Telesat Welcomes Decisions by Industry Canada that Will Streamline Regulatory Burdens Faced by Canadian Satellite Operators and Speed Delivery of State-of-the-Art Satellite Services to All Canadians

NOVEMBER 5, 2013 

Telesat welcomes Industry Canada’s decisions on the licensing framework released earlier today for fixed-satellite service and broadcasting-satellite service as well as revised fee proposals. These decisions represent a major overhaul of the existing framework and will enhance the international competitiveness of Canadian commercial satellite operators.

Telesat congratulates the Government of Canada and Minister Moore for moving forward with a much needed modernization and streamlining of an outdated licensing system and placing the Canadian industry on more equal footing with its international competitors.

Among the key aspects of the decisions released today include the use of a first-come, first-served process by Industry Canada to license satellite spectrum to competing Canadian satellite operators. Today’s announcement also includes a proposal to amend the fee regime that applies to satellite operators using Canadian satellite spectrum, bringing the fees more in line with those in place in foreign jurisdictions. Finally, today’s decisions also address some of the other obligations associated with holding Canadian satellite licences.

“The decisions represent a clear statement that the Government of Canada wants to ensure that Canadian satellite operators are not placed at a competitive disadvantage in relation to operators licensed in other jurisdictions,” stated Dan Goldberg, Telesat’s President and CEO. “Today’s decisions, in the aggregate, reduce and streamline the regulatory burden faced by Canadian satellite operators and, in doing so, will speed the delivery to all Canadians of state-of-the-art satellite services.”    

The decisions released today also address one of the recommendations contained in the Aerospace Review Report, chaired by David Emerson. In that report, the Panel recommended that “...the Government create conditions conducive to the expansion of space-related commercial activity” and specifically encouraged Government to intensify its efforts to secure geostationary orbital slots for Canadian-owned satellites. As a result of today’s decisions, Industry Canada will now also submit applications for satellite spectrum in other areas of the world on behalf of Canadian operators, allowing Canadian companies to be more competitive around the globe.