Satellite Update

By
published

The FCC International Bureau’s Satellite Division has determined that New ICO Satellite Services G.P. has met the launch and operation milestones associated with its reservation of 2 GHz spectrum for the ICO-G1 satellite. ICO-G1 reached its intended orbit on April 25, 2008. ICO is one of the two satellite companies that will be occupying spectrum formerly allocated to the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS). ICO selected 2010-2020 MHz and 2180-2190 MHz as its “Selected Assignment.” The 2010-2020 MHz segment occupies most of the old BAS ENG channel 2.

While broadcasters in some markets have moved to the new BAS band plan using narrower channels starting at 2025 MHz, in most markets 2 GHz channel 2 is still being used for TV electronic news gathering (ENG) operations. Many markets will not vacate 1990-2025 MHz until 2009. It does not appear there is any easy way for ICO and broadcasters to share spectrum in a market. The data was derived from FCC Report SAT-00526.

Doug Lung
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.