Attachment SESSTA2012120301054.

SESSTA2012120301054.

DECISION submitted by IB/FCC

STA GRANT

2012-12-28

This document pretains to SES-STA-20121203-01054 for Special Temporal Authority on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESSTA2012120301054_980921

                                                  E050196                      SES—STA—20121203—01054      182012002780
                                                  EchoStar 77 Corp.


                                                                                                                                         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 Call Sign E050196 with EchoStar 8 at 76.90 W.L.
 1. Applicant

           Name:        EchoStar 77 Corp.                                                 Phone Number:                   202—293—0981
           DBA Name:                                                                      Fax Number:
           Street:      100 Inverness Terrace East                                        E—Mail:


           City:        Englewood                                                         State:                          CO
           Country:     USA                                                               Zipcode:                        80112      —
           Attention:   Ms Alison Minea




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2. Contact


             Name:          Pantelis Michalopoulos               Phone Number:                        202—429—6494
             Company:       Steptoe & Johnson LLP                Fax Number:
             Street:        1330 Connecticut Avenue 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 either the 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).
£4 Governmental Entity       @3 Noncommercial educational licensee
C Other(please explain):

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

5. Type Request

£4 Use Prior to Grant                             q73 Change Station Location                        «) Other


6. Requested Use Prior Date


7. City                                                                     8. Latitude
                                                                            (dd mm ss.s h)   0   0   0.0


9. State                                                                    10. Longitude
                                                                            (dd mm ss.s h)    0   0   0.0
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 77 Corporatyion seeks Special Temporary Authority to operate its blanket earth
     station       (Call Sign EO50196)          with the EchoStar 8 satellite at 76.90 W.L.                            See attached
    narrative.




13. By checking Yes, the undersigned certifies that neither applicant nor any other party to the application is               Yes        y 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 "party to the application" for these purposes.


14. Name of Person Signing                                                  15. Title of Person Signing
  Alison Minea                                                                 Corporate Counsel
           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).


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1, 1995, 44 U.S.C. SECTION 3507.


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


                                                       )
In the Matter of                                       )
                                                       )
ECHOSTAR 77 CORPORATION                                )    File No. SES—MFS—2012
                                                       )    File No. SES—STA—2012
Application for Special Temporary Authority and        )    Call Sign EO50196
Modification of Station License to Add EchoStar 8, )
Operating as a Mexican—Licensed Satellite,         P
as a Point of Communication at 76.90° W.L.             )
                                                       )


APPLICATIONS FOR SPECIAL TEMPORARY AUTHORITY AND MODIFICATION
              OF BLANKET EARTH STATION AUTHORITY

       EchoStar 77 Corporation ("EchoStar") seeks (1) special temporary authority ("STA") to

operate its blanket earth station (Call Sign E0O50196) to communicate with the EchoStar 8

satellite at 76.90° W.L., starting on or about December 11, 2012; and (2) authority to add

EchoStar 8 as a point of communication at 76.90° W.L., where it will continue to be operated by

QuetzSat, S. de RL. de C.V. ("QuetzSat") as a Mexican—licensed satellite. This minor move is

designed to accommodate a new satellite, QuetzSat—1, at the nominal 77° W.L. orbital location.

Once QuetzSat—1 arrives at 77.05° W.L., it will in turn allow U.S. consumers to receive enhanced

direct broadcast satellite ("DBS") services.


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

will not cause any harmful interference, and is fully consistent with the Commission‘s DISCO II

policies.‘

1.      BACKGROUND

        The nominal 77° W.L. orbital location is allotted to Mexico under the Region 2

Broadcasting—Satellite Service ("BSS") plan set forth in Appendices 30 and 30A to the

international Radio Regulations. As the Commission is aware, QuetzSat is an affiliate of SES

Global Latin America, S.A. and SES S.A. (collectively, "SES"), with which EchoStar has

entered into an agreement for the development of the nominal Mexican BSS location at 77° W.L.

EchoStar currently has a blanket earth station license allowing reception of service from

EchoStar 8 at its current orbital location, 77.05° W.L." EchoStar 8 is operating as a Mexican—

licensed satellite pursuant to an exchange of letters between the Commission and the Mexican

Administration.*

        To make room for QuetzSat—1 at 77.05° W.L., EchoStar 8 will move within the 77° W.L.

orbital cluster from 77.05° W.L. to 76.90° W.L. The satellite will still operate with 0.05°

stationkeeping, and thus will remain at all times within the Mexican orbital cluster. The satellite

will still be subject to the same terms and conditions set forth in the exchange of letters, and will

remain a Mexican—licensed satellite. EchoStar understands that the use of the EchoStar 8



        ‘ See Amendment of the Commission‘s Policies to Allow Non—U.S. Licensed Space
Stations Providing Domestic and International Service in the United States, Report and Order,
12 FCC Red. 24094 (1997) (CDISCO IF).
         See EchoStar Satellite LL.C., 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).
        > See Radio Authorization, File No. SAT—T/C—20090217—00026 (granted Sept. 17, 2010).


