**Before the**

**Federal Communications Commission**

**Washington, D.C. 20554**

+----------------------------------+----+------------------------------+
| In the matter of                 | *  | File No:                     |
|                                  | *) | SAT-MOD-20030828-00285       |
| SES Americom, Inc.               | ** |                              |
|                                  |    | SAT-STA-20031114-00329       |
| Application for Modification of  | *  |                              |
| Space Station Authorization      | *) | SAT-AMD-20031125-00340       |
|                                  | ** |                              |
|                                  |    | SAT-STA-20040514-00093       |
|                                  | *  |                              |
|                                  | *) | Call Sign KS 49              |
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**ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION**

**Adopted: May 27, 2004 Released: May 27, 2004**

By the Chief, Satellite Division:

# INTRODUCTION

1.  In this Order, we grant SES Americom, Inc.'s (SES Americom's)
    application, as amended, to operate its in-orbit Satcom SN-4
    satellite, Call Sign KS49, at the nominal 172° E. L. orbit location
    in the 3700-4200/5925-6425 MHz (C-band) and the 11.7-12.2/14.0-14.5
    GHz (Ku-band) frequency bands until the end of its license term in
    June 2006. SES Americom has been operating at Satcom SN-4 at 172°
    E.L. pursuant to special temporary authority since November 2000. In
    addition, we grant SES Americom's request for waiver of Section
    25.114(c)(7) of the Commission's Rules, which requires space station
    applicants to submit detailed antenna gain contours with their
    license applications.[^1] This license will allow SES to continue to
    provide additional competitive satellite services to customers in
    the U.S. Pacific Ocean region.

# background

2.  The Satcom SN-4 hybrid C/Ku-band satellite has been licensed to a
    number of companies and assigned to a number of orbit locations. It
    was originally licensed to American Satellite Company in 1983 as
    ASC-2 and assigned to the 83º W.L. orbit location.[^2] In June 1991,
    GTE Spacenet Corporation (GTE Spacenet), the licensee at the time,
    launched the satellite into the 101º W.L. orbit location as
    Spacenet 4. GE Americom acquired Spacenet 4, among other assets,
    when it purchased GTE Spacenet Corporation in October 1994, and
    renamed the satellite Satcom SN-4. [^3] GE Americom replaced Satcom
    SN-4 at 101º W.L. with its GE-4 satellite the following year.[^4]
    Subsequently, the Bureau granted GE Americom special temporary
    authority to operate Satcom SN-4 at several orbit locations,
    culminating in its current operations at 172° E.L.[^5] SES Americom
    acquired GE Americom in 2001 and, since then, has continued to
    operate SN-4 at 172° E.L. pursuant to the initial grant of special
    temporary authority and subsequent extensions.[^6] In 2003, the
    Bureau authorized SES Americom to provide capacity for
    direct-to-home video service over the spacecraft.[^7]

3.  In August 2003, SES Americom filed an application for a license to
    operate SN-4 from 172° E.L. until the end of its 15-year license
    term in June 2006. In connection with this request, SES Americom
    filed an amendment seeking a waiver of Section 25.114(c)(7) of the
    Commission's Rules, which requires applicants to supply specified
    space station antenna gain contour maps for each transmit and
    receive antenna beam. In November 2003, and May 2004, SES Americom
    filed applications requesting an extension of its special temporary
    authority to operate SN-4 at the 172° E.L. orbital location until
    November 15, 2004.[^8] No comments or objections were filed with
    respect to any of these filings.

