NZ experts vie for satellite slot

By ADAM GIFFORD

A New Zealand company wants the Government to let it use the country's geostationary satellite slot 35,000km above the equator at 158 degrees east, rather than hand it over to foreign companies.

NZLSAT Ltd director Katharine Moody said there was local demand for more capacity to cope with applications such as digital television, broadband internet and long-haul telephone services, but that the Government would lose the opportunity if it did not move fast.

Moody and a team of satellite experts have put together a business plan to set up a satellite service - something that would cost more than $100 million.

"This is a new industry with huge potential," said Moody, a former Ministry of Economic Development spectrum group manager.

"The problem is, the ministry seems to want to throw regulatory barriers in front of a New Zealand initiative, while letting foreign companies in."

A discussion paper on satellite opportunities indicates the Ministry of Economic Development is considering allowing the new SingTel Optus D2 satellite at 156 degrees east to use broadcasting satellite service (BSS) download frequencies granted to New Zealand by the International Telecommunications Union.

Moody said that would put the viability of a New Zealand-controlled satellite at risk, while unfairly strengthening SingTel Optus' position in the Australasian satellite transmission market.

By the same token, those frequency rights could allow a local satellite company to attract an international investment partner.

Sky currently operates its satellite pay TV service via Optus satellites and TVNZ has space reserved on Optus satellites.

A number of other satellites also cover the region.

BSS frequencies are typically used for broadcasting to small dish antennas.

Moody said a decision needed to be made in the next couple of months, because any New Zealand satellite would need to compete for customers with Optus D2, which is due to be launched in 2007.

"We must enter the market in competition with Optus," Moody said.

Submissions on the paper closed on Friday, but ministry radio spectrum policy and planning manager Brian Miller would not say when decisions would be made.

"We will work through the submissions as quickly as possible," Miller said.

Apart from the BSS plan, which is permanent, New Zealand has filed for four slots in the fixed satellite service (FSS) allotments which are used for point-to-point transmission. These are unplanned frequencies, which means they must be coordinated with other satellite operators on a first come, first served basis.

Moody said NZLSAT would operate in both the BSS and FSS bands.

"We have done a feasibility study showing a satellite is viable and we have costings from two satellite manufacturers," she said.

"What we need from the ministry is provisional access to the allocation for three to six months to do due diligence and get letters of intent from local customers and international partners. Then we can commercialise the business."

The other directors of NZLSAT are satellite expert Dr Alan Jamieson and lawyer Paul Hannah-Jones.

Satellites are typically funded with a mixture of equity and debt. "What we need is competition, because there are not many choices. Optus has a monopoly on direct-to-home broadcast, and its service is optimised for small dish applications," Moody said.

The new satellite would be at a 35-degree angle to New Zealand, which would allow stronger signals than existing satellites.

While the orbital slot is optimised for New Zealand use, it covers a third of the globe, most of it ocean, but including Australia, south-east China, the Philippines, Japan, and Pacific Island states. It has potential for Antarctica.

Moody said it could handle trunking applications carrying voice and data traffic over that region.

"The majority of revenue we want to earn will come from New Zealand use, but there could be a third from international use," she said.

While the ministry has so far expressed little enthusiasm for the NZLSAT plan, it has issued a licence to Thai company Shin Sat to allow its yet to be launched IP Star satellite to broadcast here.

Shin Sat is a bidder for the Government's Probe region 15 subsidies to offer satellite broadband internet to remote schools. It is negotiating a deal with Telecom and is also partnering with internet provider Iconz.

Moody said other parties might be interested in launching a satellite. But she said: "We believe it should be a New Zealand operator, so the ground facility and control is under the control of the New Zealand Government, in the event it causes harmful interference to other satellites."

Putting Kiwis in orbit

* NZLSAT wants the satellite slot reserved for New Zealand by the United Nations

* If it gets approval soon, it plans to sell capacity, raise at least $100 million and launch by Christmas 2006

* If the Ministry of Economic Development drags its feet, it could be stymied by two new SingTel Optus satellites

* The ministry is considering giving away New Zealand's satellite frequencies to Singapore-owned Singtel Optus

* The ministry has also given the thumbs up for Thai-owned Shin Sat satellite which will be used by Telecom and Iconz