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Spectrum rights and orbital positions: what do space operators need to know? - Watson Farley & Williams
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class="search_form_text" name="_sf_s" placeholder="Search" id="input_keyword"> <input type="submit" value="Search" class="search_form_submit"> </form> </header> <div id="menu_hide_content"> <section role="main" class="clearfix"> <div id="insights_single_wrapper"> <p class="insights_back insights_back_mobile"><a href="/insights/">< Back to insights hub </a></p> <div class="container clearfix" id="post_container_sticky"> <div class="post_left"> <div class="post_banner clearfix" style="background-image: url(https://www.wfw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Aerospace-Satelite-Website-Insights-Banner.jpg);" data-aos="fade-up"><div class="post_banner_info"><span class="header_tiny">Article</span><h1 class="h3_styler">Spectrum rights and orbital positions: what do space operators need to know?<span>14 November 2024</span></h1></div></div> <div class="clearfix"> <div class="post_content post_content_blank"> <div class="post_wysiwyg"> <h5>On 2 October 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) imposed the first-ever fine (of US$150,000) on US operator Dish Network for <em>“failing to properly deorbit one of its satellites”.</em></h5> <h4><strong>Background</strong></h4> <p>In 2012, Dish Network undertook to raise the altitude of the Echo-Star 7 satellite to 300 km above its operational trajectory (geosynchronous orbit). However, due to low fuel levels, the company was only able to raise the satellite to an altitude of just over 120 km. According to the FCC, Dish Network did not respect the agreed upon altitude. The lower-than-agreed altitude of the Echo-Star 7 satellite <em>“was likely to cause orbital debris problems” </em>and threatened other space objects with collision.</p> </div> </div> <div class="post_page_builder clearfix post_page_builder_move"> <div class="container clearfix"><div class="post_left"><div class="clearfix"><div class="post_content_quote post_content_quote_left post_content_quote_colour_teal"><p class="h3_styler">"Orbital positions and spectrum usage rights are the responsibility of governments and are therefore administered by national regulatory bodies."</p></div><div class="post_content post_wysiwyg post_content_press_right"><p>This case highlighted three essential elements that all operators in the space sector need to be aware of:</p> <ul> <li>orbital positions and spectrum usage rights are the responsibility of governments and are therefore administered by national regulatory bodies;</li> <li>the licenses granted for using spectrum and orbital positions confer rights, which can be transferred; and</li> <li>these rights and positions also give rise to obligations, accompanied by sanctions.</li> </ul> <h4><strong>Orbital positions and spectrum usage rights administered by national regulatory bodies</strong></h4> <p>It should be remembered that spectrum usage rights, like orbital positions, are scarce resources that need to be periodically optimised.</p> <p>For the frequency spectrum, three successive operations are carried out: an initial distribution of the spectrum into distinct uses (allocation); then a finer distribution into services (allotment); and finally an allocation of usage rights to identified operators (assignment).</p> <p>The first two operations are carried out at international level based on the Radio Regulations, which have international treaty status. They are decided under the aegis of a specialised international organisation within the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”), at the end of its global conference held every four years. The third is the result of decisions taken by national regulatory bodies based on national frequency allocation tables. Formerly managed by the under a regime of absolute confidentiality, these tables are now accessible to all.</p> </div></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="version_desktop"> <div class="post_right"> <p class="insights_back"><a href="/insights/">< Back to insights hub </a></p> <div data-aos="fade-up"><a href="https://subscribe.wfw.com/login/login.aspx" target="_blank" onclick="gtag('event', 'click', { 'event_category': 'link','event_label': 'sign up'});" class="post_grey_button">Sign up</a></div> <div class="post_contacts"> <h2 class="h3_styler h3_styler_related h3_styler_mob_cap">Key contacts</h2> <div class="post_contacts_list clearfix"> <div><article class="article_odd"> <div class="post_contacts_flex clearfix"> <a href="https://www.wfw.com/people/lucien-rapp/" class="post_contacts_list_img"><img src="https://www.wfw.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Lucien-Rapp-1.jpg" alt="Lucien Rapp"></a> <h3 class="h4_styler"><a href="https://www.wfw.com/people/lucien-rapp/">Lucien Rapp</a></h3> </div> <p class="people_left_stats_job">Senior Consultant <span>Paris</span></p> </article></div> <div><article class="article_even article_last"> <div class="post_contacts_flex clearfix"> <a href="https://www.wfw.com/people/randeep-bubbra/" class="post_contacts_list_img"><img src="https://www.wfw.