Prior to EchoStar, David’s track record in the satellite industry includes executive posts at Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, where he was Vice President and Chief Engineer of commercial space programmes, overseeing the integration of Lockheed’s traditional manufacturing group with its new commercial telecommunications sector. He also held the position of Programme Manager and Chief Engineer on several commercial programmes at General Electric AstroSpace, and in various engineering and flight operations posts on the military/government side of General Electric’s Space Systems Division. He began his career in the United States Navy working on nuclear submarine operations.

Commenting on David’s arrival, Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat CEO said: “David’s long experience and considerable skill sets, notably in the satellite field will further reinforce the exceptional levels of competence already concentrated at Eutelsat. Technical excellence is core to the service we provide our clients and we are committed to paying it our highest attention as we pursue our objectives to expand resources and capabilities.”

A US national, David is a graduate in physics from the US Naval Academy and holds the equivalent of a graduate degree in Nuclear Propulsion Engineering through the US Navy.

CNN and the World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG) will host the Forum as initiative supporters. The Forum will be organized jointly by GVF, the Global VSAT Forum and SUIRG, the Satellite Users Interference Reduction Group. The complimentary event will be held from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at the CNN New York Bureau in the Time Warner Center and will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest of several industry solutions underway to improve quality of service and reduce operational costs. “WBU-ISOG and CNN are very pleased to host and encourage this important gathering to further efforts to diminish the problems associated with satellite interference, for both broadcasters and others who depend upon satellite communications. Meeting just in advance of SATCON is most timely as a way to attract industry experts to help advance this vital program”, said Dick Tauber, VP of Transmission Systems and New Technology for the CNN News Group and Chairman of WBU-ISOG.

“Signal theft and interference have been escalating globally, which is adversely impacting satellite broadcast and telecommunication services,” said the Forum organizers in a joint statement made by GVF, SUIRG and WBU-ISOG. “The problem is attributable to numerous sources of interference, each of which calls for a different solution. We are pleased to work together with all Satellite Operators and the End User community to identify effective measures to address the issue.”

The Forum will feature executives from major satellite operators, broadcasters, MSS and VSAT service providers, equipment manufacturers and other organizations with vested interests in helping combat the growing problem of satellite radio interference. Participants will delve into the latest developments of each facet of this crucial industry-changing initiative, evaluate their relative merits, and encourage broader industry dialogue and participation.

The Forum will feature topics such as:

• Characterizing the Interference Challenge

• Improving Deployments: VSAT and SNG Installation & Operations Training

• Tracking Remote Interference Sources

• Enabling Product Quality: Earth-Station Type Approvals

• Interference-Fighting Tools

• Addressing Terrestrial Wireless Interference

Reinforcing this hallmark industry collaboration, in the past year 18 leading satellite operators formed an alliance to launch a global initiative to mitigate interference through various means, including:

• Endorsement and support for expanded delivery of GVF’s VSAT Installation Certification Program,

• Advancement of the SUIRG effort to employ Carrier-ID solutions as a means of identifying sources and location of interference generated by satellite earth terminals, and

• Creation of a global data-sharing centre, registered on the Isle of Man.

“In parallel with this operator-backed initiative, the satellite industry has also implemented complementary solutions to address other interference sources,” said David Hartshorn, GVF Secretary General. “For example, to ensure production of high-performance satellite Earth stations, the industry has established an outsourced-type approvals mechanism called the Mutual Recognition Arrangement.” The industry has also mounted an international coordination effort to address mounting levels of interference generated by terrestrial wireless services. “These and other RFI-fighting remedies will be covered in detail at the October 12 Forum,” Hartshorn added.

The Administration of France, on behalf of the EUTELSAT satellite operator, notified the Radio Regulations Board (RRB) of the interference emanating from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While also considering correspondence from the Administration of Iran, the RRB determined that EUTELSAT satellite networks, operating in the orbital positions at 9E, 13E, 21.5E and 25.5E are receiving harmful interference. The Board noted that “the interfering signals appear to be of a nature that is prohibited under Radio Regulations No. 15.1″.

The Radio Regulations Board concluded that the interference appeared to be emanating from the territory of Iran “based on measurements provided by the Administration of France, and having confidence in the measurement techniques and technologies used, because they are recognized in the ITU-R Handbook on Spectrum Monitoring”.

The interference is reported to have persisted for some time, adversely affecting the operation of several EUTELSAT satellite transponders and channels. The Radio Regulations Board urged the Administration of Iran to continue its effort in locating the source of interference and to eliminate it as a matter of the highest priority.

The Administration of France and the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau have been called upon to assist the Administration of Iran in identifying the source of the interference.

