106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 376

AN ACT

To amend the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 to promote competition and privatization in satellite communications, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Open-market Reorga5 nization for the Betterment of International Tele6 communications Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

2 It is the purpose of this Act to promote a fully com3 petitive domestic and international market for satellite

4 communications services for the benefit of consumers and

5 providers of satellite services by fully encouraging the pri6 vatization of the intergovernmental satellite organizations,

7 INTELSAT and Inmarsat, and reforming the regulatory

8 framework of the COMSAT Corporation.

9 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

10 The Congress finds that:

11 (1) International satellite communications serv12 ices constitute a critical component of global voice,

13 video and data services, play a vital role in the inte14 gration of all nations into the global economy and

15 contribute toward the ability of developing countries

16 to achieve sustainable development.

17 (2) The United States played a pivotal role in

18 stimulating the development of international satellite

19 communications services by enactment of the Com20 munications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 701–

21 744), and by its critical contributions, through its

22 signatory, the COMSAT Corporation, in the estab23 lishment of INTELSAT, which has successfully es24 tablished global satellite networks to provide member

25 countries with worldwide access to telecommuni-
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1 cations services, including critical lifeline services to

2 the developing world.

3 (3) The United States played a pivotal role in

4 stimulating the development of international satellite

5 communications services by enactment of the Inter6 national Maritime Satellite Telecommunications Act

7 (47 U.S.C. 751–757), and by its critical contribu8 tions, through its signatory, COMSAT, in the estab9 lishment of Inmarsat, which enabled member coun10 tries to provide mobile satellite services such as

11 international maritime and global maritime distress

12 and safety services to include other satellite services,

13 such as land mobile and aeronautical communica14 tions services.

15 (4) By statute, COMSAT, a publicly traded cor16 poration, is the sole United States signatory to

17 INTELSAT and, as such, is responsible for carrying

18 out United States commitments under the

19 INTELSAT Agreement and the INTELSAT Oper20 ating Agreement. Pursuant to a binding Head21 quarters Agreement, the United States, as a party

22 to INTELSAT, has satisfied many of its obligations

23 under the INTELSAT Agreement.

24 (5) In the 37 years since enactment of the

25 Communications Satellite Act of 1962, satellite tech-
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1 nology has advanced dramatically, large-scale financ2 ing options have improved immensely and inter3 national telecommunications policies have shifted

4 from those of natural monopolies to those based on

5 market forces, resulting in multiple private commer6 cial companies around the world providing, or pre7 paring to provide, the domestic, regional, and global

8 satellite telecommunications services that only

9 INTELSAT and Inmarsat had previously had the

10 capabilities to offer.

11 (6) Private commercial satellite communications

12 systems now offer the latest telecommunications

13 services to more and more countries of the world

14 with declining costs, making satellite communica15 tions an attractive complement as well as an alter16 native to terrestrial communications systems, par17 ticularly in lesser developed countries.

18 (7) To enable consumers to realize optimum

19 benefits from international satellite communications

20 services, and to enable these systems to be competi21 tive with other international telecommunication sys22 tems, such as fiber optic cable, the global trade and

23 regulatory environment must support vigorous and

24 robust competition.
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1 (8) In particular, all satellite systems should

2 have unimpeded access to the markets that they are

3 capable of serving, and the ability to compete in a

4 fair and meaningful way within those markets.

5 (9) Transforming INTELSAT and Inmarsat

6 from intergovernmental organizations into conven7 tional satellite services companies is a key element in

8 bringing about the emergence of a fully competitive

9 global environment for satellite services.

10 (10) The issue of privatization of any State11 owned firm is extremely complex and multifaceted.

12 For that reason, the sale of a firm at arm’s length

13 does not automatically, and in all cases, extinguish

14 any prior subsidies or government conferred advan15 tages.

16 (11) It is in the interest of the United States

17 to negotiate the removal of its reservation in the

18 Fourth Protocol to the General Agreement on Trade

19 in Services regarding INTELSAT’s and Inmarsat’s

20 access to the United States market through COM21 SAT as soon as possible, but such reservation can22 not be removed without adequate assurance that the

23 United States market for satellite services will not

24 be disrupted by such INTELSAT or Inmarsat ac25 cess.
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1 (12) The Communications Satellite Act of

2 1962, and other applicable United States laws, need

3 to be updated to encourage and complete the pro4 competitive privatization of INTELSAT and

5 Inmarsat, to update the domestic United States reg6 ulatory regime governing COMSAT, and to ensure a

7 competitively neutral United States framework for

8 the provision of domestic and international tele9 communications services via satellite systems.