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Randeep-Bubbra-1.jpg" alt="Randeep Bubbra"></a> <h3 class="h4_styler"><a href="https://www.wfw.com/people/randeep-bubbra/">Randeep Bubbra</a></h3> </div> <p class="people_left_stats_job">Partner <span>London</span></p> </article></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post_page_builder clearfix"> <div class="container clearfix"><div class="post_right post_content_quote post_content_quote_right post_content_quote_colour_white"><p class="h3_styler">"Spectrum management and the prerogatives of allocating spectrum usage rights are sometimes entrusted to separate bodies."</p></div><div class="post_left post_left_quote_right"><div class="clearfix"><div class="post_content post_wysiwyg post_content_blank"><p>Two additional points:</p> <ul> <li>spectrum management and the prerogatives of allocating spectrum usage rights are sometimes entrusted to separate bodies. This is the case in France, for example, where spectrum management – including representing France’s interests within the ITU and reviewing applications for authorisation of usage rights for satellite systems – is the responsibility of a specialist public body, the <em>Agence Nationale des Fréquences radio-électriques</em> (ANFR) with authorisations granted by separate ministerial or administrative authorities (“ARCEP” or “ARCOM” depending on frequency); and</li> <li>unlike in the USA, which may have justified the FCC’s decision to impose a fine on Dish Network, national legislation governing space activities may provide for an authorisation regime distinct from rights to use the radio spectrum or orbital positions. For example, France’s Space Operations Act requires satellite operators to obtain authorisation for in-orbit control. In principle, this authorisation is subject to several obligations, including de-orbiting. It is therefore based on this type of authorisation that fines could be imposed.</li> </ul> <p>The reservation of orbital positions is organised differently, involving the submission of reservation applications by national governments on behalf of national operators. These applications are registered by the ITU, subject to two conditions: the lodging of a security deposit and a deadline for bringing the satellite system into service. In principle, a satellite system must be brought into service within seven years of the date of registration of the reservation request file. These precautions are designed to prevent a state from freezing orbital positions indefinitely.</p> <h4><strong>Orbital positions and spectrum usage rights have become objects of commerce</strong></h4> <p>Requests to reserve an orbital position, commonly known as “filings”, are being transferred. Spectrum usage rights can be leased or even sold.</p> <p>The result is a secondary market in these positions or rights of use, which today is the subject of explicit legal provisions authorising it or, when these provisions are insufficient or non-existent, of a customary rule based on known and tolerated practices.</p> <p>As previously indicated, ITU filings are conditional on the reservation beneficiary’s satellite system being brought into service within a maximum of seven years, from the date of registration of each filing. The requesting state is therefore notified of a commissioning date as well as the allocated operator. As this deadline approaches, it is not uncommon for the satellite system not to be put into service. It is therefore in the interest of the beneficiary to relinquish its authorisation in favor of operators who covet the allocated orbital position, but who had no access to it since it had been reserved for its initial assignee, and who can deploy their system within the required timeframe.</p> <p>As the frequency spectrum is a scarce resource, it is also desirable for the rights of use granted to be able to circulate from one operator to another.</p> <p>Orbital positions and spectrum usage rights are therefore the subject of an original ownership regime, involving a succession of dismemberments: in principle, the state is the “owner” of the frequency spectrum or the ITU filing; rights to use the spectrum or orbital positions are then the subject of authorisations granted by the competent bodies of each state to the operators concerned, who can in turn transfer these rights to third parties (another operator, banks, creditors, etc.).</p> <p>The existence of this secondary market has given rise to related questions and practices including disputes. Can positions and rights of use be valued? The answer is yes, a value can be given to each transaction, which depends on market structure and demand elasticity. Can valued positions and rights-of-use be capitalised in the sense of a value entered on the assets side of an operator’s balance sheet? Once again, the answer is yes. Company takeovers now include the value of spectrum usage rights or orbital positions in determining the purchase price.</p> <h4><strong>Orbital positions and spectrum usage rights can give rise to obligations and penalties</strong></h4> <p>Obtaining the necessary authorisations is already a requirement, subject to sanctions. However, the granting of these authorisations gives rise to obligations which are themselves subject to penalties. The example given above involving Dish Network provides an illustration, and the table below shows that what has been observed in the USA is fully transposable to Europe.