**III. DISCUSSION**

## Waiver Request 

4.  Section 25.114(c) of the Commission\'s rules[^9] explicitly requires
    all space station applicants to submit all applicable items of
    information listed in its subsections. Recently, the Commission
    conducted a comprehensive review of its space station rules and
    underlying policies, including the policies and practices related to
    Section 25.114(c). In the *First Space Station Reform Order*,[^10]
    the Commission revised the space station licensing process to adapt
    it to today's satellite environment. As part of the measures adopted
    in the *First Space Station Reform Order*, the Commission determined
    to continue to require applications to be substantially complete
    when filed.[^11]

5.  SES Americom requests a waiver of Section 25.114(c)(7) of the
    Commission's Rules, which requires space station antenna gain
    contours for each transmit and receive antenna beam to be plotted on
    a map showing the antenna gains at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, 20 dB below
    the peak values.[^12] Although SES Americom has provided a contour
    map, it does not provide all the antenna gain contours required by
    Section 25.114(c)(7). SES Americom notes that Satcom SN-4 was
    procured and launched by GTE Spacenet and was already in orbit when
    SES Americom's predecessor, GE Americom, acquired Spacenet in
    1994.[^13] SES Americom states that it was unable to produce more
    detailed contours because it has only limited data about Satcom SN-4
    from the satellite manufacturer.[^14] SES Americom also asserts that
    the primary function of the contour map is to permit the potential
    for harmful interference to be evaluated and to allow the adjacent
    satellite operators to determine to what extent the proposed
    satellite's area of strongest signal coverage overlaps with the
    adjacent satellite operator's primary service area. SES Americom
    states that it has had discussions with adjacent satellite operators
    and been operating the Satcom SN-4 satellite for the past three
    years at 172° E.L. without any interference complaints.[^15]

6.  The Commission's rules may be waived when good cause is
    demonstrated.[^16] The Commission may exercise its discretion to
    waive a rule where the particular facts make strict compliance
    inconsistent with the public interest.[^17] In doing so, the
    Commission may take into account considerations of hardship, equity,
    or more effective implementation of overall policy on an individual
    basis.[^18] Commission rules are presumed valid, however, and an
    applicant for waiver bears a heavy burden.[^19] Waiver of the
    Commission's rules is therefore appropriate only if special
    circumstances warrant a deviation from the general rule, and such a
    deviation will serve the public interest.[^20]

7.  We find that SES Americom has demonstrated good cause for granting
    waiver of Section 25.114(c)(7) of the Commission's Rules. We agree
    with SES Americom that the main purpose of the contour map is to
    allow evaluation of the potential for harmful interference with
    other operators and services in the frequency band. According to SES
    Americom, it submitted an interference analysis in its 1999
    application for special temporary authority to relocate Satcom SN-4
    to 172° E.L.[^21] The analysis assumed that adjacent satellites
    would operate in the same frequencies, with the same polarization,
    over the same coverage area. With these assumptions, the analysis
    showed that Satcom SN-4's operations would not cause harmful
    interference to adjacent spacecraft. SES Americom provided a copy of
    this interference analysis in the amendment to its reassignment
    application.[^22]

8.  This analysis has been proven reliable. Presently, PanAmSat operates
    the PAS-2 C/Ku-band hybrid spacecraft at 169° E.L. and Intelsat
    operates the Intelsat 802 C/Ku-band hybrid spacecraft at 174º E.L.
    SES Americom claims that pursuant to coordination discussions with
    both operators, Satcom SN-4 has been operating adjacent to these
    spacecraft for over three years without any complaints of harmful
    interference.[^23] Accordingly, we grant SES Americom's waiver
    request and will not require it to submit additional detailed
    antenna gain contour maps for Satcom SN-4.

## Request for Assignment to 172° E.L.

9.  SES Americom requests authority to operate Satcom SN-4 at 172° E.L.
    for the remaining term of its license - which runs through June 18,
    2006 pursuant to the automatic five-year license extension granted
    in the Space Station Reform Order.[^24] SES Americom states that
    allowing it to operate at 172° E.L. until this time will allow the
    Satcom SN-4 spacecraft to continue to serve customers and will
    eliminate the need for repetitive filings requesting extension of
    the temporary authority under which Satcom SN-4 has been operating
    for over three years.

