ORIGINAL Before the FEDERAL COh/lMUNlCATlONS COMMIS SlON Washington, DC 20554 Intelsat North America LLC, PaIIAmSat Licensee Corp., and PailAniSat H-2 Licensee Corp. Annual Satellite Status Report FILED/ACCEPTED 1 1 JUN 3 0 2008 REQUEST FOR COn’FIDENTId4L TREA4TMENT Intejsat Noi-th America LLC? PanAniSat Licensee Corp. and PailAniSat H-2 Licensee COI-p. (collectively, “Intelsat”) respectfully request that: pursuaiit to Sections 0.457 and 0.459 of the Colnlnjssjon’s Rules: the Commission wj~lihold from public inspection and accord co~ifjde~1tia] tl-eatlnent to portions of the enclosed Aixiual Satellite Status Report (“Report”).’ Specifjcally, Intelsat requests confidential treatment of Part 2 of the Report, which contains uns&edu] ed transponder out age infonn at i on, Part 3, which con t aim transponder utilization tables for a]] in-ohit satellites, and Part 4, which contains information on transponders not available for service or transponders not performing within specifications. Parts 2, 3 and 4 of the Report contain commercially sensitive information that falls within Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”).2 Exemption 4 allows parties to ~ithhold from public information “trade secrets and coininercial or fi~iancial information obtained from any person and privileged or confidential- categories of in ate rial^ not routinely available for public inspe~tion.”~ Applying Exemption 4, ~~ ~ 47 C.F.R. $0 0.457,0.459. See 5 U.S.C. 9 552(b)(4); 47 C.F.R. 0 0.457(d). Id. I 2 3 1 t]ie Courts I~ave stated that coin~~iei-cial or fiii~i~ial infoi-ination is confidential if its djsclosure \vj]] 133ye ejther of the follo~%~g effects: (1) hnpairs the govem~nent’s ability to obtain necessary j]~foj-]n3tj011 in the future; or (2) causes subst3ntial hal-in to the competitive position of the person f1-0~21 v,.]ioin the infori~~~tio~~ was 0bt3ined.~ Fixed salellite service space station operators I-OU t j 17 el y re qu est con fi d en t i 31 ti-e 3 tin e13 t of transponder out 3 ge and uti I i za t j on inform at ion col~i3ji7ed in their Reports 2nd the COJI~~SS~OII has \vi~hheld such ii~forination from public ii~spection. 5 Section 0.457(d)(2) of the Coninijssion’s I-des allo\vs persons subinjtting materials that t]iey u.js]~ wj~liheld froin public inspectjon in accordmce with Section 552(b)(4) to file a request for ~~~~~-d~s~losu~-e.~ The ~-equirements go~;erning such requests are set foi-th in Section 0.459(b). 11.1 accol-dmce wit11 the specifjcntjons delineated in that rule, Xntelsat hereby submits the fol I 0 141 i 12 g : 1. Jdcntificatio~~ of Specific Inforn~alion for Which Confidenlial Treatinent is Sought (Section 0.459(b)( 1)) I~itelsat seeks confidential treatment of the information contained in Parts 2, 3 and 4 of its Report. Part 2 of the Report contains information about any unscheduled transponder outages ]astj,,g 30 miiiutes or inore. Part 3 of the Report contaiiis transponder utilization information for a]] of Intelsat’s in-orbit sat ellit es. Part 4 of the Report contains information on transponders not available for service or not operating within parameters. These parts contain commercially sensitive information that falls within Exemption 4 of FOIA. 4 See Narioi?al Parks arld Coizseri*ation Ass’n 11. Morton, 498 F.2d 765,770 (D.C. Cir. 1974) (footnote omitted); see also Critical Mass Eiiergj. Project v. NRC, 975 F.2d 871, S79-SO (D.C. Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 954 (I 993). 5 Coiporatioii Aiiiiiral Srarits Report (filed July 2, 2001). See, e.g., Loral Space & Coi7117~~~17icatioizs Lrd. Aiiiiiral Starus Repori (filed June 30, 2000); PaizArnSat 47 C.F.R. 0 0.457(d)(2). 