Satellite Notification

All satellites must be 'notified' or registered with the ITU for international treaty reasons related to the management of mutual interference. Only national administrations recognised by the ITU can do this. The Australian Administration, represented at the ITU by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, ACMA, is under no obligation to do this for any entity, but it may be willing to provide this service to satellite operators who meet certain criteria and are willing to pay the associated charges.

The action of notifying a satellite incurs some serious on-going responsibilities for the notifying administration. The ACMA has indicated that it will not undertake these responsibilities unless it is totally convinced that there are real benefits for Australia. In order to reach such a decision, the Authority will consider a submission from the operator addressing its published criteria,

An agreement for Australia to file a satellite cannot be taken for granted because each case will be considered by the ACMA members at a formal meeting where a determination will be made based on likely real benefits to Australia. 

If the outcome is positive then  the ACMA will proceed to file the satellite with the Radiocommunications Bureau of the International Telecommunications Union. The Authority currently charges a flat fee of A$13,200 for considering an application. This is payable in advance of the decision and is non refundable regardless of the decision made.

After agreeing that it will file the system, the ACMA will insist on negotiating a deed of agreement which will give it the legal power to force the operator to take on any actions that may be necessary to manage interference with other services. 

Spectrumwise can assist its clients in making the necessary submissions to ACMA to convince the Board of the regulator to file a satellite.  It will also assist  in negotiating a favourable deed and prepare the necessary Advanced Notice for the ITU and submit it in the appropriate electronic format.

SpectrumWise has been successful in convincing the ACMA to notify a number of satellites on behalf of both Australian and Foreign clients.

The next step is to prepare the filing document for the ITU. This process is now entirely performed electronically through using certain ITU software packages. This is a complicated technical process in which errors may lead to additional fees, or the filing being rejected.