10. We consider SES's Americom's request for reassignment of Satcom SN-4
    to the 172º E.L. orbit location under the first-come first-served
    procedure adopted for geostationary-like satellites in the *First
    Space Station Reform Order*. Under this procedure, we will issue a
    license to the applicant filing first, if the applicant is qualified
    and the proposed satellite does not conflict with any previously
    licensed satellite or previously filed application. No other
    satellites are authorized to serve the United States from the C-band
    or the Ku-band frequencies at 172º E.L. nor have any other
    applicants proposed such satellites. Thus, if SES Americom is
    qualified, we may grant it a license to operate Satcom SN-4 at 172º
    E.L. until the end of its license term.

11. We find that Satcom SN-4 meets all Commission technical requirements
    at C-band. With regard to the Ku-band payload, we note that although
    Satcom SN-4 does not meet the Commission's full frequency reuse
    requirements,[^25] the Commission waived this requirement when it
    authorized Satcom SN-4 (previously ASC-2), in 1983.[^26] Because
    this waiver remains effective until the end of the license term, we
    need not revisit this issue here. Accordingly, we authorize SES
    Americom to operate the Satcom SN-4 C-band and Ku-band transponders
    at 172º E.L. until June 2006.[^27]

# CONCLUSION AND ORDERING CLAUSES

12. We conclude that SES Americom has shown good cause for a waiver of
    Section 25.114(c)(7) of the Commission's Rules. We also find that
    the public interest, convenience, and necessity will be served by
    allowing SES Americom to provide C/Ku-band service from the 172 E.L.
    orbit location until the end of Satcom SN-4's license term, June 18,
    2006.

13. Accordingly, pursuant to Section 309 of the Communications Act, 47
    U.S.C. § 309, and Section 0.261 of the Commission\'s rules, 47
    C.F.R. § 0.261, IT IS ORDERED that Application File Nos.
    SAT-MOD-20030828-00285 and SAT-AMD-20031125-00340 ARE GRANTED to the
    extent provided for herein and SES Americom IS AUTHORIZED to operate
    the Satcom SN-4 satellite, call sign KS49, at the 172°E.L. orbit
    location in the 3700-4200 MHz, 5925-6425 MHz, 11.7-12.2 GHz and
    14.0-14.5 GHz frequency bands until June 18, 2006 in accordance with
    the terms, conditions and technical specifications set forth in its
    applications, the Commission's Rules and the following condition:

    SES Americom will, barring catastrophic failure of satellite
    components, maintain the capability to deorbit the satellite to an
    orbit with a perigee of no less than 300 kilometers above the
    geostationary satellite orbit altitude, by for example, maintaining
    adequate fuel reserves.

14. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the request for waiver of Section
    25.114(c)(7), filed by SES Americom IS GRANTED.

15. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that SES Americom's Applications for Special
    Temporary Authority, File Nos. SAT-STA-20031114-00329 and
    SAT-STA-20040514-00093 ARE GRANTED to the extent provided for
    herein.

16. SES Americom is afforded thirty days to decline this authorization
    as conditioned. Failure to respond within this period will
    constitute formal acceptance of the authorization as conditioned.

17. This Order is effective upon release. Petitions for Reconsideration
    under Section 1.106 or applications for review under Section 1.115
    of the Commission\'s rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 1.106, 1.115, may be filed
    within thirty days of the date of the release of this Order (see 47
    C.F.R. § 1.4(b) (2)).

> FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Thomas S. Tycz

Chief, Satellite Division

International Bureau

[^1]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.114(c)(7). We also grant SES Americom's
    applications for extension of its special temporary authority to
    operate SN-4 at 172° E.L. We note that this extension is superceded
    by our grant of authority in this Order.

[^2]: *American Satellite Company*, Order and Authorization, 94 FCC 2d
    39 (1983); *Assignment of Orbital Locations to Space Stations in the
    Domestic Fixed-Satellite Service*, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 94
    FCC 2d 129 (1983) (*ASC-2 Order*).

