Satellite Update

Star One S.A. filed a petition for a declaratory ruling to add the Star One C5 satellite to the FCC Permitted Space Station List. Star One C5 is licensed by Brazil for operation at 68 degrees West Longitude using conventional C and Ku-band frequencies. Star One requested a waiver of Section 25.210(a), which requires C-band transponders to be capable of switching polarization. XM Radio filed amendments to three pending modification applications to correct “typographical and other errors in the previously failed Schedule S form.” See FCC Report SAT-00487 for details.

The FCC set Jan. 14, 2008 as the initial conforming deadline for applicants for 17/24 GHz broadcasting satellite service (BSS) satellite licenses to amend their applications to conform to the rules in its May 4, 2007, report and order and the reconsideration order, released Sept. 28, 2007. The reconsideration order provided satellite operators additional flexibility to operate full-power satellites at orbital locations offset by up to one degree from the Appendix F locations in the May 4, 2007, report and order.

Entities listed in Appendix A of Public Notice DA-07-4895 dated Dec. 5, 2007, are invited to amend their pending applications consistent with the rules no later than Jan. 14, 2008. An application that is not amended by that deadline will be dismissed as defective.

As an applicant seeking to operate a full power space station may not know if another applicant has requested authority to operate a satellite at an adjacent Appendix F location, there is a provision for that applicant to file a second amendment. This would cover operation with full interference protection at a location offset from an Appendix F location by up to one degree, if another entity has filed a conflicting application for the adjacent Appendix F location or its associated offsets. These amendments must be filed by Feb. 13.

For additional information, see Public Notice DA-07-4895.

Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.