EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) welcomes the intergovernmental decisions reached during the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) ensuring the availability of spectrum to provide video, television, broadband and data services over satellite. WRC-15 concluded deliberations on November 27 in Geneva.
“WRC-15’s outcome reflects the importance that the global community places on the role of the satellite industry in the communications marketplace,” said EchoStar CEO and President Michael Dugan. “There was a clear global mandate to ensure that satellite service providers have regulatory certainty to access the spectrum they need, as well as the operational flexibility to meet consumer demand for broadband services, including those that require mobility.”
WRC-15 also provided for the future, adopting several agenda items for upcoming WRC conferences that set the stage for the allocation of additional spectrum for broadband satellite services through the upcoming study cycles.
Dugan added, “We look forward to continuing to work within the ITU and with individual administrations to bring the benefits of broadband satellite services to consumers everywhere. The results of WRC-15 are particularly welcome as Hughes, the world’s largest satellite ISP, prepares for the 2016 launch of its latest high throughput satellite, EchoStar XIX, which will provide service in North America and in Latin America, as well the upcoming launch of Hughes’ first offering of mass market broadband satellite services in Brazil.”
Approximately 3300 participants, representing 162 out of the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) 193 Member States, attended the four-week conference. Held every three to four years, the WRC reviews, and, if necessary, revises the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.
About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite and video delivery solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its EchoStar Satellite Services, EchoStar Technologies and Hughes Network Systems business segments.
For more information, visit echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.