[^3]: *See Contel Corp., GE American Communications, Inc. and GTE
    Spacenet Corp.,* Order and Authorization, 9 FCC Rcd 5775 (1994).

[^4]: *Id.*

[^5]: At that time, the 172° E.L. orbital location was assigned to GE
    Americom's wholly--owned subsidiary, Columbia Communications
    Corporation, for a C/Ku-band hybrid satellite. Columbia
    Communications Corp., *Order and Authorization*, 14 FCC Rcd 3318
    (Int'l Bur. 1999). The relocation of Satcom SN-4 to 172° E.L. in
    November 2000 allowed GE Americom to meet an applicable ITU deadline
    for bringing a satellite into use at that position. It did not,
    however, excuse Columbia from constructing and launching its
    authorized satellite by the August 2002 deadline imposed in its
    license, nor did GE Americom ask that it do so. Because neither
    Columbia, GE Americom nor SES Americom pursued the Columbia
    satellite authorization at 172° E.L. further, that authorization
    became null and void by its own terms.

[^6]: *See* *General Electric Capital Corporation and SES Global S.A.*,
    Order and Authorization, DA 01-2100, 16 FCC Rcd 17575 (2001),
    Supplemental Order, DA 01-2482, 16 FCC Rcd 18878 (2001) ("*GE/SES
    Order*"); *see also* File No. SAT-STA-20011106-00095 (granted
    November 28, 2001); File No. SAT-STA-20020517-00077 (granted June
    28, 2002); File Nos. SAT-STA-20021025-00197 and
    SAT-STA-20030506-00082 (granted Aug. 15, 2003).

[^7]: *SES Americom, Inc. and Columbia Communications,* Order and
    Authorization, 18 FCC Rcd 18598 (2003).

[^8]: *See* File Nos. SAT-STA-20031114-00329 and SAT-STA-20040514-00093.

[^9]: 47 C.F.R. § 25.114(c).

[^10]: *Amendment of the Commission\'s Space Station Licensing Rules and
    Policies*, First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed
    Rulemaking, IB Docket No. 02-34, 18 FCC Rcd 10760, 10852 (para. 244)
    (2003) (*First Space Station Reform Order*).

[^11]: *First Space Station Reform Order*, 18 FCC Rcd at 10852 (para.
    244).

[^12]: 47\. C.F.R. § 25.114 (c)(7).

[^13]: *SES Americom Amendment* at 2.

[^14]: *Id*.

[^15]: *SES Modification* at 5.

[^16]: 47 C.F.R. § 1.3; *see also WAIT Radio v. FCC*, 418 F.2d 1153,
    1159 (D.C. Cir. 1969), *cert. denied*, 409 U.S. 1027 (1972) (*WAIT
    Radio*).

[^17]: *Northeast Cellular Telephone Co. v. FCC*, 897 F.2d 1164, 1166
    (*Northeast Cellular*).

[^18]: *WAIT Radio*, 418 F.2d at 1159; *Northeast Cellular*, 897 F.2d at
    1166.

[^19]: *WAIT Radio*, 418 F.2d at 1157.

[^20]: *Id.* at 1159.

[^21]: *See* File No. SAT-STA-20000906-00130; *see also* File No.
    SAT-ASG-20030722-00134.

[^22]: *See* File No. SAT-AMD-20031125-00340 (Attachment A).

[^23]: *See SES Americom Modification* at 3.

[^24]: The *First Space Station Reform Order* extended all space station
    licenses automatically from 10 to 15 years. *First Space Station
    Reform Order*, 18 FCC Rcd at 10860 (para. 266)

[^25]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 25.210(f); *(requirement that satellites double
    their capacity by using both horizontal and vertical senses of
    polarization in each set of frequencies in which they operate).*

[^26]: *ASC-2 Order*, 94 FCC 2d 129 (para 6).

[^27]: We note that SES Americom has a pending application to construct,
    launch and operate a new satellite (AMC-23) at the 172° E.L. orbit
    location. We will consider the AMC-23 filing in a separate order.