Canadian, int’l satellite providers at odds on NGSO licensing

Canadian satellite companies are asking Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to ensure a level playing field with their international competition when it comes to the licensing of non-geostationary satellite orbit systems (NGSO), while foreign companies argue cumbersome licence requirements could rob Canadians of the benefits of the new services. The comments were among the responses to an ISED consultation paper intended to consider license requirements for NGSO constellations in preparation for the launch of new large commercial systems. NSGO systems use many satellites that operate in low-earth orbit, as compared to a traditional satellite that is higher up and remains stationary. Such projects have received the backing of some of the world’s biggest investors, while satellite companies have told the CRTC low-earth orbit satellites offer an opportunity to help improve service in the North. In its submission, the Boeing Company said the proposed NGSO systems “will provide very high data rate connectivity with extremely low latency to support a range of Internet and other communications services for residential, commercial, institutional, governmental and professional users worldwide.” In June, ISED put a hold on licensing for NGSO spectrum, launching the consultation to update the framework to make it “comparable” with similar countries. “This is a key step in the process to lift the moratorium on new NGSO systems, thereby enabling the provision of new services to Canadian users,” Timothy Hughes, senior vice-president of global business and government affairs for Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), said in his company’s submission. As part of the consultation, ISED is reviewing whether it should “continue approving the use of foreign-licensed NGSO systems in Canada if coordination has been completed with Canadian networks, without requiring international coordination to be completed.” But requiring foreign NGSOs to have been licensed elsewhere, have completed coordination with Canadian networks and have sought separate radio licences for each subscriber earth station “could severely hamper Canadian access to the new, innovative and competitive services these systems are expected to support,” Boeing said in its submission. According to Boeing, foreign NGSO systems delivering satellite services currently must have been licensed by a World Trade Organization country, must establish that the system has been coordinated domestically and earth stations in Canada that communicate with those foreign NGSO satellites must get a radio licence through ISED. The company is urging ISED to adopt a similar licensing approach it has with mobile satellite systems (MSS), which is more streamlined, including not requiring a separate radio licence for each earth station. This way, there is an “efficient method of spectrum management that reduces significantly the administrative and regulatory burden that would otherwise be imposed on the Department, the MSS system, and the Canadian users of the MSS system.” It also said the licensing framework should recognize the global nature of NGSO systems and “not grant protections to Canadian-licensed systems over foreign-licensed systems that will inhibit competition.” Global satellite services provider O3b Ltd. said in its submission that ISED should consider a “pragmatic approach” to foreign licensed NGSO systems that have not completed coordination with all Canadian networks. “Cumbersome coordination requirements could unnecessarily delay the delivery of innovative satellite services to Canadian government, enterprise and end users,” it said. It added: “a mechanism is necessary to ensure that … operators with foreign licensed systems are not effectively prevented from serving the Canadian market.” The current proposal, it said, would allow Canadian licensees to “choose to not coordinate in good faith” with foreign operators. O3b, which says it provides up to 2 Gbps of middle-mile capacity to clients including Internet service providers (ISP) and mobile network operators, said its services enable its customers to “provide fast, flexible and affordable broadband connectivity” in areas that are unserved or underserved by other broadband services, such as fibre and cellular networks. Hughes likewise said requiring foreign operators to coordinate with Canadian networks would put the power into the hands of the Canadian licensee to not coordinate. But Canadian NorStar Space Data Inc. said it supports ISED’s proposal to require foreign-licensed NGSO systems in Canada to complete frequency coordination with Canadian networks before they are given a licence. It added it is important that Canadian systems are not disadvantaged compared to foreign systems when it comes to spectrum. Furthermore, Ottawa-based Telesat Holdings Inc. said the Canadian space industry could be affected if a level playing field isn't put in place for both Canadian and foreign licensees. “Failure by ISED to treat Canadian and foreign-licensed NGSO operators equally in terms of service conditions, co-ordination requirements and other authorization requirements, could undercut the tremendous potential that the NGSO satellite era holds for the Canadian space industry,” Telesat said in its submission. For example, the company argued that both foreign and Canadian NGSO licensees should be required to serve all of Canada, not just a select few lucrative markets. ISED is currently consulting on a minimum Canadian coverage requirement for NGSO systems. It also said the consultation document’s focus on Canadian licensees, like itself, suggests the new licensing regime “could impose significant and costly regulatory burdens” on them and not the same for foreign-licensed companies. However, it noted that allowing neither Canadian or foreign licensee to succeed would be also be a “policy failure.” “A level playing field that is created by imposing onerous obligations on both Canadian and foreign licensees is no solution if the effect is that no Canadian licensee is viable, and no foreign licensee enters the Canadian market,” it said in its submission. “Such an outcome would achieve none of the Department’s objectives.” — With reporting by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Canadian, int’l satellite providers at odds on NGSO licensing

News | April 24, 2017

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