The Radio Regulations Board is a part-time body comprising 12 members representing the world’s five regions: the Americas, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Among the Board’s responsibilities is to approve the technical criteria used by the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau in the application of Radio Regulations, to consider reports of harmful interference and to formulate recommendations for their resolution. If agreement cannot be reached between an administration and the Board on a Rule of Procedure, the matter is submitted to a World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) for ruling. The next WRC will be held January-February 2012.

The current Chairman of the Board is Mr Mindaugas Zilinskas of Lithuania.

It has recently come to the attention of atrexx that some customers of satellite operators are dissatisfied with the fact that they are tied into long-term capacity leases, and there is no flexibility offered to them in terms of opting out of their contract or exchanging their bandwidth.

Markus Schäfer, Managing Director, Marketing and Sales at atrexx explained: “Reasons for customers’ dissatisfaction with their long term leases could be the economic situation taking its toll, or new capacity being introduced to the market that offers better coverage and higher power. Unfortunately, satellite operators will generally not bend on the terms of the contract leaving the customer with capacity that they cannot use. Other customers want to upgrade existing leases to respond to increased demand, and they cannot do so as all capacity has been sold.”

atrexx provides a valuable solution to these problems – the atrexx Trading Platform: Established in 2002, the Platform is a satellite marketplace, designed to bring buyers and sellers of satellite related resources and services together. The Platform offers free registration to both parties. Once registered, they are able to post their request or their available services onto the platform. All postings are publicly – yet anonymously – accessible worldwide, to everyone with access to the Internet. Updates are available by e-mail as well as through Twitter tweets and RSS feeds.

The Platform offers many advantages for both the buyer and the seller. The seller benefits by making a sale on capacity that would otherwise have not been used. From the buyer’s point of view, the atrexx Platform provides them with a great choice of suppliers and therefore enables them to find the best deal possible and to realize considerable savings. When satellite capacity is scarce, as is currently the case for Africa and the Middle East, the resale market is often the only source to satisfy specific requests, as satellite operators are often sold out.

Once the registrant has identified a post that attracts them, atrexx takes over. atrexx opens the bidding process with the supplier on the buyer’s behalf, pre-negotiating the contract terms and acting within a well-defined framework. All parties know exactly where they stand. atrexx has already helped many who have found that they no longer wish to hold on to their capacity.

Edwin Cras, Managing Director of Castor Broadcasting B.V., a leading provider of voice, video, data and multimedia solutions, based in the Netherlands, voiced his satisfaction: “Finding the right satellite capacity at the right price used to involve a lot of phone calls to hopefully the right people. Selling is even tougher; often you were looking for the needle in the haystack. With the atrexx Trading Platform finding capacity is much easier!” Mr. Cras continued: “Selling is even better; everybody looking for capacity can now find a seller with great ease. This helps to avoid empty capacity sitting on your books eating your profits away. We at Castor for sure have benefitted from the atrexx Trading Platform.”

The atrexx Trading Platform offers its users a simple and stress-free way of obtaining or dispensing with capacity. In an age where bandwidth is a precious commodity, atrexx is able to maximize usage of any capacity left idle and often to provide the resources that are urgently needed.

In the interests of protecting continuity of service for clients leasing capacity at the 16 degrees East position, Eutelsat has consequently taken the decision that in the current circumstances W2M will not be integrated into Eutelsat’s satellite fleet. Currently under the control of ISRO, the satellite is undergoing a full technical investigation by ISRO and EADS.

In this current context Eutelsat is pursuing the following actions:

•  will continue its mission at 16 degrees East with no impact on currently operational services.
• Eutelsat’s W3B satellite, ordered in February 2008, and designed with a high degree of flexibility to ensure Ku-band continuity at either 16 degrees East, 10 degrees East or 36 degrees East, will now be deployed at 16 degrees East. Scheduled for launch in mid-2010, W3B will increase the number of operational transponders at 16 degrees East from 27 to 56.  
• Eutelsat is analysing options using its existing in-orbit resources for meeting the requirements of clients who were expected to benefit from the increased capacity on W2M in comparison to W2. The number of operational transponders at 16 degrees East was scheduled to increase from 27 to up to 30.  

Commenting on these decisions, Eutelsat Communications Chairman and CEO Giuliano Berretta said: “The situation affecting W2M is a serious disappointment for Eutelsat. However, for many years we have pursued a strategy based on securing and expanding our in-orbit resources in order to mitigate this type of risk. Our current investment programme consequently combines early renewal of operating satellites, together with securing the fleet through readily available back-up resources, and expansion of services with larger satellites. This policy puts us in a position to absorb the unavailability of W2M without impact on the continuity of service we provide our customers.”

Eutelsat confirms that the unavailability of W2M does not impact on the Group’s guidance for revenues in excess of 900 million euros for the 2008-2009 financial year. The W2M satellite programme is fully insured.