By Gerry Oberst

Hope that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) could decrease the flood of “paper satellites” plaguing the industry has been dashed by reports coming from the Geneva-based organization. Filings at the ITU to coordinate satellites that will never be built clog up the system and slow down processing for “real” satellites. Despite efforts to minimize this problem, delays remain, which may lead to proposals for more radical actions.

At the most recent World Radiocommunication Conference held in 1997 (WRC-97), ITU members adopted measures to stem the tide of paper satellites. The conference tightened timetables for launching and bringing into use communications satellites. It also adopted Resolution 49 to require administrations to file due diligence information on the status of their proposed or operating satellites. Further, the conference called on the ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau to report on the effectiveness of these measures to the next conference, scheduled to start in May this year (WRC-2000).

Early reports on the impact of the reforms are not encouraging. Despite the Bureau’s best efforts, processing delays are not decreasing. The Bureau reported to the ITU Radio Regulation Board (RRB) in August last year on the status of its efforts to enforce the due diligence rules. The Bureau analyzed 460 satellite networks that were brought into use before July 1998, and prepared a list of networks to be cleaned out of the database. Squabbles ensued, for example over certain Russian networks allegedly in operation and a Spanish satellite that missed its operational date, but the Bureau made plans to cancel at least some 26 satellites. Others are on hold for cancellation until after WRC-2000, where officials can review the situation.

The Bureau is in the midst of reviewing or collecting due diligence information on satellites that started operation after mid-1998. The Bureau plans to fit this information into a final report to WRC-2000.

In late January, the Bureau reported its concern over “worsening backlogs” to the RRB. The statistics from the Bureau as of the end of December 1999 paint a gloomy picture.

The backlog for dealing with Advance Publication of new satellite networks–the first step in the ITU process–has improved. The Bureau had 770 cases awaiting processing in December 1998, but only 171 cases by December 1999. A treatment delay of 50 weeks had shrunk to nine weeks.

By contrast, however, backlogs for the next steps have gotten worse. The really difficult and most critical step in the ITU rules is coordination. By December 1999 there were 1352 cases, almost a doubling over the situation in January 1998, leading to a 90-week delay. For notifications–the final step in the ITU process–the December 1999 figures were little better than the previous year, with 206 cases pending and a delay of 145 weeks.

A delay of almost three years to get a satellite network safely registered in the international registry is a scandal. It is no wonder that some people claim that satellite operators are launching and operating satellites before all the proper paperwork is complete.

Will things get better? The Bureau is preparing its report to WRC-2000 that will probably feed the fire of debate over how this situation can be improved. Worsening delays could raise fresh cries for larger ITU fees or so-called “financial due diligence” rather than simply the administrative due diligence filings required under Resolution 49.

At meetings in January, the Bureau basically informed the international community that the delays will decrease only if “the overly complex regulatory framework is changed to bring it in line with the real requirements of those planning and operating satellite networks.” It also argued that unless “urgent steps” and “substantial improvements” are taken “the problem will become intractable.” With a three-year delay for coordination of satellites, it looks like the problem already is intractable.

The agenda for WRC-2000 is extremely crowded, as usual. In addition to follow-up on Resolution 49, there are pending resolutions on how to improve the filing process and how to change the rules to aid developing countries.

On that last point, the RRB has proposed that WRC-2000 could adopt such reforms as extending the time for developing countries to operate proposed satellites, but some countries argue that any special deals would further distort the ITU processing system and likely cause further delays.

Paper satellites will be one of many thorny issues in May at WRC-2000. Unfortunately, no quick resolution is in sight.

Gerry Oberst is a partner in the Brussels office of the Hogan & Hartson law firm. His email address is [email protected].