PUBLIC NOTICE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET N.W. WASHINGTON, DC 20554 __________________________________________________ News media Information 202/418-0500. Recorded listing of releases and texts 202/418-2222. Report No. SPB-34 January 24, 1996 SATELLITE POLICY BRANCH INFORMATION: The applications listed below have been found, upon initial review, to be acceptable for filing. The Commission reserves the right to return any of the applications if, upon further examination, it is determined the application is not in conformance with the Commission's Rules or its policies. Petitions, oppositions and other pleadings filed in response to this notice should conform to Section 25.154 of the Commission's rules, unless otherwise noted. 47 C.F.R.  25.154. Columbia Communications, Inc. File No. 3-SAT-P/LA-96 Columbia Communications, Inc. has filed an application for authority to construct, launch and operate a C-band satellite at 47 W.L. as part of its international communications satellite system. Columbia proposes to operate the satellite, designated COLUMBIA- ATL-47W, on a non-common carrier basis. The proposed satellite will have two distinct fixed coverage beams: the West Atlantic beam will cover primarily North and Central America, including the Caribbean Region, with secondary coverage of South America; and the East Atlantic beam will cover primarily Western Europe and North Africa, with secondary coverage of the remaining visible part of Africa. In addition, there will be two steerable C-band spot beams with both transmit and receive capability. GE American Communications, Inc. File No. 18/19-SAT-P/LA-96 20-SAT-P-96 GE American Communications, Inc. (GE Americom) has filed an application to construct, launch and operate a satellite system consisting of two "Extended" Ku-band communications satellites and one ground spare. GE Americom proposes to operate the GE-8 satellite at 85 W.L. and the GE-9 satellite at 87 W.L. in the 13.75-14.0 and 11.45- 11.7 GHz frequency bands (commonly referred to as the Extended Ku-band). Each satellite will be equipped with sixteen 27 MHz 220 watt Ku-band transponders. The GE- 10 satellite will be constructed as a ground spare. GE Americom proposes to offer international video distribution and other services in the Western Hemisphere, on a non- common carrier basis. TRW Inc. File No. 33-SAT-AMEND-96 TRW Inc. has filed an amendment to its license modification application regarding its "Big LEO" satellite system. TRW is proposing technical amendments to bring its system into conformance with the Final Acts of WRC-95. In particular, TRW is requesting feeder link frequencies of 29.1-29.4 GHz (LHCP) for Earth-to-space transmissions, and 19.3-19.6 GHz (RHCP) for space-to-Earth transmissions; on-station TT&C frequencies of 29101.00 ñ 1.0 MHz (Earth-to-space) and 19341.5 ñ 1.1 MHz (space-to- Earth); and primary transfer-orbit TT&C spectrum of 5231.18 MHz ñ 1 MHz (Earth-to-space) and 7063.52 MHz ñ 1.1 MHz (space-to-Earth). In addition, TRW is requesting authority to construct transfer-orbit TT&C capacity at 5233.38 ñ 1 MHz (Earth-to-space) and 7066.49 ñ 1.1 MHz (space-to-Earth) for redundancy purposes only. Hughes Communications Galaxy, Inc. File No. 34-SAT-AMEND-96 Hughes Communications Galaxy, Inc. has filed an amendment to its pending application to construct, launch and operate a hybrid FSS/BSS international geostationary satellite system known as GALAXY/SPACEWAY. By this amendment, Hughes is seeking authority to construct, launch and operate a satellite system at the 132 E.L. orbital location that will perform communications in the BSS Ku-bands -- 11.7-12.2 GHz (downlink) and 17.3-17.8 GHz (uplink). Hughes filed an amendment in September 1995 which requested authority to construct, launch and operate a satellite in the BSS Ku-band at 125 E.L. On the same date that the United States submitted a request to the ITU to modify the BSS plan at 125 E.L., another administration submitted a similar request for the 126 E.L. location. Hughes states it is filing the instant amendment to provide sufficient flexibility to allow it to resolve the possible conflict