Four communications satellite operators have formed a coalition in an effort to increase commercial launch options, because the launch industry has seen large-scale consolidation in recent years, the group said on Wednesday. The group, named the Coalition for Competitive Launches, includes EchoStar, Intelsat, SES and Telesat.
The Satellite Industry Association said its supports HR- 2410, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for fiscal years 2010 and 2011, considered Wednesday by the House. The bill includes a provision that would restore authority to the executive branch to determine the appropriate export licensing treatment for satellites and related components. SIA President Patricia Cooper said the “legislation will enable even stronger U.S. satellite exports, reinforcing the American industrial position in the global marketplace and at home, and safeguarding both jobs and critical space technology for the nation.”
The satellite industry overall seems to be weathering the financial crisis, according to recent reports by the Satellite Industry Association and Euroconsult, a telecom research firm (CD June 9 P 10). But analysts and experts said parts of the industry that rely more directly on consumers seem more vulnerable.
On April 2, 2009, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade held a hearing on Export Controls on Satellite Technology.
The Satellite Industry Association wants Congress to include a subsidy of $400 per home for purchase of satellite broadband equipment in the economic stimulus package. Congress should “make satellite broadband networks eligible for these grants without specifying an arbitrary minimum speed,” and include a grant program for the upfront cost of the end-user equipment, SIA President Patricia Cooper said in a letter to Congress. “Improvements in speed are not the primary desire” of people who can’t get terrestrial broadband, she said. “Access to an always-on broadband service is much more critical,” she said. Satellite broadband also can provide backup. Including satellite in any broadband proposal could create new jobs, since new installers and call-center workers would be needed to keep up with the increased demand, SIA told Congress.
The Satellite Industry Association wants Congress to include a subsidy of $400 per home for purchases of satellite broadband equipment in the economic-stimulus package. “Ubiquitous nationwide broadband service is achievable today because of satellite broadband networks,” said SIA President Patricia Cooper. Satellite technologies provide the only broadband available to more than 10 million Americans who live or work in remote areas of the country, Cooper said. SIA wants Congress “to make satellite broadband networks eligible for these grants without specifying an arbitrary minimum speed” and include a grant program for the upfront cost of the end-user equipment, Cooper wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. Hughes Network Services and WildBlue Communications offer users the option to lease equipment as a way to get around the high upfront costs, but “a lot of people don’t like leasing,” Cooper said. “At some point if you are going to have the service for a long time you want to buy the equipment.” Speed isn’t the only consideration in broadband incentives, Cooper said. “Incentives for broadband services and deployment must be extended beyond its current focus on tiered or speed-based incentives to emphasize universal access,” she wrote. “Improvements in speed are not the primary desire” of these millions of Americans that can’t get terrestrial broadband, she wrote. “For these Americans, access to an always-on broadband service is much more critical than whether the service hits a particular speed benchmark,” she said. “For these Americans, satellite provides the only alternative to dial-up services.” Satellite broadband also can provide backup, SIA said.
Wireless carriers, cable companies, satellite operators and rural local exchange carriers asked the FCC not to impose Automated Reporting Management Information System reporting requirements on them, as part of an FCC push to gather more data on broadband deployment. But some state commissions and public interest group Free Press said the ARMIS requirements provide useful data and should be expanded to all companies that offer broadband service.
Wireless carriers, cable companies and others asked the FCC not to impose Automated Reporting Management Information System reporting requirements on them, as part of an FCC push to gather more data on broadband deployment. But some state commissions and public interest group Free Press said the ARMIS requirements provide useful data and should be expanded to all companies that offer broadband service.
The FCC should require more than one public-safety device for use in the 700 MHz D-block, the satellite industry told the FCC in comments filed this week. The FCC is re- examining rules on the 700 MHz D-block, which failed to sell at auction. “Only by incorporating satellite capability into many public safety user devices will public safety have the coverage and reliability that is critical to the success and wide-spread utilization of this new network,” Mobile Satellite Ventures said.
The fixed satellite services market is “subject to effective competition,” the FCC said Friday in its annual satellite competition report. “Consumers of communications satellite services continue to realize significant benefits in terms of service choice, innovations fostered by technological change and improvements in both space and ground segment, and improvements in service quality.”