A satellite-focussed panel at CASBAA in Singapore heard a slew of critics grumble at the Intelsat and SES joint proposal for the use of some C-band frequencies over the US.

Roger Tong, CEO at AsiaSat, was highly critical, saying that the proposal was selling out the industry. Another vocal critic was Huang Baoshand EVP at APT Satellite (of Hong Kong) who told delegates that the proposals were a disaster for the satellite industry. He suggested, not unreasonably, that other countries would follow the Intelsat and SES lead, and that this would be a major threat to the satellite industry’s C-band capacity around the world.

Much of the world’s Africa, Asian and Far East capacity is based on C-band frequencies because of its resilience to rain fade and handling DTH signals through heavy tropic rains.

Jim Simpson, CEO at ABS argued that C-band was far from a luxury in his markets, where it was a real necessity for satellite delivery to consumers.

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