at 125 and to ensure the continued ability to provide adequate Ku-band BSS coverage of China. GE American Communications, Inc. File No. 35-SAT-STA-96 On November 22, 1995, GE Americom filed a request for Special Temporary Authority to continue operating its SATCOM K-1 satellite beyond its ten-year license term. SATCOM K-1 was placed into service January 28, 1986. GE Americom is seeking the maximum statutory period of six months to continue to provide service over SATCOM K-1. GE American Communications, Inc. File No. 36-SAT-STA-96 On November 22, 1995, GE Americom filed a request for Special Temporary Authority to continue operating its SATCOM K-2 satellite beyond its ten-year license term. SATCOM K-2 was placed into service December 19, 1985. GE Americom is seeking the maximum statutory period of six months to continue to provide service over SATCOM K-2. Volunteers In Technical Assistance File No. 40-SAT-P/LA-96 Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) has filed a "notification" to inform the Commission of its intention to launch VITASAT-1R, a technically identical replacement for VITASAT-1, which was destroyed in a launch failure. In addition, VITA requests that milestones for its first satellite be amended to give VITA twelve months to complete construction of VITASAT-1R and eighteen months to launch VITASAT-1R. VITA indicates that the VITASAT-1R satellite will be provided pursuant to an agreement with Final Analysis, Inc. CTA Commercial Systems, Inc. File No. 46-SAT-AMEND-96 CTA Commercial Systems, Inc. has filed an amendment to its pending application to construct, launch and operate a Non-Voice, Non-Geostationary Mobile Satellite System. CTA is proposing to utilize the 455-456 MHz and 459-460 MHz frequency bands for its primary communications payload, instead of the 148-150.5 MHz band requested in its application. In addition, CTA is proposing to utilize the 148-150.5 MHz and 137-138 MHz frequency bands for its secondary communications payload, instead of the 312-315 MHz and 387-390 MHz requested in its application. These amendments are made in response to the frequencies allocated to MSS systems at the International Telecommunication Union's 1995 World Radio Conference. COMSAT Mobile Communications File No. 32-SAT-LA-96 COMSAT Corporation, through its COMSAT Mobile Communications division, has filed an application for authority to participate in the launch and in-orbit testing of the Inmarsat-3 (F-1) satellite. It is anticipated that the F-1 satellite will be launched in February 1996 and will be located at 64 E.L. * * * * * * * * * * EchoStar Satellite Corporation File No. 37-SAT-STA-96 EchoStar Satellite Corporation has filed a minor amendment to its request for Special Temporary Authority to test 16 odd-numbered channels of its eastern satellite By this amendment, EchoStar is requesting authority to operate all of these channels on a temporary basis until its regular authorization is approved by the Commission. See Request for Removal of Conditions, Minor Modification and Issuance of Launch Authority, File No. 15-SAT-MP/ML-96. The STA request was granted on January 11, 1996. See EchoStar Satellite Corporation, STA File No. 22-SAT-STA-96, DA 96-10 (released January 16, 1996). Comments or oppositions may be filed on or before February 5, 1996. Responses may be filed on or before February 12, 1996. * * * * * * INFORMATIVE: Three file numbers were incorrectly referenced on three separate orders. The corrections follow: Referenced Corrected Case Name DA No. Release Date File No. File No. Direct Broadcasting DA 95-2439 December 8, 1995 129-SAT-EXT-95 126-SAT-EXT-95 Satellite Corporation EchoStar Satellite DA 96-5 January 11, 1996 131-SAT-EXT-95 129-SAT-EXT-95 Corporation Directsat Corporation DA 96-6 January 11, 1996 130-SAT-EXT-95 131-SAT-EXT-95 * * * * * Becky and Daniel Kraegel File No. 41-SAT-DR-96 Becky and Daniel Kraegel filed a Request a Declaratory Ruling that the regulations of Cherokee County, GA be preempted by the Commission's rule, 47 C.F.R.  25.104, in so far as they affect the installation of satellite antennas. The request was received December 8, 1995. - FCC -