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Satellite slot showdown
between NBN Co, industry
vets
NBN
Co satellites program
director Matt Dawson has
clashed with KaComm
chair Dr Gregory
Clark over NBN Co’s
orbital slots, in a
spectacular showdown at
the NBN: Rebooted event
in Sydney.
Clark challenged Dawson
to confirm that NBN Co
had fully coordinated
the slots for its two
long-term satellites,
branding their A$2
billion cost as
“outrageous” and a
“potential national
disaster” were this not
the case – and
challenging the
credentials of some of
the firm’s satellite
staff. Dawson, though,
said he remained
confident that the slots
would be coordinated –
and took issues of his
own with the finer
points of Clark’s
argument.
KaComm has four orbital
slots of its own and,
while it has articulated
plans to launch a Ka-band
satellite addressing the
same rural and remote
markets as NBN Co’s own
planned service, the
firm also spent some
time in talks with NBN
Co around potentially
selling the slots to the
national network
builder. However, as
evidenced by Clark’s
outburst in Sydney, NBN
Co ultimately discarded
the notion.
In
2011, NBN Co made four
filings with the
International
Telecommunications
Union for orbital slots,
to be used for the two
satellites it plans to
launch in 2015. However,
under the ITU’s
procedures for obtaining
an orbital slot,
potential satellite
operators have to go
through a formal
co-ordination process
with any operator or
country that has
previously filed for
slots – whether they're
in use or not.
“Can Matt unequivocally
say that NBN Co has
fully coordinated the
slots in which to put
its first and second
satellites?” demanded
Clark (pictured).
“I
can’t unequivocally say
anything... about the
satellite program, of
course; it’s a risky
program, there’s no
doubt about that – and
you know this, as a
participant in the
industry,” replied
Dawson.
“But we are very well
progressed with the
coordination of our
slots and we are very
confident. We have a lot
of experts in the
industry... and the
strategic review had a
very close look… at this
exact topic and
concluded that we’re
well on track to have
all of our slots
coordinated… that risk
has been articulated as
low.”
Clark, though, was not
to be put off. “I think
this is a huge national
issue, we’re putting up
a A$2 billion facility,
piece of infrastructure…
[and] the review you had
flagged this as an
issue,” he countered.
Clark alleged that at
least one key advisor on
the program “had no
experience in the
coordination of the
spectrum of satellite”
beyond purchasing
capacity for commercial
players and indeed,
accused Dawson himself
and his entire program
staff of lacking “any
satellite background.”
“It’s outrageous that
A$2 billion of the
nation’s wealth is being
spent when you have this
risk.
And
I think you’ve got to
come clean and say
‘we’re fully
coordinated’. because
the last time a
satellite was put up…
and the [slots weren’t]
fully coordinated… that
company went into
chapter eleven,” he
thundered, referring to
Protostar’s planned
launch of a satellite in
2008 to which Hong
Kongbased operator
AsiaSat as well as the
Chinese authorities had
objected.
“Before you guys
started, [KaComm] had
the four most
high-priority slots into
which to put these
satellites and you
refused to use them,”
continued Clark. “You go
up and negotiate with
whomever and it’s now
five months before you
launch and you’re not
coordinated with anyone
and in the pecking order
you’re number 26 in the
world for using Ka-band
slots in this order...
it’s a potential
national disaster coming
down the road.”
Visibly shaken but
undeterred, Dawson
reiterated his
confidence in the
project. “We are well
aware of what is
required to coordinate
our slots
internationally,” he
shot back. “We have
coordinated with... well
over 80% of all of the
international operators
we need to coordinate
with… and we’ve done
that on a priority
basis.”
“There are so many
things incorrect in what
Greg just said. We know
it’s a risk but like all
the risks of the program
we have addressed [them]
and employed the right
people who have vast
experience in
coordinating orbital
slots.”
Dawson added that NBN Co
was very well progressed
with coordinating the
slots and that the
company was “absolutely
very confident… no
matter [Clark’s]
critique of the
individuals involved
that [we] are well on
track to being able to
put our satellites into
those slots that we’ve
coordinated.”
Generally, Dawson said
that the LSS was on
track to be delivered
next year and that while
the project remained “a
risky business” he was
confident that by the
time the service was
launched in 2015, “we’ll
have the ground systems,
the IT and everything
else ready to go.”
Richard van der Draay,
Commsday
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