Washington, D.C. May 13, 2011 – The Satellite Industry Association (SIA) applauds the release by the Departments of Defense, State, and Commerce of an interim report that assesses the national security impact of reforming United States export control policy for satellites. Congress requested the Report in Section 1248 of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act.
The interim Section 1248 Report found that the national security risk of transferring commercial communications satellites to the Commerce Control List is manageable. The Report further recommended that “U.S. national security interests would be best served by vesting the President with the authority to develop flexible and timely responses” to technological changes.
“The result of careful and expert analysis, this interim Section 1248 Report highlights the need to reform our outmoded approach to regulating exports of satellite items,” said SIA President, Patricia Cooper. “Taken together with the National Space Policy and the National Security Space Strategy, the Section 1248 Report underscores the importance of satellite export control reform to ensure both U.S. national security and the satellite sector’s competitiveness. SIA and our members look forward to the release of the full Report this Fall and to our ongoing work with Congress and the Administration to advance its underlying recommendations.”
Satellites are the only industrial sector for which Congress has mandated export control policy through legislation. More than a decade ago, Congress passed legislation that required that all satellites, satellite components, associated technical data, and related ground equipment be traded as munitions. Since then, U.S. market share of satellite exports has seen a significant decline, prompting concerns by industry leaders and government officials alike about the impact of export control policies on the health of the underlying space industrial base supporting commercial, military and intelligence space sectors.
ABOUT SATELLITE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION:
SIA is a U.S.-based trade association providing worldwide representation of the leading satellite operators, service providers, manufacturers, launch services providers, and ground equipment suppliers. Since its creation fifteen years ago, SIA has become the unified voice of the U.S. satellite industry on policy, regulatory, and legislative issues affecting the satellite business. SIA Executive Members include: Artel, Inc.; The Boeing Company; CapRock Communications, Inc.; The DIRECTV Group; Hughes Network Systems, LLC; DBSD North America, Inc.; EchoStar Satellite Services L.L.C.; Integral Systems, Inc.; Intelsat, Ltd.; Iridium Communications Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation.; Loral Space & Communications, Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corporation; Rockwell Collins Government Systems; SES WORLD SKIES; SkyTerra Communications, Inc; and TerreStar Networks, Inc. SIA Associate Members include: Arqiva Satellite and Media; ATK Inc.; Cisco; Cobham SATCOM Land Systems; Comtech EF Data Corp.; DRS Technologies, Inc.; Eutelsat, Inc.; GE Satellite; Globecomm Systems, Inc.; Glowlink Communications Technology, Inc.; iDirect Government Technologies; Inmarsat, Inc.; Marshall Communications Corporation.; Orbital Sciences Corporation; Panasonic Avionics Corporation; Segovia, Inc.; Spacecom, Ltd.; Spacenet Inc.; Stratos Global Corporation; TeleCommunication Systems, Inc.; Telesat Canada; Trace Systems, Inc.; and ViaSat, Inc. Additional information about SIA can be found at http://www.sia.org.