10 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SATELLITE SERVICES COM11 PETITION; PRIVATIZATION.

12 The Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (47

13 U.S.C. 701) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘TITLE VI—SATELLITE SERVICES

16 COMPETITION AND PRIVAT17 IZATION

18 ‘‘SUBTITLE A—TRANSITION TO A PRIVATIZED

19 INTELSAT

20 ‘‘SEC. 601. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.

21 ‘‘It is the policy of the United States to—

22 ‘‘(1) encourage INTELSAT to privatize in a

23 pro-competitive manner as soon as possible, but not

24 later than January 1, 2002, recognizing the need for
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1 a reasonable transition and process to achieve a full,

2 pro-competitive restructuring; and

3 ‘‘(2) work constructively with its international

4 partners in INTELSAT, and with INTELSAT

5 itself, to bring about a prompt restructuring that

6 will ensure fair competition, both in the United

7 States as well as in the global markets served by the

8 INTELSAT system; and

9 ‘‘(3) encourage Inmarsat’s full implementation

10 of the terms and conditions of its privatization

11 agreement.

12 ‘‘SEC. 602. ROLE OF COMSAT.

13 ‘‘(a) ADVOCACY.—As the United States signatory to

14 INTELSAT, COMSAT shall act as an aggressive advo15 cate of pro-competitive privatization of INTELSAT. With

16 respect to the consideration within INTELSAT of any

17 matter related to its privatization, COMSAT shall fully

18 consult with the United States Government prior to exer19 cising its voting rights and shall exercise its voting rights

20 in a manner fully consistent with any instructions issued.

21 In the event that the United States signatory to

22 INTELSAT is acquired after enactment of this section,

23 the President and the Commission shall assure that the

24 instructional process safeguards against conflicts of inter25 est.
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1 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—The President and the

2 Commission shall report annually to the Committee on

3 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Com4 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the

5 Senate, respectively, on the progress being made by

6 INTELSAT and Inmarsat to privatize and complete pri7 vatization in a pro-competitive manner.

8 ‘‘SEC. 603. RESTRICTIONS PENDING PRIVATIZATION.

9 ‘‘(a) INTELSAT shall be prohibited from entering

10 the United States market directly to provide any satellite

11 communications services or space segment capacity to car12 riers (other than the United States signatory) or end users

13 in the United States until July 1, 2001 or until

14 INTELSAT achieves a pro-competitive privatization pur15 suant to section 613 (a) if privatization occurs earlier.

16 ‘‘(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), INTELSAT

17 shall be prohibited from entering the United States mar18 ket directly to provide any satellite communications serv19 ices or space segment capacity to any foreign signatory,

20 or affiliate thereof, and no carrier, other than the United

21 States signatory, nor any end user, shall be permitted to

22 invest directly in INTELSAT.

23 ‘‘(c) Pending INTELSAT’s privatization, the Com24 mission shall ensure that the United States signatory is
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1 compensated by direct access users for the costs it incurs

2 in fulfilling its obligations under this Act.

3 ‘‘(d) The provisions of subsections (b) and (c) shall

4 remain in effect only until INTELSAT achieves a pro5 competitive privatization pursuant to section 613 (a).

6 ‘‘SUBTITLE B—ACTIONS TO ENSURE PRO-COMPETITIVE

7 SATELLITE SERVICES

8 ‘‘SEC. 611. PRIVATIZATION.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall seek a pro10 competitive privatization of INTELSAT as soon as prac11 ticable, but no later than January 1, 2002. Such privatiza12 tion shall be confirmed by a final decision of the

13 INTELSAT Assembly of Parties and shall be followed by

14 a timely initial public offering taking into account relative

15 market conditions.

16 ‘‘(b) ENSURE CONTINUATION OF PRIVATIZATION.—

17 The President and the Commission shall seek to ensure

18 that the privatization of Inmarsat continues in a pro-com19 petitive manner.

