[Satellite News 11-30-11] On Nov. 17, Eutelsat issued a statement in which it “strongly refuted” recent reports that claim it was generating interference on its own satellites in order to prevent reception in Iran of international Farsi satellite channels. The statement, once again, put the satellite interference debate front-and-center. Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s CEO, says reports that the operator was generating interference is “being disconnected from reality.” In an interview on the subject of satellite interference, de Rosen talks about the challenges that Eutelsat faces when dealing with these issues.

 

De Rosen: Intentional jamming has become an increasingly visible issue in recent years. We, and international Farsi channels such as BBC Persian, have become a deliberate target since May 2009. Since then, we have been active in a number of arenas. Working with channels that are being jammed has been and remains a clear priority to assess what alternatives we can offer them. Secondly, we have been working with the European Satellite Operator’s Association (ESOA) to increase awareness and build a consensus by the industry that this is an unacceptable practice. Thirdly, we have been speaking to government executives in a number of countries, not only in France, to expose the situation and the fact that this sort of jamming is a political issue that needs a political answer. Finally, we have been working on technological improvements that will make satellites more immune to wilful interference. We are taken aback by comments that are misleading and significantly disconnected from reality, suggesting for example that Eutelsat is generating interference to its own satellites in order to prevent reception of international Farsi channels. Nothing is further from reality. There is clearly high emotion around issues involving Iran that has led to misrepresentation. It was time for us to make a public statement for the record on the current situation and what we are fighting for.

 

De Rosen: I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t tell you when this situation will significantly improve. One improvement that I have seen is that this topic is getting more attention than it was even a year ago from government officials and the media.

    From a regulatory perspective, I believe the WRC in January will be a good opportunity to increase awareness and try to shape an international consensus on what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. We also see higher recognition by government officials that this is a political issue way beyond the scope of broadcasters and satellite operators. We should not give up because this is a difficult situation, and will remain active in our capacity as a satellite operator.

 

De Rosen: We have reported each incident to the ANFR, the French regulatory administration and international regulators, including the ITU, are clearly aware of the situation. I cannot assess to what extent these complaints have had an impact although we should never underestimate how this kind of effort, when repeated, can ultimately get through. I believe the most important thing is to generate what will hopefully become an accepted consensus to defeat deliberate jamming so that a country that would be tempted to do it will face significant and tangible international opposition.

 

De Rosen: I am confident that technology will continue to evolve to combat deliberate interference with a network. On a broader scale, Eutelsat is actively developing solutions and procedures to address both intentional and unintentional interference. This has driven the Carrier ID initiative, which will be integrated into transmission parameters for all SNG transmissions and all new DVB transmissions by June 2012. In the event of an incident it will enable us to more efficiently identify transmissions to our satellites and accelerate coordination with Earth station operators. This is part of a global initiative which aims to safeguard satellite services and is supported by the global broadcast community, the satellite industry and through three international associations: the World Broadcasting Unions-International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG), the GVF and the satellite Interference Reduction Group (sIRG).

 

De Rosen: It is obviously a major concern for us and for our customers. It absorbs time and requires tenacity but since we believe it is an essential issue and our duty towards our clients, we are prepared to spend energy and time on this matter.

 

De Rosen: We have an ongoing dispute with Iran regarding orbital rights in the geostationary arc. After careful investigation of the subject, the ITU’s Bureau of Radiocommunications cancelled an Iranian satellite filing in July 2010. Although this filing was widely recognized as having lost its validity under the ITU rules, Iran appealed, with the astonishing claim that one of our own Eutelsat satellites operating at an adjacent position had been used to maintain the validity of the filing. The appeals body of the ITU has not yet been able to generate a clear resolution on this issue. This is of great concern, not only to Eutelsat but also to our Qatari partner ictQatar, with whom we are investing in the Eurobird 2A satellite.

    Beyond this immediate concern, we are not alone in believing that accommodating the Iranian position risks setting a precedent which would undo the significant progress made by the ITU, under the leadership of its Secretary General, in rationalizing the process of managing the rights of satellites in the geostationary arc. It would also undermine the needs of an industry that requires regulatory stability in order to secure very high upfront investment.