satellite at the nominal 77° W.L. orbital location is directly encompassed within the authority

granted in QuetzSat‘s existing concession.*

II.    THIS APPLICATION IS LEGALLY AND TECHNICALLY COMPLETE

       The legal qualifications of EchoStar to receive the requested authority are a matter of

record with the Commission. For the EchoStar 8 satellite, EchoStar has previously submitted all

of the technical information required by Sections 25.137 and 25.114 of the Commission‘s rules®

in the Schedule S and Technical Annex attached to the EchoStar 8 Application. They are

incorporated herein by reference, as the technical parameters of the satellite remain materially

unchanged as a result of this minor relocation.

       In addition, the proposed operation of EchoStar 8 at 76.90° W.L. to provide service to the

United States is fully compliant with the Commission‘s technical rules. With respect to the

geographic service requirements in Section 25.148(c) of the Commission‘s rules,° the

Commission has already held that DBS service to Alaska and Hawaii is not technically feasible

from the 86.5° W.L. orbital location.‘ It follows that service from the 77° W.L. orbital location,

which is even further east than 86.5° W.L., is also not technically feasible.



       * That concession is not limited to the operations of any particular satellite at 77° W.L.
See 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"), at
4, filed in File No. SAT—STA—20080616—00121 (granted Oct. 21, 2008) ("EchoStar 8
Application").
       5 47 C.F.R. §§ 25.137, 25.114.
        ° Id. § 25.148(c) (requiring service to Alaska and Hawaii "where such service is
technically feasible").
       ‘ EchoStar Satellite L.L.C., Order and Authorization, 21 FCC Red. 14045 [ 19 (2006)
("Given the very low elevation angles to the 86.5° W.L. orbital location from Alaska and
Hawaii, it is very unlikely that service to these states from EchoStar—86.5W would be technically
                                                                                  (Continued ...)


III.       THIS APPLICATION IS IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST AND WILL NOT CAUSE
           HARMFUL INTERFERENCE

       EchoStar‘s application is in the public interest and will not present any risk of harmful

interference to other U.S. or non—U.S. satellites. It will optimize EchoStar‘s fleet deployment at

the 77° W.L. cluster, and improve the ability of EchoStar‘s customer, DISH Network L.L.C., to

continue to provide programming to U.S. consumers from 77° W.L. The Commission has found

that even 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.”8 The redeployment of

EchoStar 8 at 76.90° W.L. will further that goal by making more room for QuetzSat—1, which

will provide just such services." QuetzSat—1 currently is at the nominal 61.5° W.L. orbital

location, and is expected to move to 77.05° W.L. in December 2012.

           This minor redeployment of EchoStar 8 will be achieved without any disruption in

service.

           These public benefits will also be achieved without causing harmful interference to other

satellites. There is no DBS orbital location in the vicinity of 77° W.L. that is assigned to the

United States (the closest U.S. location is 61.5° W.L.). There will likewise be no harmful

interference from the continued operation of the satellite within the nominal 77° W.L. into

Canada‘s DBS allotments at 72.5° W.L. and 82° W.L. In that respect, EchoStar notes that

EchoStar leases all transponders at 72.5° W.L. from Telesat and will self—coordinate at that



feasible. Therefore, we will not require EchoStar—86.5 W to provide service to Alaska and
Hawaii from the 86.5° W.L. orbital location.").
           8 See 77° W.L. Order "| 8.
           * See EchoStar 77 Corporation, File No. SES—MFS—20110707—00793 (filed July 7, 2011).


location. There is, however, an existing coordination agreement between Mexico and Canada to

address interference issues between 77° W.L. and 72.5° W.L. EchoStar will comply with that

agreement and any future coordination agreements. Similarly, with respect to Canadian

operations at 82° W.L., EchoStar will continue to operate in full conformity with existing

coordination agreements with the Administrations of Canada and Mexico and/or any future

public or private coordination agreements.

IV.    GRANT OF THIS APPLICATION IS CONSISTENT WITH THE
       COMMISSION‘S DISCO IIPOLICIES

       Under its DISCO II framework, the Commission evaluates whether the provision of

service into the United States from a foreign—licensed satellite will serve the public interest. The

DISCO II analysis includes consideration of a number of factors, including the effect on

competition in the United States; eligibility and operating requirements; spectrum availability;

and national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, and trade concerns.‘" As part of this

analysis, the Commission examines the "effective competitive opportunities" afforded to U.S.

market access."‘

       The United States and Mexico have a bilateral agreement in place related to the provision

of Direct—to—Home ("DTH") service."" Under DISCO II, such a bilateral agreement "acts as a