20 ‘‘SEC. 612. PROVISION OF SERVICES IN THE UNITED STATES

21 BY PRIVATIZED AFFILIATES OF INTERGOV22 ERNMENTAL SATELLITE ORGANIZATIONS.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any application

24 for a satellite earth station or space station under title

25 III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C 301
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1 et seq.) or any application under section 214 of that Act

2 (47 U.S.C. 214), or any letter of intent to provide service

3 in the United States via non-United States licensed space

4 segment, submitted by a privatized IGO affiliate or suc5 cessor, the Commission—

6 ‘‘(1) shall apply a presumption in favor of entry

7 to an IGO affiliate or successor licensed by a WTO

8 Member for services covered by United States com9 mitments under the WTO Basic Telecom Agree10 ment;

11 ‘‘(2) may attach conditions to any grant of au12 thority to an IGO affiliate or successor that raises

13 the potential for competitive harm; or

14 ‘‘(3) shall in the exceptional case in which an

15 application by an IGO affiliate or successor would

16 pose a very high risk to competition in the United

17 States satellite market, deny the application.

18 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION FACTORS.—In determining

19 whether an application to serve the United States market

20 by an IGO affiliate raises the potential for competitive

21 harm or risk under subsection (a)(2), the Commission

22 shall determine whether any potential anti-competitive or

23 market distorting consequences of continued relationships

24 or connections exist between an IGO and its affiliates

25 including—
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1 ‘‘(1) whether the IGO affiliate is structured to

2 prevent anti-competitive practices such as collusive

3 behavior or cross-subsidization;

4 ‘‘(2) the degree of affiliation between the IGO

5 and its affiliate;

6 ‘‘(3) whether the IGO affiliate can directly or

7 indirectly benefit from IGO privileges and immuni8 ties;

9 ‘‘(4) the ownership structure of the affiliate and

10 the effect of IGO and other Signatory ownership and

11 whether the affiliate is independent of IGO signato12 ries or former signatories who control telecommuni13 cations market access in their home territories;

14 ‘‘(5) the existence of clearly defined arm’s15 length conditions governing the affiliate-IGO rela16 tionship including separate officers, directors, em17 ployees, and accounting systems;

18 ‘‘(6) the existence of fair market valuing for

19 permissible business transactions between an IGO

20 and its affiliate that is verifiable by an independent

21 audit and consistent with normal commercial prac22 tice and generally accepted accounting principles;

23 ‘‘(7) the existence of common marketing;

24 ‘‘(8) the availability of recourse to IGO assets

25 for credit or capital;
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1 ‘‘(9) whether an IGO registers or coordinates

2 spectrum or orbital locations on behalf of its affil3 iate; and

4 ‘‘(10) whether the IGO affiliate has corporate

5 charter provisions prohibiting reaffiliation with the

6 IGO after privatization.

7 ‘‘(c) SUNSET.—The provisions of subsection (b) shall

8 cease to have effect upon approval of the application pur9 suant to section 613.

10 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION.—Nothing

11 in this Act affects the Commission’s ability to make a pub12 lic interest determination concerning any application per13 taining to entry into the United States market.

14 ‘‘SEC. 613. PRESIDENTIAL NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES AND

15 FCC CRITERIA FOR PRIVATIZED IGOs.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon a final decision of the

17 INTELSAT Assembly of Parties creating the legal struc18 ture and characteristics of the privatized INTELSAT and

19 recognizing that Inmarsat transitioned into a private com20 pany on April 15, 1999, the President shall within 30 days

21 report to the Congress on the extent to which such privat22 ization framework meets each of the criteria in subsection

23 (c), and whether taking into consideration all other rel24 evant competitive factors, entry of a privatized
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1 INTELSAT or Inmarsat into the United States market

2 will not be likely to distort competition.

3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF PRIVATIZATION CRITERIA.—The

4 criteria provided in subsection (c) shall be used as—

5 ‘‘(1) the negotiation objectives for achieving the

6 privatization of INTELSAT no later than January

7 1, 2002, and also for Inmarsat;

8 ‘‘(2) the standard for measuring, pursuant to

9 subsection (a), whether negotiations have resulted in

10 an acceptable framework for achieving the pro-com11 petitive privatization of INTELSAT and Inmarsat;

12 and

13 ‘‘(3) licensing criteria by the Commission in

14 making its independent determination of whether the

15 certified framework for achieving the pro-competitive

16 privatization of INTELSAT and Inmarsat has been

17 properly implemented by the privatized INTELSAT

18 and Inmarsat.