6 2 2. Des c I- i 11 t i o 11 of Ci 1- ~11111 s t 311 c es G i \-i 11 g R is e 1 o t 11 e S u b 111 is s i o n (Sect io ii 0.3 5 9 (b)( 2)) JiiteIsat is filing the in st fin^ Report ~UI-SU~ to Section 25.2 I 0(1)7, wliich requires a11 fixed satelljte seri-ice space station opei-3101-s to file on June 30 of each year a I-eport with the J171er1~atjoi~al Bureau cant aiiiiiig: (1) the status of satellite co~i~ti-uctioii and anticipated launch dates; (2) a listing of any non-scl~eduJed ti-msponder outages Jastjng 30 inii~utes or more; 2nd (3) a detailed description of ti-ansponder utjlization of each in-orbit satellite. 3. Esplmatioi~ of the Degree to \Yhich the Jnfo~-mation is Comniei-cia1 or Fii~ancial, or Cont3iiis a Trade Secrei or is Pi-ii-ileged (Sect ioii 0.359(b)(3)) p31-t~ 2, 3 aid 4 of the Repoi-1 cont ai12 sensitive coi~in~ei-cial inforination that coinpetitors could use to hit elsat's disad~anta~e. The courts ha\~e @\.en rlie tei-ins "coi~~nie~-cjal" aid "fii~3iicja1," as used in Section 552(b)(4), tlleir oi-diim-y i~e~niiigs.~ The Coininissio~~ has b 1-0 3 d 1 y d e f i 17 e d c 0177 171 er c i a 1 j n f oi-ii~ at i on s t at i 17 g 111 at ' ' ' [ c] onin7 erc i a1 ' i s bi-o 3 der t h an - j I~~OI-I~ at j oli I-e g- a rdj1i g_l~a~~C_comin erc j 3 1-0 p ei-ai i on s . c u cli- as 5 a I es-3jnJ p 1-0 f i t s ;,j_t i ji cl udes j~iforlnatio~i about work pel-foi-med for the pui-pose of conducting a business's coininercial q~ei-atjo~is."~ The ti-ansponder utjliz3tio11 table contains detailed information about leased t~-a~ispoiider capacity and the aiiiount of transponder capacity available for sale aboard each s 31 e 1 I it e. Th i s i s s a I e s i 11 form a ti on cl e 31-1 y 147 i t li i n t h e d e fi 11 i ti on of "c om in erc i a1 ." C om p e t j t ors could use this iiifonnatjon, as well as inforination about my unscl-~eduled transponder outages and malfunct~oii.ing transponders, to ei11mce their market position at hitelsat's expense. -~ 47 C.F.R. 0 25.2 I O(1). 7 8 See Bd. of Tmde v. Comn~odity Fi.rri4i-es Ti-adirig Coinin'n, 627 F.2d 392, 403 & n.78 (D.C. Cir. 19SO) 9 1 S60 (1 99s) (bfeniormdum Opinion 2nd Order) (citing PirBIic Cirirei~ HeaIrh Research groiip v. FDA, 704 F.2d 12S0,1290 (D.C. Cir. 1983)). Soirrl~ein Coiiiyniq. Reqiresi for \Vai\.er of Secrioii 90.629 of the Commission 's Rirles, 14 FCC Rcd I 85 1, 3 >J ore o\; er, 113 e t 1-9 1’3 s p 011 d e r i 11 foi-in a t i 017 137 e et s both de fi 17 it i on s of “con fi de 171 i a1 .” Fi I-s t , a decision to not treat this ii~fo~inatior~ 3s coiifideiitial could affect the COI~I~I~SS~OII’S ability to obt ai11 necess3ry iiifoi-1113tioi1 in he future. Although this inforn~ation is required by Section 25.2 IO(]): spxe s~ation opei-ntol-s 177ay be ~-elucrant to provide such detailed transponder iiifoi-ii73ti011 if jt is not accorded coi~fjdei~tjal ti-eainxnt. Second, 3s explained in delail in Section 5: I-elease of this ti-ai~sponder infoi-inat ion could result in subs~aiitial competitive 11a1-m. S ub si 31’11 i a 1 c o rqe t j t i 013 ex j c t s j 11 t 11 e 1 e 1 e c 01’17 11’1 u 17 j c 31 ions s 3 1 e I I j I e i 1’1 du st r-y . 0 t 11 er- pl a yers jij the geostatjoi~x~~~ fixed s31ellire sei-\.ice iix~i-ket include SES Ai~~ei-jcoin~ Eulelsat and Telesat, 57-- - Explanation of 13ow Disclosui-e-of-the I~ifoi-~~~a~ioii Could-Result iii Subs~aii~ial Co 117 pet iti 17 e Ha r 111 (Sect io 11 0.4 5 9 (b) (5)) As explained briefly in Section 3, i-elease of the ti-ai~sponder utilization and tr-aiisponder outage and ina1fui~ction reports could Im7e 3 sjgiiificant impact on Intelsat’s coininercial operations. If coinpetitors or custoinei-s had access to this informatjon, it could negatively affect I11t e] s at’ s future 17 e got j at i 011s w i th p o t e17 t j a 1 a 11 d e >I i s t i 1’1 g cu SI oin e rs . S p ec i f i c a 11 y , c 0177 pet it ors c~3O1nk1-s could use ihe ti-ansponder capacity and outige and inalfui7Cfion information to -- - ~iegotjate inoi-e favoi-able leasing tei-ins. In addition, coinpetitors could use ‘this infoi-in;ition to develop InaIket and business sti-ategies to negati\7ely affect Intelsat’s future business plans. 