Attachment STA Request

This document pretains to SES-STA-20120413-00364 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2012041300364_948454

Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Application by ) ) SES AMERICOM, INC. ) Call Sign E080162 ) For Special Temporary Authority to ) Communicate with QuetzSat-1 to Perform ) TT&C During Relocation ) REQUEST FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY By this application, SES Americom, Inc. (“SES Americom,” doing business as “SES”) respectfully requests special temporary authority (“STA”) for a period of up to 30 days, beginning on or about April 27, 2012, to use its Vernon Valley, NJ earth station (call sign E080162) to communicate with the QuetzSat-1 spacecraft in order to provide Tracking, Telemetry and Command (“TT&C”): (i) at its test location, 67.1º W.L., (ii) during the planned relocation of the spacecraft from 67.1º W.L. to 44.9º W.L., and (iii) once the satellite arrives on- station at 44.9° W.L., pending long term modification of the E080162 license. As discussed below, grant of the requested authority is in the public interest. QuetzSat-1 is a foreign-licensed Direct Broadcast Satellite (“DBS”) spacecraft launched in September 2011. The satellite was initially positioned at 67.1º W.L. so that in-orbit testing could be performed. In the coming weeks, a relocation of the spacecraft from 67.1º W.L. to the nominal 45º W.L. orbital location is planned. From that location, the spacecraft will introduce new service to Brazil pursuant to Brazilian authority.1 1 Additional information regarding the intended relocation of QuetzSat-1 to the nominal 45º W.L. orbital location is found in the application of EchoStar Broadcasting Corp. to use earth station call sign E070014 to communicate with QuetzSat-1 to provide TT&C during the relocation. See File No. SES-STA-INTR2012-01036 (“EBC STA Request”), Narrative at 1-2.

The E080162 earth station is currently licensed to communicate with satellites only in the arc between 60º W.L. and 140º W.L.2 However, SES has recently completed coordination for an expanded arc from 40º W.L. to 140º W.L.,3 and is preparing to file a license modification application to reflect the broader arc and to add the Brazilian-licensed QuetzSat-1 at 44.9° W.L. as a point of communication. The proposed TT&C transmissions from the E080162 earth station to QuetzSat-1 during the relocation will be consistent with the technical specifications described in the coordination report and will otherwise conform to the terms of the E080162 license. Full technical details regarding QuetzSat-1, including a completed Schedule S 4 and a narrative technical appendix, are already on file with the Commission. The proposed operations will not adversely affect adjacent satellite operators. The drift of the spacecraft will be coordinated with other potentially affected satellite operators consistent with industry practice. Furthermore, SES will accept interference from any regularly authorized network and will terminate operations if SES is notified that such a network is experiencing harmful interference. TT&C operations on-station at 44.9° W.L. have also been 5 coordinated. 2 See File No. SES-MFS-20081031-01430 (Call Sign E080162), granted Jan. 30, 2009 at Section C. 3 A copy of the coordination report is attached hereto as Exhibit 1. 4 See DISH Operating L.L.C., File No. SES-MFS-20110707-00792 (Call Sign E090020) (“DISH QuetzSat-1 Application”). 5 See EBC STA Request, Narrative at 3-4 (discussing status of coordination of TT&C transmissions to QuetzSat-1 with operators of nearby spacecraft). 2

Grant of this request to perform TT&C with QuetzSat-1 is in the public interest as it will facilitate the safe operation of QuetzSat-1 during the planned relocation and once it arrives 6 at 44.9° W.L. SES hereby certifies that no party to this application is subject to a denial of federal benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. § 862. For the foregoing reasons, SES respectfully requests special temporary authority to communicate with QuetzSat-1 for a period of up to 30 days, commencing on or about April 27, 2012, in order to perform TT&C as described herein. Respectfully submitted, SES AMERICOM, INC. By: /s/ Daniel C.H. Mah Of Counsel Daniel C.H. Mah Karis A. Hastings Regulatory Counsel SatCom Law LLC SES Americom, Inc. 1317 F Street, N.W., Suite 400 Four Research Way Washington, D.C. 20004 Princeton, NJ 08540 Tel: (202) 599-0975 Dated: April 13, 2012 6 SES does not believe that Section 25.137, which specifies the showing necessary for communications with a non-U.S.-licensed satellite, applies here. SES seeks to use E080162 only for TT&C operations, not to provide service to U.S. customers. Use of a U.S.-licensed earth station to communicate with a foreign-licensed satellite for TT&C purposes only does not raise the types of market access and competitive parity issues underlying Section 25.137. To the extent that the Commission believes that a market access showing under Section 25.137 is required, SES respectfully requests a waiver, consistent with Commission precedent. See, e.g., Universal Space Network, File No. SES-STA-20111128-01389 (requesting waiver of Section 25.137 to permit communications with the Pleiades-1 space station for launch and early orbit phase operations), granted Dec. 15, 2011; Intelsat North America LLC, File No. SES-STA- 20100715-00909, Exhibit A (requesting waiver of Section 25.137 to permit communications with the RASCOM-QAF 1R space station for launch and early orbit phase operations), granted July 23, 2010. 3


Document Created: 2012-04-13 08:16:43
Document Modified: 2012-04-13 08:16:43
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