19 ‘‘(c) PRIVATIZATION CRITERIA.—A pro-competitively

20 privatized INTELSAT or Inmarsat—

21 ‘‘(1) has no privileges or immunities limiting

22 legal accountability, commercial transparency, or

23 taxation and does not unfairly benefit from owner24 ship by former signatories who control telecommuni25 cations market access to their home territories;
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1 ‘‘(2) has submitted to the jurisdiction of com2 petition and independent regulatory authorities of a

3 nation that is a signatory to the World Trade Orga4 nization Agreement on Basic Telecommunications

5 and that has implemented or accepted the agree6 ment’s reference paper on regulatory principles;

7 ‘‘(3) can offer assurance of an arm’s-length re8 lationship in all respects between itself and any IGO

9 affiliate;

10 ‘‘(4) has given due consideration to the inter11 national connectivity requirements of thin route

12 countries;

13 ‘‘(5) can demonstrate that the valuation of as14 sets to be transferred post-privatization is in accord15 ance with generally accepted accounting principles;

16 ‘‘(6) has access to orbital locations and associ17 ated spectrum post-privatization in accordance with

18 the same regulatory processes and fees applicable to

19 other commercial satellite systems;

20 ‘‘(7) conducts technical coordinations post-pri21 vatization under normal, established ITU proce22 dures;

23 ‘‘(8) has an ownership structure in the form of

24 a stock corporation or other similar and accepted

25 commercial mechanism, and a commitment to a
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1 timely initial public offering has been established for

2 the sale or purchase of company shares;

3 ‘‘(9) shall not acquire, or enjoy any agreements

4 or arrangements which secure, exclusive access to

5 any national telecommunications market; and

6 ‘‘(10) will have accomplished a privatization

7 consistent with the criteria listed in this subsection

8 at the earliest possible date, but not later than Jan9 uary 1, 2002, for INTELSAT and Inmarsat.

10 ‘‘(d) FCC INDEPENDENT DETERMINATION ON IM11 PLEMENTATION.—After the President has made a report

12 to Congress pursuant to subsection (a), with respect to

13 any application for a satellite earth station or space sta14 tion under title III of the Communications Act of 1934

15 (47 U.S.C. 301) or any application under section 214 of

16 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 214), or any

17 letter of intent to provide service in the United States via

18 a non-United States licensed space segment, submitted by

19 a privatized affiliate prior to the privatized IGO, or by

20 a privatized IGO, the Commission shall determine whether

21 the enumerated objectives for a pro-competitive privatiza22 tion of INTELSAT and Inmarsat under this section have

23 been implemented with respect to the privatized IGO, but

24 in making that consideration, may neither contract or ex25 pand the privatization criteria in subsection (c).
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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORITY TO DENY AN APPLICATION.—Noth2 ing in this section affects the Commission’s authority to

3 condition or deny an application on the basis of the public

4 interest.

5 ‘‘SEC. 614. FAILURE TO PRIVATIZE IN A TIMELY MANNER.

6 ‘‘(a) REPORT.—In the event that INTELSAT fails

7 to fully privatize as provided in section 611 by January

8 1, 2002, the President shall—

9 ‘‘(1) instruct all instrumentalities of the United

10 States Government to grant a preference for pro11 curement of satellite services from commercial pri12 vate sector providers of satellite space segment rath13 er than IGO providers;

14 ‘‘(2) immediately commence deliberations to de15 termine what additional measures should be imple16 mented to ensure the rapid privatization of

17 INTELSAT;

18 ‘‘(3) no later than March 31, 2002, issue a re19 port delineating such other measures to the Com20 mittee on Commerce of the House of Representa21 tives, and Committee on Commerce, Science, and

22 Transportation of the Senate; and

23 ‘‘(4) withdraw as a party from INTELSAT.

24 ‘‘(b) RESERVATION CLAUSE.—The President may de25 termine, after consulting with Congress, that in consider-
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1 ation of privatization being imminent, it is in the national

2 interest of the United States to provide a reasonable ex3 tension of time for completion of privatization.

4 ‘‘SUBTITLE C—COMSAT GOVERNANCE AND OPERATION

5 ‘‘SEC. 621. ELIMINATION OF PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES.