</p> <table id="tablepress-199" class="tablepress tablepress-id-199 tablepress-responsive"> <thead> <tr class="row-1 odd"> <th class="column-1"></th><th class="column-2">USA</th><th class="column-3">EUROPE</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody class="row-hover"> <tr class="row-2 even"> <td class="column-1">Agency</td><td class="column-2">• FCC (1934)<br /> • NASA, NOAA/NESDIS/Office of space commerce <br /> • US Space Force<br /> • National Space Council/US House Committee on Science Space and Technology</td><td class="column-3">• OFCOM/ARCEP/ARCOM<br /> • National Space Agency<br /> • Ministries and/or State Secretaries (Resarch, Economy, Defense etc.)<br /> </td> </tr> <tr class="row-3 odd"> <td class="column-1">Status</td><td class="column-2">• Federal Commission (FCC)<br /> • Agency (NOAA, NASA)<br /> • Service (NESDIS, Office of Space Commerce)<br /> • Political institutions (NSpC/USHCSST, DoC)</td><td class="column-3">• Regulators (OFCOM, ARCEP, ARCOM)<br /> • Agencies (OFCOM, ANFr, CNES)<br /> • Political institutions (Ministry of Economy and Finance, Ministry of Defense)</td> </tr> <tr class="row-4 even"> <td class="column-1">Competence</td><td class="column-2">Infrastructure/contents</td><td class="column-3">• Infrastructure: OFCOM, ARCEP<br /> • Contents: OFCOM, ARCOM</td> </tr> <tr class="row-5 odd"> <td class="column-1">Powers</td><td class="column-2">Authorisation (frequencies and orbital positions)<br /> Section 25.102 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations:<br /> "<em>no person shall use or operate any device for the transmission of power, communications, or signals by space or ground stations, except under appropriate authorisation granted by the Commission</em>”.</td><td class="column-3">Authorisation (orbital positions, frequencies, launch, in-orbit control)<br /> (ex. French Post and Electronic Communications Code (L97-2 et seq.) and LOS (+Technical Regulations)</td> </tr> <tr class="row-6 even"> <td class="column-1">Sanctions</td><td class="column-2">Fines (to repair the damage suffered by the community), administrative sanctions (withdrawal, suspension)</td><td class="column-3">Fines (to repair the damage suffered by the community), administrative sanctions (withdrawal, suspension)</td> </tr> <tr class="row-7 odd"> <td class="column-1">Insurability</td><td class="column-2">No</td><td class="column-3">No</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <!-- #tablepress-199 from cache --> <p>Sanctions take the form of fines, the amount of which can quickly become a deterrent. Because of their size, they can be even more restrictive for the punished companies as they cannot be covered by insurance.</p> </div></div></div></div><div class="container clearfix"><div class="post_left"><div class="clearfix"><div class="post_content_quote post_content_quote_left post_content_quote_colour_teal"><p class="h3_styler h3_styler_small">"any proposed activity in outer space must be subject to a preliminary legal qualification process to determine whether it falls within the scope of activities subject to authorisation"</p></div><div class="post_content post_wysiwyg post_content_press_right"><p>In conclusion,</p> <ul> <li>any proposed activity in outer space must be subject to a preliminary legal qualification process to determine whether it falls within the scope of activities subject to authorisation. Then leads to an action plan identifying the authorisations to be obtained, the requisite timetable, required documents and an initial set of contacts to be made with the competent bodies;</li> <li>obtaining the required authorisations is accompanied by a note listing the obligations attached to each one, the precautions to be taken in exercising the rights they confer, and the penalties that may be imposed in the event of non-compliance with the obligations they entail;</li> <li>in the event of infringement, steps should be taken with the competent authorities before any penalty is imposed; these steps are even more appropriate as a penalty is normally preceded by a formal prior notice;</li> <li>applications for renewal of authorisations granted for fixed periods of 10, 15 or 20 years must be submitted within the timeframes required by national legislation, and in any event well before the anniversary date, to avoid any difficulties;</li> <li>transactions involving rights to use radio frequencies or orbital positions are carried out with the help of regulatory expertise, enabling us to assess their transferability; and</li> <li>the same regulatory expertise is needed in the event of judicial or arbitration disputes.</li> </ul> <p><em>Click <a href="https://www.wfw.com/articles/new-frontiers-for-the-space-economy/"><strong>here</strong></a> to read other articles in this series.</em></p> </div></div></div></div> </div> <div class="container clearfix version_mobile contacts_small_shot"> <div class="post_right"> <p class="insights_back"><a href="/insights/">< Back to insights hub </a></p> <div data-aos="fade-up"><a href="https://subscribe.wfw.com/login/login.aspx" target="_blank" onclick="gtag('event', 'click', { 'event_category': 'link','event_label': 'sign up'});" class="post_grey_button">Sign up</a></div> <div class="post_contacts"> <h2 class="h3_styler h3_styler_related h3_styler_mob_cap">Key contacts</h2> <div class="post_contacts_list clearfix"> <div><article 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