“Paper satellites” and the free use of outer space

Theorbit location spectrum resource is the main source of value for the growingsatellite industry.

[i] Due to its position in relation to the Earth,the most craved orbital slots are those in the GSO.[ii]In this context, this resource has a dual nature, as its value can be realizedonly through the simultaneous use of both the orbital location and theelectromagnetic spectrum.[iii]The laws of physics cannot be bent by the will of States, and thus, if twodifferent transmissions are made in the same geographic area at the samefrequency, they will interfere with each other resulting in deterioration oreven loss of signal.

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[iv] Thisis where the role of the ITU comes in.[v]By coordinating frequencies between operators of neighboring satellitenetworks, it aims at ensuring that no satellite system interferes with anotherby operating on the same radio frequency in the same orbital position.[vi]The demand for satellite based telecommunication services increased in the past25 years, and so has the demand for frequency spectrum usage.[vii]Where there was once an orbital separation between two satellite frequencies ofover 3 degrees, many satellites are now operating at a less than 2 degreesseparation, thus increasing the risk of interference between the twofrequencies.[viii]The orbital resources of the GSO have become more and more saturated, almostreaching the value of “prime real estate”[ix],its scarce nature triggering a race amongst States to obtain a spot on orbit.Due to the “first-come, first-served” system of allocation of the ITU[x],States which do not have a chance in the near future to send a satellite oftheir own into outer space, have turned to a method of reserving a spot in theGSO, in the hope that it will be brought into use in the future.

As thepractice of advanced filing blocks the orbital slot without effectively usingit, such a practice infringes both the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty[xi][herein after: OST] and of the ITU Radio Regulations[xii][herein after: RR]. These satellites, that are to take their spot in orbit,usually never materialize; they remain only as a request on paper, and thustheir name “paper satellites”.[xiii][i] Maria Buzdugan, Recent Challenges Facing the Management ofRadio Frequencies and Orbital Resources Used by Satellites, IAC-10-E7.5.3,p.

2.[ii]The geostationary orbitis located approximately 35,786 km above the Earth’s equator, with a radius of42,164 km. When a satellite is placed into such an orbit, because it revolvesat the same rate as the Earth, it appears motionless when regarded from theground.

As a consequence, the transmission from the satellite will always beover the same area. See Michael J. Finch, LimitedSpace: Allocating the Geostationary Orbit, 7 Nw. J.

Int’l L. & Bus.(1986), p. 789. [iii]Martin A. Rothblatt, Satellite Communication and SpectrumAllocation, (1982) 76(1) Am.

J. of Int’l. L., p. 56.[iv] Roscoe M. Moore, Business-Driven Negotiations for SatelliteSystem Coordination: Reforming the International Telecommunication Union toIncrease Commercially Oriented Negotiations over Scarce Frequency Spectrum,(1999) 65 J.

Air L. & Com., p. 56.[v]The ITU was establishedin 1865 to facilitate and regulate the interconnection and interoperability ofnational telegraph networks.

Over the years, the Union’s mandate has expandedto cover the invention of voice telephony, the development ofradiocommunications, the launch of the first communications satellites, andmost recently, the telecommunications-based information age.  Along the way, ITU’s structure and activitieshave evolved and adapted to meet the needs of this changing mandate. At themoment, The ITU membership includes hundreds of private-sector organizations,as well as 193 States. See History of ITU Portal available at

int/en/history/Pages/DiscoverITUsHistory.aspx>.[vi]See RadiocommunicationSector (ITU-R), available at .[vii] The “massive overfilling is due to a number offactors including the realization of the growing economic value of the scarcespectrum and orbital resource”, Scrambling for Space in Space, ITUPlenipotentiary to Tackle ‘Paper Satellite’ Problem, ITU Press Release, 16September 2002,

itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2002/21.html>.[viii] Committee on thePeaceful Uses of Outer Space, Scientific and Technical Subcommittee,Forty-ninth session, Actual situation in the Geostationary Orbit, 6-17 February2012, A/AC.105/C.1/2012/CRP.

25; List of Satellites in Geostationary Orbit, ;Paper Satellites: A Puzzle for the Industry, Satellite Today, 10 January 2010,.[ix]Paper Tigers: TheScramble for Space Spectrum, ITU PP-02 Newsroom,

int/newsarchive/pp02/media_information/feature_satellite.html>.[x]Presentation at the ITURadiocommunication Bureau Workshop on the Efficient Use of the Spectrum/OrbitResource, Geneva, 6 May 2009, The International Telecommunication Union .[xi]Treaty on PrinciplesGoverning the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, 27 January 1967, 18 U.

S.T. 2410,T.I.A.S.

No. 6347, 610 U.N.T.S.

205.[xii]ITU Radio Regulations,2012 edition

int/pub/R-REG-RR-2012>.[xiii] There is an opinion thatthe name paper satellites is not the most appropriate one as the situation of asatellite which is waiting to be allocated a slot is similar to that of a’paper satellite’. Paper Satellites: A Puzzle for the Industry, SatelliteToday, 10 January 2010, .

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