6 ‘‘(a) COMSAT.—COMSAT shall not have any privi7 lege or immunity on the basis of its status as a signatory

8 or a representative of the United States to INTELSAT

9 and Inmarsat, except that COMSAT retains its privileges

10 and immunities—

11 ‘‘(1) for those actions taken in its role as the

12 United States signatory to INTELSAT or Inmarsat

13 upon instruction of the United States Government;

14 and

15 ‘‘(2) for actions taken when acting as the

16 United States signatory in fulfilling signatory obliga17 tions under the INTELSAT Operating Agreement.

18 ‘‘(b) NO JOINT OR SEVERAL LIABILITY.—If COM19 SAT is found liable for any action taken in its status as

20 a signatory or a representative of the party to

21 INTELSAT, any such liability shall be limited to the por22 tion of the judgment that corresponds to COMSAT’s per23 centage of the responsibility, as determined by the trier

24 of fact.
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1 ‘‘(c) PROSPECTIVE EFFECT OF ELIMINATION.—The

2 elimination of privileges and immunities contained in this

3 section shall apply only to actions or decisions taken by

4 COMSAT after the date of enactment of the Open-market

5 Reorganization for the Betterment of International Tele6 communications Act.

7 ‘‘SEC 622. ABROGATION OF CONTRACTS PROHIBITED.

8 ‘‘Nothing in this Act or the Communications Act of

9 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) shall be construed to modify

10 or invalidate any contract or agreement involving COM11 SAT, INTELSAT, or any terms or conditions of such

12 agreement in force on the date of enactment of the Open13 market Reorganization for the Betterment of Inter14 national Telecommunications Act, or to give the Commis15 sion authority, by rule-making or any other means, to in16 validate any such contract or agreement, or any terms and

17 conditions of such contract or agreement.

18 ‘‘SEC. 623. PERMITTED COMSAT INVESTMENT.

19 ‘‘Nothing in this Act shall be construed as precluding

20 COMSAT from investing in or owning satellites or other

21 facilities independent from INTELSAT, or from providing

22 services through reselling capacity over the facilities of

23 satellite systems independent from INTELSAT. This sec24 tion shall not be construed as restricting the types of con25 tracts which can be executed or services which may be pro-
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1 vided by COMSAT over the independent satellites or facili2 ties described in this subsection.

3 ‘‘SUBTITLE D—GENERAL PROVISIONS

4 ‘‘SEC. 631. PROMOTION OF EFFICIENT USE OF ORBITAL

5 SLOTS AND SPECTRUM.

6 ‘‘All satellite system operators authorized to access

7 the United States market should make efficient and timely

8 use of orbital and spectrum resources in order to ensure

9 that these resources are not warehoused to the detriment

10 of other new or existing satellite system operators. Where

11 these assurances cannot be provided, satellite system oper12 ators shall arbitrate their rights to these resources accord13 ing to ITU procedures.

14 ‘‘SEC. 632. PROHIBITION ON PROCUREMENT PREF15 ERENCES.

16 ‘‘Except pursuant to section 615 of this Act, nothing

17 in this title or the Communications Act of 1934 (47

18 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) shall be construed to authorize or re19 quire any preference in Federal Government procurement

20 of telecommunications services, for the satellite space seg21 ment provided by INTELSAT or Inmarsat, nor shall any22 thing in this title or that Act be construed to result in

23 a bias against the use of INTELSAT or Inmarsat through

24 existing or future contract awards.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 633. SATELLITE AUCTIONS.

2 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

3 Commission shall not assign by competitive bidding orbital

4 locations or spectrum used for the provision of inter5 national or global satellite communications services. The

6 President shall oppose in the International Telecommuni7 cations Union and in other bilateral and multilateral nego8 tiations any assignment by competitive bidding of orbital

9 locations, licenses, or spectrum used for the provision of

10 such services.

11 ‘‘SEC. 634. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

12 ‘‘Whenever the application of the provisions of this

13 Act is inconsistent with the provisions of the Communica14 tions Act of 1934, the provisions of this Act shall govern.

15 ‘‘SEC. 635. EXCLUSIVITY ARRANGEMENTS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No satellite operator shall ac17 quire or enjoy the exclusive right of handling traffic to

18 or from the United States, its territories or possessions,

19 and any other country or territory by reason of any con20 cession, contract, understanding, or working arrangement

21 to which the satellite operator or any persons or companies

22 controlling or controlled by the operator are parties.

