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Aware that
Fixed Satellite Services are essential in the
continent, not only due to the sheer size of their
coverage but also to the multiple purposes they
fulfill for Governments, enterprises and users,
SES NEW SKIES takes special care to protect the
quality and continuity of the reception and
transmission signals provided by its satellite
services over the American hemisphere.
The decision,
adopted by several Governments and endorsed during
the last World Radiocommunication Conference
(WRC-07), implies that Band C can now house, in a
co-primary fashion, Fixed Satellite Services and new
technologies, particularly International Mobile
Telecommunications (IMT). New developments have
always been welcome, or even promoted, by satellite
operators. However, today we find ourselves at a
crossroads of technological proposals that are not
always compatible with one another, and which can
significantly affect the quality and continuity of
transmissions. Therefore, in this period of
convergence we should establish the rules and
methods for a peaceful coexistence of services,
guaranteeing that current users will continue to
enjoy protected and secure communications in case
new services are implemented in the 3400-3700 MHz
band.
This
fundamental change entails decisive actions by both
the public and private sectors. In fact, the massive
use of the 4/6 GHz band by Fixed Satellite Services
has increased these last years, since its capability
of low atmospheric absorption makes it extremely
adaptable for communications in areas with high
precipitation and atmospheric pressure. Currently
there are over 160 geostationary satellites
operating in Band C, covering the entire globe.
These services have been the first -and, in many
cases, the only- services that have provided
coverage to extensive remote areas with isolated
populations where other technologies are still not
available. Therefore, in the American continent and
the other two global regions there is a costly
installed and operational infrastructure base that
can support an array of services, including the
distribution of TV programming to hotels, small
enterprises and families, VSAT (Very Small Aperture
Terminal), high-speed Internet access,
point-to-point links, public telephony protection
services, satellite reception for mobile services,
and essential communications during natural
disasters, among others.
Satellite
companies have a long history of coordination with
terrestrial operators and national authorities
regarding Band C, aimed at benefiting the users of
satellite networks. Today, SES NEW SKIES
gives even more value to this collaboration with
national bodies in charge of regulating the
efficient use of the radio electric spectrum, since
they are responsible for protecting existing
services and users’ rights.
SES NEW
SKIES, with 7 geostationary satellites (two more
will be launched in 2009) and hundreds of 36 MHz
transponders that cover our planet and region, has
taken an active role in different international
discussion forums to achieve methodologies that
would allow both compatibility and the peaceful use
of this band. Our attention is now focused on two
main types of interference: Harmful “in-band”
interference that is between services operating in
the same spectrum, and harmful interference caused
by services operating in adjacent bands. So, SES
NEW SKIES has become involved in the ITU’s
Working Group 4A about the efficient use of
geostationary orbits and compatibility between
Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) and Fixed Satellite
Services, which would provide the technical
guidelines and methodologies. In its last session in
October, Group 4A insisted on 3 aspects: i.) that
the introduction of new applications in this band
must take into account that the uncertainty
regarding the results of item 1.20 of the WRC-07
means that there are additional complexities for
their use by other services; ii.) that new
limitations or restrictions must not be imposed to
the use of existing systems in Fixed Satellite
Services; and iii.) that adequate protection must be
guaranteed for existing satellite services as well
as those to be implemented in the future.
In addition, in
CITEL’s 12th Meeting SES NEW SKIES
proposed that operators and regulators join efforts
to implement already existing procedures within the
ITU framework, with the purpose of protecting
terrestrial stations using 3400-4200 GHz bands that
are installed on both sides of international
borders. The purpose of these measures is to achieve
active collaboration with regulatory authorities to
register terrestrial stations belonging to fixed
satellite services that receive signals in Band C
and are located in border areas; they would be
entered in the ITU’s International Master Frequency
Registry. This objective will not necessarily imply
the creation of additional databases to already
existing ones, or the registration of all
terrestrial Band C stations in a given country.
SES NEW
SKIES is also promoting the exchange of
non-confidential technical information between
operators and interested authorities in Region 2, in
order to prepare an updated, accurate mapping of the
areas with greater risk of interference, to be able
to anticipate or resolve in a timely fashion
disturbances in communication traffic.
National
regulators have the last word in deciding which
services will operate in which segments of the
spectrum, for example the band from 3400-4200 GHz.
Thus, it is important to take in consideration the
continuity of existing services, protecting them
from harmful interference before granting
authorization for new services in the band from 3400
to 4200 MHz or portions of it. Public authorities
must, at all times, know about the results of
studies carried out by different bodies, for
instance the APT Wireless Forum (AWF), ECC Report
100, WIMAX Forum, SUIRG reports and the experiences
of other CITEL Administrations and/or Associated
Satellite Members. This and more information can be
found in the following web site:
www.fss-toolkit.com.
In turn, the
private sector must find the technical solutions and
criteria that will permit coexistence and
compatibility in the use of terrestrial stations
within fixed satellite services with the
introduction of fixed-service base or
non-directional mobile stations, particularly
regarding the use of WIMAX and IMT technologies.
This must not mean an added burden for existing
Fixed Satellite Service users, increases in access
costs, or the endangerment of the correct operation
of essential services regarding public security and
acquired international obligations.
Joslyn Read
Vice-president, Regulatory Affairs
SES NEW SKIES
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