Press Releases
Telesat issues call for interest in satellite capacity for Canadian Entities - Six New Satellite Licenses Awarded by Industry Canada for BSS and FSS Frequencies
OTTAWA, CANADA, July 28, 2008 - Telesat announced today the award of six satellite approvals-in-principle for development of BSS and FSS frequencies following a public process by Industry Canada. With the award of the new approvals-in-principle and in accordance with its conditions of licence, Telesat is now seeking expressions of interest from broadcast, enterprise and government customers and any other entities in Canada interested in developing services from any of these locations.
The six new approvals-in-principle are:
The 17 GHz BSS (broadcasting satellite service) band is specifically designed to serve as a broadcasting platform, capable of delivering direct-to-home (DTH) services into small consumer antennas. The Extended Ku-band has been used extensively for broadcasting purposes in other countries and Telesat desires to use this band for DTH service in Canada, as well as other applications. Ka-band spectrum is currently in use on Telesat’s Anik F2 and Anik F3 satellites, as well as the soon-to-be-launched Nimiq 4. Ka-band is ideal for delivering two-way broadband Internet to consumers and small businesses, as well as broadcasting services into small-size dishes.
“With these awards we can now move forward and advance our planning of Telesat’s future satellite fleet,” says Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat. “We appreciate Industry Canada’s diligence in completing this important spectrum award process. Telesat intends to develop the spectrum associated with all of these approvals. Working with our customers to understand how we can meet their business requirements is a critical step in our planning process.”
Telesat has a history of satisfying the needs of Canadian satellite users and, with a view to meeting Canadian customers’ requirements prior to the demands of other markets, Telesat invites all Canadian satellite users and service providers to communicate their satellite capacity needs to Telesat before December 31, 2008. These expressions of interest should be sent in writing to the attention of Paul Bush, Vice-President, North American Sales at Telesat.
About Telesat
Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with offices and facilities around the world, Telesat is the fourth largest fixed satellite services operator. The company provides reliable and secure satellite-delivered communications solutions to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers. Telesat has a global state-of-the-art fleet of 12 satellites, has another three satellites under construction, and manages the operations of 13 additional satellites for third parties. Telesat is privately held. Its principal shareholders are Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LORL).
For more information, contact:
D. Tisch
Argyle Communications
(416) 968-7311
dtisch@argylecommunications.com
G. Yamazaki
Telesat Canada
(240) 751-4654
gyamazaki@telesat.com
