This article is more than 1 year old

NBNCo shoots down Turnbull's satellite argument

Quotes ITU to prove all's well

Refutes Turnbull's assertion of unusual risk NBNCo has moved to extinguish Malcolm Turnbull's argument, raised at a Public Hearing of the Joint Committee into the National Broadband Network, that its decision to commission satellites before securing an orbit for them represents an unconventional and risky practice.

NBNCo has done so with a statement (PDF) that quotes a statement from the International Telecommunications Union as saying:

"It is possible for a company to purchase a satellite in advance of it being put into use and the orbital slots being finalised. In order to secure those slots the notifying authority, which in Australia is the Australian Communications and Media Authority, needs to (a) initialise the registration procedure with the ITU, and (b) resolve any major compatibility issues with operators of neighbouring satellites. So long as there are no regional objections and the ITU registration process is underway an operator can proceed with its launch plans."

Bill Hope, a former Optus and Singtel executive and now a consultant to NBNCo, which says he is an “internationally acknowledged expert consultants in the field”, said "The ITU statement refutes utterly the suggestion that NBN Co is taking 'highly unusual risks' by signing contracts to build and launch satellites 'without securing their orbital parking spots first'. Anyone suggesting otherwise either does not understand the process or is being disingenuous.”

Malcolm Turnbull has not updated his blog or made a public comment on the NBNCo statement. ®

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