The Mexican Secretary of Communications and Transportation (Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT)), The Mexican Federal Telecommunications Commission (Comision Federal de Telecomunicaciones (Cofetel)) and Satelites Mexicanos, S.A. de C.V. (Satmex) said last week that they have initiated a new round of negotiations with Industry Canada and the Canadian satellite operator, Telesat. The negotiations are directed toward a new coordination agreement for fixed satellite services between the two countries.
The sources indicated that the meetings being held on the 16th and 17th of January in Mexico are a continuation of the negotiation process that has taken place between the Mexican government, Satmex and the two Canadian institutions for more than a year.
The objective of the discussions is to arrive at an agreement that replaces the one signed in May of 2000. These negotiations have accelerated as a result of the premature and unexpected failure, in August of 2000, of Satmex’s Solidaridad I satellite, which will soon be replaced by the new Satmex 6 satellite.
Renegotiation of satellite coordination agreements is a common practice in the industry when a satellite reaches its end of life and is replaced by a more modern one. It is also a common industry practice that the respective governments are involved in these negotiations, as well as the operators, because the governments ultimately ratify the agreements.
In June, 2002, the administrations of Mexico and Canada established that the process to arrive at a new coordination agreement would be carried out by the Mexican and Canadian satellite operators, under the direction and with the participation of their respective administrations.
Satmex 6 is in the final phases of construction and is currently undergoing testing to guarantee its operational capabilities. The launch is expected to take place in the third quarter of this year. This date, however, is subject to change depending upon the satisfactory completion of final testing and construction details.