4 J~itelsat limjts access to die ti-aiisponder capcity and outase and n~alfunction jnformatjon is not 1-ele3sed to the ~eneral public. 8. Jus1ificstion of Period During \'l'hich the Submitting Par137 Asserts that the Malerial Should Sot be .4uilable for Public Disclosure (Section 0.359(b)(S)) 1171 el sat res yectful I y 1-e qu esis 117 3 1 the Comm j s s ion w~tlil~ol d the trans pond er ut il jza t ion 313d outage and n7alfunctioi1 i11forn~3tioii from public inspect~on for fifteen years. The c 0117 in el-c i 31 I y s ens j ti v e u 17 t i I a s 31 e 11 it e i s d ec oiiim i s s i on ed . - - - -- -. - - . ___Respectfully submitted, Intelsat North America LLC, PanAinSat Licensee Corp, and PanAinSat H-2 Licensee Corp. __ _- ._ __- - -- - __ __-- - -_-- Jennifer I>. I-Jindin WLEY REIN LLP 1776 K Street, N.W. \I7ashington, DC 20006-2304 202.7 19.7000 T1i eir A t t oi-i'i e y Dated: June 30, 2008 5 INTELSAT NORTH AhIERICA LLC, PANAMSAT LICENSEE CORP. AND PANAMSAT 1'1-2 LICENSEE CORP. ANNUAL SATELLITE STATUS REPORT TO THE FEDERAL COh4h'lUS1CAT10NS COhlh'IlSSlON (Data as of May 31, 2008) June 30,2008 INTELSAT NORTH AMERICA LLC, PANAh3SAT LlCENSEE CORP. AND PANAMSAT 1-11-2 LICENSEE CORP. Part 1 Status of Satellite Construction Galaxy 19 The Galaxy 19 spacecraft is a C/Ku-band satellite with 24 C-band and 28 Ku-band cliannels under construction by Space Systeins/Loral. The spacecraft was taken out of storage at the elid of May 2008 in preparation for a launch in September 2008 on a Sea Launch vehicle. Intelsat 14 In January 2007, Intelsat contracted with Space Systems Loral for the construction of the Intelsat 14 spacecraft. This is a C/Ku-band satellite with 40 C-band and 22 Ku-band channel s . The coiitractor successfully coinpleted the System Critical Design Review in November 2007. Integration of the coii~inunication inodule started in early 2008 and will be coinpleted in June 2008. Spacecraft level theniial vacuum tests and dynamics tests are currently planned for the third and fourth quai-ter of 2008, respectively. Tlie satellite is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2009, followed by a launch in the second or third quarter of 2009 on an Atlas launch vehicle. Intelsat 15 In March 2007, Intelsat contracted with Orbital Sciences Corporation for the construction of the Intelsat 15 spacecraft. This is a Ku-band satellite with 22 Ku-band channels. The System Preliminary Design Review and System Critical Design Review were held in August 2007 and February 2008, respectively. Payload and bus integration started in the first quarter of 2008. Initial reference perfonnance tests are currently planned for third quarter 2008, followed by spacecraft level environmental tests in the foui-th quarter. The satellite is expected to be coinpleted in the first quai-ter of 2009, followed by a launch in the second quarter of 2009 on a Land Launch vehicle. Intelsat 16 In February 2007, Iiitelsat Contracted with Orbital Sciences Corporation for the coiistruction of the Intelsat 16 spacecraft. Tlie spacecraft was originally designed as a replacement to Iiitelsat 11 (Ku-band payload only) in the case of a failure of the IS 11 spacecraft during 1 aunch or early coininissioning. Following the successful launch of 2 Intelsat 1 1, Intelsat contracted with Orbital Sciences to modify the satellite payload to c any 2 4 a c t i v e Ku - b a 11 d t ran s p o n d er s . The contractor successfi~lly completed System Critical Design Review in May 2007. Completion of the satellite is foreseen for the fourth quarter of 2009, with a launch at the end of 2009 on a Land Launch vehicle. 3 Part 2 ;17 on- S ch c d 11 1 e d T 1- a 11 s p on d c I- 0 u 1 3 ges 4 mines Proprietary hfomation Deleted 5