European Telecommunications Satellite Organization

Last updated

European Telecommunications Satellite Organization
AbbreviationEutelsat IGO
Formation1977
Type Intergovernmental organisation
Headquarters Paris, France
Membership
49
Executive Secretary
 Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski (2017–present)
Predecessors
Christian Roisse (2005–2017)
Birgitta Näslund (2001–2005)
Website https://www.eutelsatigo.int

The European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Eutelsat IGO) is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of 49 member states. [1] It is headquartered in Paris, France. The mission of Eutelsat IGO is to maintain the rights to use radio frequencies and orbital locations which were assigned collectively to the Member States by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and to oversee the operations of Eutelsat S.A. so as to ensure that the company complies with the international Eutelsat Convention. [2] Eutelsat IGO plays an active role within the global telecommunications community and is a key actor in the satellite business sector.

Contents

History

The European Telecommunications Satellite Organization was created in 1977 on an interim basis by 17 European countries, members of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). Its purpose was to provide Europe with a satellite infrastructure for a wide range of telecommunications services. [3] [4] The Convention establishing the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization Eutelsat was opened for signature in July 1982 and entered into force on 1 September 1985. [5]

The main mission of Eutelsat was the design, development, construction, operation and maintenance of the space segment for international public telecommunications services in Europe. Eutelsat started by providing space segment capacity for basic telecommunications and audio-visual services and rapidly expanded its activities to the provision of services for analogue and digital television, radio broadcasting, business telecommunications, multimedia communications, messaging and positioning in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the American continent. [6]

Following the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector in Europe, the Eutelsat Member States decided in May 1999 to restructure the organisation. On 2 July 2001, all assets, liabilities and operational activities of the intergovernmental organisation were transferred to Eutelsat S.A., a private company established in Paris for this purpose. [6] The original Eutelsat Convention was amended with the agreement of the Member States and the amendments entered into force on a definitive basis on 28 November 2002. [2]

There is an agreement between Eutelsat IGO and Eutelsat S.A. for the use of the name Eutelsat. When written in capital letters and followed by IGO it refers to the international organisation while the companies of the Eutelsat Group write Eutelsat in small letters in order to avoid potential confusion. [6]

Purposes

Since its restructuring in 2001, the structure, role, mission and activities of Eutelsat IGO have evolved to reflect developments in the fields of regulation, technology and markets for Fixed Satellite Services. [7]

The primary purpose of Eutelsat IGO is to ensure that Eutelsat S.A. observes the Basic Principles set forth in Article III a) of the Amended Convention referring to public service/universal service obligations, pan European coverage by the satellite system, non-discrimination and fair competition. [2] This supervisory task is executed primarily through the participation of the Executive Secretary on the boards of directors of Eutelsat S.A. and its parent company Eutelsat Communications (Paris Stock Exchange symbol: ETL) as an observer (censeur). This gives him the right to obtain information and voice opinions without having the right to vote. [8]

Eutelsat IGO also ensures continuity of the rights to use radio frequencies of the ITU Radio regulations for the space segment which was transferred to Eutelsat S.A. [9]

Other key activities of Eutelsat IGO include ongoing monitoring of the regulatory environment in European countries and continued collaboration with other international organisations. Eutelsat IGO has the status of an International Organization Operating Satellite Systems (IOOSS) in all three sectors of the ITU and the Executive Secretary and Secretariat participate regularly in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) activities and events of relevance to the Organisation. Since June 2008, Eutelsat IGO has also held permanent Observer status with the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The current Executive Secretary of Eutelsat IGO is a Commissioner of the United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development [10] and the Organisation is actively advocating for the work undertaken by the commission. [11] The 2018 Report on the State of the Broadband issued in September 2018 featured a contribution from the satellite industry. [12]

