Intelsat Wins GAO CBSP Decision; Warns Galaxy 15 May Drift into AMC 11 Orbit

[Satellite TODAY 05-12-10] The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has dismissed protests from Artel, CapRock Communications and Segovia over the U.S. Navy’s Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP) contract award to Intelsat General earlier this year, Intelsat announced as part of its 2010 first quarter financial results, released May 12.
    Intelsat said the company expects to receive orders under the $543 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract in the near future.
    In April, Artel, Caprock and Globecomm also filed complaints with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and called for a congressional and regulatory inquiry over alleged unfair business practices employed by Intelsat.
    Intelsat Director of Investor Relations Diane VanBeber told Satellite TODAY that the complaints have no merit and were motivated by the CBSP program dispute. “The comments filed at the FCC by the unsuccessful bidders for the CBSP program have no merit and reflect a fundamental lack of understanding of the requirements of the Orbit Act. Intelsat is fully compliant with the Orbit Act, as the FCC has repeatedly found. We will respond in due course in the FCC proceeding,” VanBeber said.
    Separately, Intelsat and SES World Skies spokesman Yves Feltes confirmed that Intelsat’s Galaxy 15 satellite, which the operator loss control of on April 5, likely will drift into the orbital path of SES’s AMC 11, causing interference with cable programming over the United States since the two satellites operate on the same frequencies.
    Intelsat said it is unable to remotely steer Galaxy 15 to remain in its orbit after the satellite’s systems were knocked out by a solar storm. If Galaxy 15 drifts into AMC 11’s orbit, it is expected to begin interfering with the signal around May 23, Intelsat confirmed.
    Intelsat’s 2010 first quarter showed the operator narrowing its losses to $102.6 million from a loss of $557.6 million in the same quarter last year. Revenues dropped 2 percent during the quarter to $621.1 million, compared to $631.8 million in 2009. Intelsat attributed its decline in revenue to the boost it received last year from the resale of a launch vehicle, with no comparable boost during the 2010 first quarter.
    Intelsat transponder, MSS and other off-network services increased an aggregate $10.8 million in the 2010 first quarter due to a $6.3 million increase in transponder services related to customers of its Intelsat General business as well as $4.6 million in increased mobile satellite services revenue from usage-based mobile services.
    However, the operator’s managed services division revenues decreased $4.6 million, due to a $3.7 million decrease in revenue from network services customers for broadband solutions primarily in the Africa and Middle East region. Intelsat said it expects downward trends to continue due to migration of point-to-point satellite traffic to fiber optic cables across transoceanic routes.