Satellite licensing process more transparent: Industry Canada

Industry Canada has kicked off an aggressive satellite licensing process with the goal of awarding 29 licences in 16 orbital slots. Telesat Canada, Ciel Satellite Communications Inc., Bell ExpressVu and Eutelsat SA are just some of the companies that have already expressed interest in some of the available licences. Announced on July 11, the department hopes to award the licences in about nine months or sometime in the spring of 2007. This isn’t the first time Industry Canada has set an aggressive time frame for awarding a number of satellite positions and licences. Four years ago, the department initiated a consultation to assign certain orbital slots in the broadcasting-satellite services (BSS) band and to gain full international rights to other orbital locations (RoW, June 11/02). Only Telesat and ExpressVu filed applications (RoW, Aug. 19/02). The department acknowledges that there are a large number of licences up for grabs and that it’s possible not all of them will be assigned. But Industry Canada is altering its traditional process to make sure the licences that are awarded meet the requirements of users. This time around the department added another consultation phase, during which satellite users will have the opportunity to help shape applicants’ plans. Chantal Beaumier, director of space and international regulatory activities at Industry Canada, says it was important that users play a greater role in the development of applicants’ plans. "By making this process a bit more transparent than in the past – by posting applicants’ plans for serving Canadian requirements on Strategis for comment – we’re trying to sure that Canadian satellite users have an opportunity to see if their needs are being addressed by applicants and to provide Industry Canada with comments that can be taken into account in our assessment of the applications," Beaumier tells Report on Wireless. The need for greater satellite user participation in the licensing process was raised during extensive consultations the department undertook with satellite industry stakeholders in 2005 and early in 2006. This process revealed that satellite users wanted not only more capacity, but they also wanted a greater say in how the satellite licence applications were developed. She points to the consultation process that the CRTC prescribes to. "If you look at the CRTC process, applications all there for everybody to see…and it’s very open," Beaumier says. "We’re not quite there yet, but we saw it was worth trying to make it a little bit more transparent applicants to submit plans addressing their plans for capacity and services to address Canadian requirements in a non-confidential manner." Satellite users are to register with Industry Canada – a list of users will be published on August 15. Applicants will be required to consult with registered users, develop their plans and then submit their plans to the department by November 15. Users are for the most part known to the applicants so consultations will be relatively easy, but Beaumier says the registration process allows those who aren’t known to the applicants to be heard. "I think the users will be in a position to quickly and clearly articulate what their immediate requirements are and the applications should be able to obtain the information from these consultations quickly and develop their plans accordingly to meet the needs that have been identified," Beaumier says. While users’ needs are expected to be taken into account in the applications, users will also be able to comment on the applications during a 30-day comment period ending December 15. Reply comments from the applicants are due a month later with a decision awarding licences expected in the spring 2007.

Satellite licensing process more transparent: Industry Canada

News | 07/14/2006 4:00 am EDT

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