        9 See DISCO II, 12 FCC Red. at 24107—72.
         ‘ Id. at 24098 ("For satellites licensed by non—WTO Members and for all satellites
providing Direct—to—Home (DTH), Direct Broadcasting Satellite (DBS), and Digital Audio Radio
Services (DARS), we will examine whether U.S. satellites have effective competitive
opportunities in the relevant foreign markets to determine whether allowing the foreign—licensed
satellite to serve the United States would satisfy the competition component of the public interest
analysis.").
          See Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the
Government of the United Mexican States Concerning the Transmission and Reception from
Satellites for the Provision of Satellite Services to Users in the United States of America and the
United Mexican States (Apr. 28, 1996); Article I and Protocol Concerning the Transmission and
                                                                                      (Continued ...)


gateway to, and a guarantee of, increased competition in the two countries at both ends of the

agreement.”13 Therefore, in cases such as this one, in which U.S. earth stations seek to

communicate with a Mexican—flagged space station, the Commission assumes that the

application would enhance competition and "no further market access analysis is required.”14

       Finally, EchoStar has demonstrated compliance with the Commission‘s eligibility and

operating requirements,"" and there are no spectrum availability, national security, law

enforcement, foreign policy, or trade concerns that would warrant treating this application

differently from those previously granted by the Commission.

v.     OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS

       During relocation maneuvers and maintenance of EchoStar 8 at the 76.90° W.L. orbital

location pursuant to special temporary authority, operations with EchoStar 8 will operate subject

to the following conditions:

       1. All drift orbit TT&C and feeder link operations will be coordinated with other
          potentially affected in—orbit operators.

       2. Drift operations and operations at 76.90° W.L. shall be on a non—harmful interference
           basis, meaning that EchoStar 8 shall not cause interference to, and shall not claim
           protections from, interference caused to it by any other lawfully operating satellites.

       3. In the event that any harmful interference is caused as a result of TT&C or feeder link
          operations during the relocation of the EchoStar 8 satellite or while the satellite is at
          76.90° W.L., EchoStar 8 shall cease the offending operations immediately upon
          notification of such interference and the Commission will be informed immediately,
          in writing, of such event.



Reception of Signals from Satellites for the Provision of Direct—to—Home Satellite Services in the
United States of America and the United Mexican States (Nov. 8, 1996).
       } DISCO II, 12 FCC Red. at 24157 4 143.
        * See EchoStar Satellite L.L.C., Order and Authorization, 21 FCC Red. 44077, 4080 4 8
n.20 (2006).
       5 See EchoStar 8 Application, Technical Annex and Schedule S.


VI.     APPLICATION FEES

        While the Commission‘s Rules designate the charge for an STA application, the Rules do

not designate any specific charges for a modification application of a blanket earth station filed

for DBS service. Therefore, for its modification application, EchoStar is submitting the

application fee for a VSAT modification, which the Commission has accepted for similar

networks and applications, including an almost identical request made by EchoStar in April

2011.‘"" For its STA application, EchoStar is submitting the requisite application fee.

VIIL.   CONCLUSION

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

application for STA to operate its blanket earth station (Call Sign E050196) to communicate with

the EchoStar 8 satellite at 76.90° W.L. beginning on or about December 11, 2012. EchoStar also

respectfully requests that the Commission grant its application to add EchoStar 8, operating from

76.90° W.L. as a Mexican—licensed satellite, as a point of communication for EchoStar‘s blanket

earth station authorization (Call Sign EO50196).




        © See Letter from Mark Stephens, Chief Financial Officer, FCC to Pantelis
Michalopoulos, File No. SES—MFS—20110314—00288 (Apr. 4, 2011) (granting the fee waiver
request for a modification application to add EchoStar 6, operating as a Mexican—licensed
satellite, as a point of communication); see also Letter from Mark Stephens, Chief Financial
Officer, FCC to Pantelis Michalopoulos, File No. SES—ASG—20110228—00560 (Apr. 18, 2011)
(granting the fee waiver request for the pro forma assignment of a blanket earth station to operate
with EchoStar 4 and EchoStar 8, Mexican—licensed satellites); Letter from Mark Stephens, Chief
Financial Officer, FCC to Pantelis Michalopoulos, File No. SES—ASG—20071108—01575 (Apr. 4,
2008) (granting the fee waiver request for the pro forma assignment of blanket earth station
license).


                               Respectfully submitted,

                               EchoStar 77 Corporation


                                         Is/
Pantelis Michalopoulos         Alison Minea
Stephanie A. Roy               Corporate Counsel
Jessica I. Rothschild          EchoStar 77 Corporation
Steptoe & Johnson LLP          1110 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 750
1330 Connecticut Avenue N.W.   Washington, DC 20005
Washington, D.C. 20036         (202) 293—1216
(202) 429—3000
Counselfor EchoStar 77
Corporation


December 3, 2012



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Document Modified: 2013-01-10 16:24:41

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