Status of Regulatory Regimes for the Deployment of
Broadband Services via Satellite in the Americas

The Third Summit of the Americas (Quebec City, 2001) requested the “ministries or departments responsible for telecommunications and appropriate regulatory bodies to cooperate, within CITEL, in order to clarify and simplify rules governing the provision of satellite services in our countries” and to promote “the modernization and expansion of telecommunications infrastructure in rural and urban areas through timely introduction of new technologies and services, in particular broadband technologies.”

In keeping with the mandate from the Third Summit of the Americas, Permanent Consultative Committee II: Radiocommunications including Broadcasting (PCC.II) has been working on the topic of satellites.

At the II meeting of PCC.II (San Salvador, 2003), representatives of administrations, national regulatory bodies, and private satellite companies participated in a roundtable discussion, at which views were expressed on the drafting of a recommendation for the establishment of guidelines for the implementation of regulatory measures to facilitate the deployment of broadband satellite systems in the region. In that connection, the member administrations were encouraged to consider the possibility of including in their national regulations such concepts as block or generic licensing for earth stations, requirements for master stations, and the availability of procedures, regulations, and on-line applications. They recommended that broadband satellite system development be promoted through the implementation of appropriate and flexible regulatory frameworks that would ensure rapid broadband service development, access, and use, keeping in mind that broadband use is an important means of reinforcing integration and national growth in their economic and social development projects.

Subsequently, the III Meeting of PCC.II (Orlando, 2004) drew up a questionnaire to determine the extent to which member administrations had been implementing the previously mentioned guidelines regarding the status of regulatory regimes for the deployment of broadband services via satellite. The questionnaire was sent to the administrations for appropriate action.

Comments were then received, both before and during the IV Meeting of PCC.II (Buenos Aires, 2004), from a large number of administrations, which made it possible to draft a consolidated document on the status of regulatory regimes for the deployment of broadband services via satellite in their respective countries. Further, it was decided to send that document to the member administrations for review and comments prior to the V Meeting of PCC.II.

We can comment in general on some aspects of the status of regulatory regimes for the deployment of broadband service via satellite in the Americas.

• In their regulations, most administrations consider the possibility of generic or block earth station treatment, although the way they are treated differs.

• Most administrations do not require VSAT hub stations to be located within their territories.

• Almost all administrations have posted information on their web pages on procedures, legal frameworks, technical forms, and regulations for processing earth station applications. However, only some of them have procedures in place for on-line processing.

• Requirements and procedures for authorizing signal landing within the administration’s respective territories, when necessary, vary from country to country.

• Most administrations consider that it is only necessary for a legal representative of the satellite operator to be domiciled in the country.

• Each administration has its own procedures and requirements for certifying telecommunication equipment and devices for use in its territory.

In keeping with the mandate from the Third Summit of the Americas, significant progress has been made in the region on the regulatory aspects of the deployment of satellite services. It is hoped that, at the V Meeting of PCC.II, to be held in Guatemala in April 2005, the Working Group Relative to Satellite Systems to Provide Fixed and Mobile Services will present PCC.II with its input for inclusion in the its report to COM/CITEL, with a view to the Fourth Summit of the Americas.

Claudio Palomares Sartor
Chair
Satellite Systems to provide
Fixed and Mobile services
Working Group