Attachment STA Request

This document pretains to SES-STA-20120426-00400 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2012042600400_949659

Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of Application by ) ) SES AMERICOM, INC. ) Call Sign E110104 ) For Special Temporary Authority to ) Communicate with NSS-7 ) During and After 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 May 18, 2012, to allow its Bristow, VA earth station (call sign E110104) to communicate with the NSS-7 spacecraft in order to provide Tracking, Telemetry and Command (“TT&C”) and carry customer traffic during and after the planned relocation of the spacecraft from 22º W.L. to 20º W.L. As discussed below, grant of the requested authority is in the public interest. NSS-7 is a Netherlands-licensed fixed satellite service (“FSS”) spacecraft that is currently on the Commission’s Permitted Space Station List (“Permitted List”) for operations in the conventional C- and Ku-bands at 22° W.L.1 NSS-7 is being replaced at that location by SES- 1 See New Skies Satellites N.V., 17 FCC Rcd 10369 (IB 2002) (“NSS-7 Order”) (adding NSS-7 to the Permitted List for operations at 21.5º W.L.), as modified by File No. SAT-PDR- 20020930-00179, grant-stamped May 29, 2003 (updating the Permitted List to reflect relocation of NSS-7 to 22º W.L.).

4, which was successfully launched in mid-February, has completed testing, and is now in 2 position and operational at 22° W.L. Over the coming weeks, most of the traffic carried on NSS-7 will be transferred to SES-4, making NSS-7 available for redeployment to 20º W.L., where it will replace NSS-5. SES Americom’s affiliate, New Skies Satellites B.V., has applied to the Commission for modification of the terms pursuant to which the NSS-7 satellite is authorized to serve the U.S. in order to reflect the planned relocation of the satellite to 20° W.L.3 The NSS-7 Modification requests that the Commission modify the Permitted List to include the NSS-7 conventional C-band payload (3700-4200 MHz downlink; 5925-6425 MHz uplink), a portion of the conventional Ku-band 4 payload (11.95-12.2 GHz downlink), and specified TT&C frequencies for operations at 20º W.L. As in the case of the NSS-5 satellite currently operating at 20° W.L., other Ku-band frequencies (10.95-11.2 GHz, 11.45-11.95 GHz and 12.5-12.75 GHz downlink; 14.0-14.5 GHz 5 uplink) will be operated by Intelsat in accordance with an agreement between SES and Intelsat. 2 The Commission has placed SES-4 on the Permitted List. See New Skies Satellites N.V., File No. SAT-PPL-20110620-00112, grant-stamped Mar. 15, 2012. 3 See New Skies Satellites N.V., File No. SAT-MPL-20120215-00017, call sign S2463 (the “NSS-7 Modification”). The Commission placed the NSS-7 Modification on public notice on April 6, 2012. See Policy Branch Information, Satellite Space Applications Accepted for Filing, Report No. SAT-00858, Apr. 6, 2012 (“April 6 Public Notice”). 4 The NSS-7 TT&C frequencies are as follows: Command: 14496.0 and 14499.0 MHz (vertical polarization; uplink) Telemetry/Tracking: 11451.0 and 11454.0 MHz (horizontal polarization; downlink) Tracking Beacon: 4199.5 MHz (vertical polarization; downlink). 5 The NSS-5 C-band payload operates pursuant to Netherlands authority and is on the Permitted List for service to U.S. earth stations. Under an agreement between SES and Intelsat, the NSS-5 Ku-band payload is operated by Intelsat pursuant to a U.S. license. See New Skies Satellites B.V., Call Sign S2802, File Nos. SAT-PPL-20091208-00142& SAT-APL-20100219- 00034, grant-stamped June 4, 2010; Intelsat License LLC, Call Sign S2801, File No. SAT-A/O- 20091208-00141, grant-stamped June 4, 2010. 2

Intelsat has separately filed an application for a U.S. license at 20° W.L. for these remaining NSS- 6 7 Ku-band frequencies. The E110104 earth station is currently licensed to communicate in the conventional Ku-band with all U.S.-licensed satellites and all satellites on the Permitted List, including NSS-7 at 22º W.L.7 It is also licensed to communicate in the extended Ku-band with both the NSS-7 and SES-4 satellites at 22° W.L. SES here seeks STA to permit the earth station to communicate with NSS-7 during and after relocation of the satellite from 22º W.L. to 20º W.L. Transmissions from the E110104 earth station to NSS-7 during the relocation will fully conform to the terms of the E110104 license. Complete technical information regarding NSS-7, including operational parameters at both 22º W.L. and 20º W.L., is on file with the 8 Commission. The proposed communication with NSS-7 during and after its planned relocation will not adversely affect adjacent satellite operations. There are no satellites located between 22º W.L. and 20º W.L. As discussed above, SES operates the SES-4 satellite at 22º W.L., and SES and Intelsat operate the payloads of NSS-5 at 20º W.L. pursuant to an agreement between the companies. Intelsat also operates the adjacent satellites on either side of these locations, Intelsat 905 at 24.5º W.L. and Intelsat 901 at 18º W.L. SES and Intelsat will coordinate to ensure that no harmful interference occurs from the operations described in this STA request. 6 See Intelsat License LLC, File No. SAT-RPL-20120216-00018, call sign S2854 (the “NSS-7 License Application.” The NSS-7 License Application also appeared on the April 6 Public Notice. 7 See File No. SES-LIC-20110715-00830 (Call Sign E110104), granted Mar. 27, 2012, at Section D. 8 See NSS-7 Modification; NSS-7 License Application. See also NSS-7 Order; File No. SAT-PDR-20020930-00179. 3

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. Authorizing E110104 to communicate with NSS-7 during and after the planned relocation of the satellite will serve the public interest. Grant of the requested STA will permit SES to use this earth station to provide TT&C for the planned relocation, facilitating safe operation of the spacecraft. In addition, it will allow SES to provide service continuity to customers that will be remaining on NSS-7 instead of transferring to SES-4. 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 allow its E110104 earth station to communicate with NSS-7 during and after the planned relocation of the spacecraft from 22º W.L. to 20º W.L. for 30 days commencing on or about May 18, 2012, in order to perform TT&C and provide customer service 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 26, 2012 4


Document Created: 2012-04-26 10:19:50
Document Modified: 2012-04-26 10:19:50
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