23 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—In enforcing the provisions of this

24 subsection, the Commission—

25 ‘‘(1) shall not require the termination of exist26 ing satellite telecommunications services under con-
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1 tract with, or tariff commitment to, such satellite

2 operator; but

3 ‘‘(2) may require the termination of new serv4 ices only to the country that has provided the exclu5 sive right to handle traffic, if the Commission deter6 mines the public interest, convenience, and necessity

7 so requires.

8 ‘‘SUBTITLE E—DEFINITIONS

9 ‘‘SEC. 641. DEFINITIONS.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this title:

11 ‘‘(1) INTELSAT.—The term ‘INTELSAT’

12 means the International Telecommunications Sat13 ellite Organization established pursuant to the

14 Agreement Relating to the International Tele15 communications Satellite Organization.

16 ‘‘(2) INMARSAT.—The term ‘Inmarsat’ means

17 the International Mobile Satellite Organization es18 tablished pursuant to the Convention on the Inter19 national Maritime Satellite Organization and may

20 also refer to INMARSAT Limited when appropriate.

21 ‘‘(3) COMSAT.—The term ‘COMSAT’ means

22 the corporation established pursuant to title III of

23 this Act and its successors and assigns.

24 ‘‘(4) SIGNATORY.—The term ‘signatory’ means

25 the telecommunications entity designated by a party
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1 that has signed the Operating Agreement and for

2 which such Agreement has entered into force.

3 ‘‘(5) PARTY.—The term ‘party’ means, in the

4 case of INTELSAT, a nation for which the

5 INTELSAT agreement has entered into force or

6 been provisionally applied, and in the case of

7 INMARSAT, a nation for which the Inmarsat con8 vention entered into force.

9 ‘‘(6) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’

10 means the Federal Communications Commission.

11 ‘‘(7) INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION

12 UNION; ITU.—The terms ‘International Tele13 communication Union’ and ‘ITU’ mean the intergov14 ernmental organization that is a specialized agency

15 of the United Nations in which member countries

16 cooperate for the development of telecommuni17 cations, including adoption of international regula18 tions governing terrestrial and space uses of the fre19 quency spectrum as well as use of the geostationary

20 orbital arc.

21 ‘‘(8) PRIVATIZED INTELSAT.—The term

22 ‘privatized INTELSAT’ means any entity created

23 from the privatization of INTELSAT from the as24 sets of INTELSAT.
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1 ‘‘(9) PRIVATIZED INMARSAT.—The term

2 ‘privatized Inmarsat’ means any entity created from

3 the privatization of Inmarsat from the assets of

4 Inmarsat, namely INMARSAT, Ltd.

5 ‘‘(10) ORBITAL LOCATION.—The term ‘orbital

6 location’ means the location for placement of a sat7 ellite in geostationary orbits as defined in the Inter8 national Telecommunication Union Radio Regula9 tions.

10 ‘‘(11) SPECTRUM.—The term ‘spectrum’ means

11 the range of frequencies used to provide radio com12 munication services.

13 ‘‘(12) SPACE SEGMENT.—The term ‘space seg14 ment’ means the satellites, and the tracking, telem15 etry, command, control, monitoring and related fa16 cilities and equipment used to support the operation

17 of satellites owned or leased by INTELSAT and

18 Inmarsat or an IGO successor or affiliate.

19 ‘‘(13) INTELSAT AGREEMENT.—The term

20 ‘INTELSAT agreement’ means the agreement relat21 ing to the International Telecommunications Sat22 ellite Organization, including all of its annexes

23 (TIAS 7532, 23 UST 3813).

24 ‘‘(14) OPERATING AGREEMENT.—The term ‘op25 erating agreement’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of INTELSAT, the agree2 ment, including its annex but excluding all ti3 tles of articles, opened for signature at Wash4 ington on August 20, 1971, by governments or

5 telecommunications entities designated by gov6 ernments in accordance with the provisions of

7 The Agreement; and

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of Inmarsat, the Oper9 ating Agreement on the International Maritime

10 Satellite Organization, including its annexes.

11 ‘‘(15) HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—The term

12 ‘headquarters agreement’ means the binding inter13 national agreement, dated November 24, 1976, be14 tween the United States and INTELSAT covering

15 privileges, exemptions, and immunities with respect

16 to the location of INTELSAT’s headquarters in

17 Washington, D.C.

18 ‘‘(16) DIRECT-TO-HOME SATELLITE SERV19 ICES.—The term ‘direct-to-home satellite services’

20 means the distribution or broadcasting of program21 ming or services by satellite directly to the sub22 scriber’s premises without the use of ground receiv23 ing or distribution equipment, except at the sub24 scriber’s premises or in the uplink process to the

25 satellite.
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1 ‘‘(17) IGO.—The term ‘IGO’ means the Inter2 governmental Satellite organizations, INTELSAT

3 and Inmarsat.

