Ka-Band VSAT Roundtable Addresses Regulatory and Interference Issues

In December, the Global VSAT Forum’s Ka-band roundtable assembly in London featured top speakers from regulators, legal firms, as well as satellite companies all debating the future for Ka-band and high-powered satellites (HTS). Certainly, with more of these satellites going up, there is now more pressure than ever for effective regulation as operators look to make the most of these satellites.
   Some regulators are doing all they can to make sure this can take place. Ofcom Spectrum Policy Group Head of Space and Science Tony Azzarelli says the regulator is “seeing more and more filings are coming for Ka-band” and says the situation can be markedly different in other countries. He added, “The United Kingdom is a benign regulator, and much better than most regulators out there. In some European countries, VSAT licenses may cost in the region of 20,000 euros ($26,000). We have a lot of operators coming to us. We manage around 150 filings a year, but Ka-band filings on the increase.”
   While many in the assembly spoke about the potential and hope that one day regulations in markets in China and India may open up a bit more, this seemed more in hope rather than expectation. Europe, in particular, still seems to lead the way in terms of regulation in this area. Access Partnership Director for Emerging Markets Nina Beebe said, “Ka-band operators have undertaken significant work at the international and regional level to put frameworks in place for mobility services (uncoordinated earth stations in the FSS), and are now working with national regulators to ensure that appropriate national regulatory measures are in place. Europe looks to be the most progressive, implementing a CEPT ECC Decision on ESOMPs (Earth Stations on Mobile Platforms), which facilitates a free circulation regime. Broadly speaking, Ka-band regulation will fit into existing national regulatory approaches, although some adjustments will be made to accommodate the unique nature of services enabled.”
   Beebe talked about the situation in Africa and the high costs that some regulators place on cost of operating satellite services. She says, “Some countries continue to charge very high fees for VSAT authorizations that can sometimes range up to $70,000 dependent on the network specifications.”
   One of the main talking points of the event was satellite interference. While this has been an issue long associated with broadcasting, it could become more and more of factor in the data arena. Global VSAT Forum Secretary General David Hartshorn says with the costs of VSAT terminals coming down, and an industry maturing, interference issues need to be addressed, but said that the satellite industry “was getting its house in order” in this area. He added, “Each antenna needs to be verified. We heard about Carrier ID. The next step is SCPC, and the next step is VSAT. Is it applicable to VSAT? They are looking at data. There are critical questions. If implemented in the VSAT environment, would it solve the problem? The next question is who is going to pay? There could be an automatic failsafe solution. We have heard about training and certification. There are cases where you don’t need training, but they are decidedly cases where you do. In Ka-band, we see both. Eutelsat has been training 3,000 people across Europe. They have not found a way to get self-install done in an efficient way. We are seeing this across multiple operators around the world.”
   Companies like Comtech are also working on solutions for the whole interference issue. “Satellite operators and service providers spend a considerable amount of time and money on their attempts to reduce interference. This is big bucks to companies like Intelsat. Carrier interference needs a solution,” said Comtech EF Data Vice President of Product Management Louis Dubin. AvL Technologies Director of Programmes Ken Westall added, “More systems are getting deployed. Interference issues are on the increase. We need to go beyond type approvals here. We need to take periodic looks to make sure all the products going out in the field are meeting requirements.”