satellite or the EchoStar 5

satellite once that spacecraft has been transferred from 129° W.L. to 148° W.L., which is

planned to occur this March."

        It follows that because the redeployment EchoStar 1 to 77.15° W.L. is in the public

interest then the grant of the earth station STA necessary to achieve that redeployment is also in

the public interest.

IL.     GRANT OF THIS APPLICATION WILL NOT CAUSE HARMEFUL
        INTERFERENCE

        During the transition from 148° W.L. to 77.15° W.L., regular DBS transmissions on the

EchoStar 1 satellite will remain switched off, with only TT&C operations being performed in the

C—band (discussed below).

        As the Commission is aware, the EchoStar 1 satellite is equipped with telemetry,

tracking and command ("TT&C") beacons in the conventional C—band frequencies (specifically,

5926—5927 MHz and 6423—6424 MHz for command, and 4198.4—4198.6 and 4199.4—4199.6 MHz

for telemetry and tracking). The Commission has already authorized the use of those frequencies


        " The Commission has granted DISH authority to move the EchoStar 5 satellite to 148°
W.L., and DISH‘ s application for modification of its authority to operate EchoStar 5 at 148°
W.L. is pending. See File Nos. SAT—STA—20081003—00201 and SAT—A/O—20081003—00215
(originally filed as File Nos. SAT—MOD—20081003—00199, SAT—MOD—20081003—00200 (filed
Oct. 3, 2008)).


to perform TT&C operations with EchoStar 1 at 148° W.L. on a non—protected, non—harmful

interference basis." EchoStar requests authority for use of the same frequencies with the same

satellite at 77.15° W.L. on exactly the same basis.

        Consistent with this precedent, EchoStar respectfully requests a waiver of Section

25.202(g) (in—band TT&C) to the extent necessary to permit such operations. Just as when the

Commission authorized DISH to use these frequencies at 148° W.L., there is good cause for such

a waiver." First, the continued use of these frequencies for the conduct of TT&C with the

EchoStar 1 satellite is essential, as the satellite is not equipped to receive commands or transmit

telemetry and tracking information on any other frequencies. In addition, the continued use of

these command frequencies on a non—protected, non—harmful interference basis will not increase

the potential for interference with any lawful users of spectrum, as it will not conflict with the

operations of any adjacent C—band satellite operators. The closest C—band satellite that will

operate near the 77° W.L. orbital location when EchoStar 1 is transferred to that location is

Brasilsat B3 operating at 75° W.L.‘" The closest C—band satellite to the west of 77° W.L. is

Brasilsat B4 operating at 84° W.L. Thus, proposed operations of EchoStar I‘s TT&C

communications in two slivers of the conventional C—band will not cause any interference into

the operations of either of these satellites.


       * See EchoStar Satellite Corporation et al., 13 FCC Red 8595, at § 23 (Sat. & Radiocom.
Div. 1998).

        3 See WAIT Radio v. FCC, 418 F.2d 1153, 1157 (D.C. Cir. 1969), affd, 459 F.2d 1203
(D.C. Cir. 1972), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1027 (1972).

        * While PanAmSat‘s Galaxy 4R satellite currently operates at 76.8° W.L., PanAm§Sat
has recently submitted an application to deorbit the satellite in March 2009 and to transfer all C—
band traffic to its Galaxy 2R satellite located at 93.10° W.L. See File No. SAT—STA—20090123—
00008 (filed Jan. 23, 2009). As EchoStar 1 will not reach 77° W.L. until on or around May 22,
2009, its limited C—band operations will not interfere with Galaxy 4R.


       To the extent necessary, EchoStar is also requesting from the Commission a limited

waiver of the Trilateral Arrangement Regarding Use of the Geostationary Orbit reached by

Canada, Mexico, and the United States as EchoStar 1 will be a Mexican—licensed satellite in the

portion of the C—band arc reserved to the U.S. under that agreement."" For the reasons set forth

above, there is good cause for such a waiver. In addition, EchoStar notes that Mexico and

Canada have both consented to EchoStar 1‘s limited use of the C—band when the satellite was

operating at 119° W.L., in these countries‘ portion of the C—band arc.""

III.   WAIVER PURSUANT TO SECTION 304 OF THE ACT

       In accordance with Section 304 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47

U.S.C. § 304, EchoStar hereby waives any claim to the use of any particular frequency or of the

electromagnetic spectrum as against the regulatory power of the United States because of the

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




        5 See Public Notice, Trilateral Arrangement Regarding Use of the Geostationary Orbit
Reached by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, available at
http://www.fco.gov/ib/sand/agree/files/satellite/trilat.pdf (rel. Sept. 2, 1988).

        4 14.


IV.    CONCLUSION

       For the foregoing reasons, EchoStar respectfully requests that the Commission grant the

requested Special Temporary Authority for the relocation of EchoStar 1 to 77.15° W.L.

                                            Respectfully submitted,



                                                      Is/
Pantelis Michalopoulos                       Linda Kinney
Petra A. Vorwig                              Vice President, Law and Regulation
Steptoe & Johnson LLP                        Brad Gillen
1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.                Director and Senior Counsel
Washington, D.C. 20036                       EchoStar Corporation
(202) 429—3000                               1233 20th Street, N.W.
Counselfor EchoStar Corporation              Suite 302
                                             Washington, DC 20036—2396
                                             (202) 293—0981

January 30, 2009



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Document Modified: 2019-04-28 16:57:05

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