4 ‘‘(18) IGO AFFILIATE.—The term ‘IGO affil5 iate’ means any entity in which an IGO owns or has

6 owned an equity interest of 10 percent or more.

7 ‘‘(19) IGO SUCCESSOR.—The term ‘IGO Suc8 cessor’ means an entity which holds substantially all

9 the assets of a pre-existing IGO.

10 ‘‘(20) GLOBAL MARITIME DISTRESS AND SAFE11 TY SERVICES.—The term ‘global maritime distress

12 and safety services’ means the automated ship-to13 shore distress alerting system which uses satellite

14 and advanced terrestrial systems for international

15 distress communications and promoting maritime

16 safety in general, permitting the worldwide alerting

17 of vessels, coordinated search and rescue operations,

18 and dissemination of maritime safety information.

19 ‘‘(b) COMMON TERMS.—Except as otherwise provided

20 in subsection (a), terms used in this title that are defined

21 in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47

22 U.S.C. 153) have the meaning provided in that section.’’.

23 SEC. 5. CONFORMING CHANGES.

24 (a) REPEAL OF FEDERAL COORDINATION AND PLAN25 NING PROVISIONS.—Section 201 of the Communications
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1 Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 721) is amended to read

2 as follows:

3 ‘‘SEC. 201. IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICY.

4 ‘‘The Federal Communications Commission, in its

5 administration of the Communications Act of 1934, shall

6 make rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of

7 this Act.’’.

8 (b) REPEAL OF GOVERNMENT-ESTABLISHED COR9 PORATION PROVISIONS.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301 of the Commu11 nications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C. 731) is

12 amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 301. CORPORATION.

14 ‘‘The corporation organized under the provisions of

15 this title, as this title existed before the enactment of the

16 Open-market Reorganization for the Betterment of Inter17 national Telecommunications Act, known as COMSAT,

18 and its successors and assigns, are subject to the provi19 sions of this Act. The right to repeal, alter, or amend this

20 Act at any time is expressly reserved.’’.

21 (2) CONFORMING CHANGES.—Title III of the

22 Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C.

23 731 et seq.) is amended—
27

S 376 ES

1 (A) by striking ‘‘CREATION OF A

2 COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE’’ in

3 the caption of title III;

4 (B) by striking sections 302, 303, and

5 304;

6 (C) by redesignating section 305 as section

7 302; and

8 (D) by striking subsection (c) of section

9 302, as redesignated.

10 (c) REPEAL OF CERTAIN MISCELLANEOUS PROVI11 SIONS.—Title IV of the Communications Satellite Act of

12 1962 (47 U.S.C. 741 et seq.) is amended—

13 (1) by striking section 402;

14 (2) by striking subsection (a) of section 403

15 and redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as sub16 sections (a) and (b), respectively; and

17 (3) by striking section 404.

18 SEC. 6. INTERNATIONAL MARITIME SATELLITE TELE19 COMMUNICATIONS ACT AMENDMENTS.

20 (a) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED AUTHORITY.—Title V

21 of the Communications Satellite Act of 1962 (47 U.S.C.

22 751 et seq.) is amended—

23 (1) by striking sections 502, 503, 504, and 505;

24 and

25 (2) by inserting after section 501 the following:
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S 376 ES

1 ‘‘SEC. 502. GLOBAL SATELLITE SAFETY SERVICES AFTER

2 PRIVATIZATION OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS

3 OF INMARSAT.

4 ‘‘In order to ensure the continued provision of global

5 maritime distress and safety satellite telecommunications

6 services after privatization of the business operations of

7 Inmarsat, the President may maintain membership in the

8 International Mobile Satellite Organization on behalf of

9 the United States.’’.

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

11 subsection (a) take effect on the date on which the Inter12 national Mobile Satellite Organization ceases to operate

13 directly a global mobile satellite system.

Passed the Senate July 1, 1999.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 376

AN ACT

To amend the Communications Satellite Act of

satellite communications, and for other purposes.1962 to promote competition and privatization in
S 376 ES——5

S 376 ES——4S 376 ES——3S 376 ES——2