Annual tripartite meetings are organised between the Heads of Eutelsat IGO, International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) and International Mobile Services Organization (IMSO) with a view to discuss matters of mutual interest and give further consideration for joint initiatives. [13] On 15 May 2019, Eutelsat IGO signed an Agreement on Cooperation with Intersputnik giving the two organisations a mutual observer status. [14] [15]  In addition, Eutelsat IGO holds Observer status in Regional Commonwealth (RCC) in the field of communications, an association of several former Soviet republics, which are now independent states. [16]

Structure

Eutelsat IGO consists of the Assembly of Parties to the Eutelsat Convention which meets ordinarily every two years and the Secretariat which is the permanent body of the Organisation. [17] The Secretariat is headed by the Executive Secretary who is appointed for a four-year mandate by and is responsible to the Eutelsat IGO Assembly of Parties. The Executive Secretary is the legal representative of Eutelsat IGO and an observer (censeur) on the Board of Directors of Eutelsat S.A. [18]

Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski of Poland was reelected to the post of Executive Secretary for a second term by the Assembly of Parties in March 2021. [19]

He succeeded Christian Roisse of France, Executive Secretary from 2005 to 2017, and Birgitta Näslund of Sweden, Executive Secretary from 2001 to 2005.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Telecommunication Union</span> Specialized agency of the United Nations

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, significantly predating the UN and making it the oldest UN agency. Doreen Bogdan-Martin is the Secretary-General of ITU, the first woman to serve as its head.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intelsat</span> Luxembourgish communications satellite services provider

Intelsat S.A. is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, from 1964 to 2001, it was an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international telecommunications and broadcast services.

Telecommunications in Poland include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Eutelsat S.A. is a French satellite operator. Providing coverage over the entire European continent, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Americas, it is the world's third-largest satellite operator in terms of revenues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ground station</span> Terrestrial radio station for communication with spacecraft

A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, or reception of radio waves from astronomical radio sources. Ground stations may be located either on the surface of the Earth, or in its atmosphere. Earth stations communicate with spacecraft by transmitting and receiving radio waves in the super high frequency (SHF) or extremely high frequency (EHF) bands. When a ground station successfully transmits radio waves to a spacecraft, it establishes a telecommunications link. A principal telecommunications device of the ground station is the parabolic antenna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Space Research Organisation</span> International organisation (1964-75); predecessor to the European Space Agency

The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964. As an organisation ESRO was based on a previously existing international scientific institution, CERN. The ESRO convention, the organisations founding document outlines it as an entity exclusively devoted to scientific pursuits. This was the case for most of its lifetime but in the final years before the formation of ESA, the European Space Agency, ESRO began a programme in the field of telecommunications. Consequently, ESA is not a mainly pure science focused entity but concentrates on telecommunications, earth observation and other application motivated activities. ESRO was merged with ELDO in 1975 to form the European Space Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space</span> United Nations committee

The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is a United Nations committee whose main task is to review and foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as to consider legal issues arising from the exploration of outer space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Liability Convention</span> 1972 treaty that expands on the liability rules in the Outer Space Treaty

The Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, also known as the Space Liability Convention, is a treaty from 1972 that expands on the liability rules created in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. In 1978, the crash of the nuclear-powered Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 in Canadian territory led to the only claim filed under the convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Intersputnik</span> International satellite communications services organization

The Intersputnik International Organization of Space Communications, commonly known as Intersputnik, is an international satellite communications services organization founded on 15 November 1971, in Moscow by the Soviet Union along with a group of eight formerly socialist states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Télécoms Sans Frontières</span>

Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) is an emergency technology non-governmental organization, which intervenes in the context of humanitarian crises, conflict zones and areas hit by natural disasters to set up satellite communication for the affected populations and humanitarian organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Registration Convention</span> 1974 United Nations treaty

The Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 and went into force in 1976. As of February 2022, it has been ratified by 72 states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International organization</span> Organization established by treaty between governments

An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and NATO. International organizations are composed of primarily member states, but may also include other entities, such as other international organizations, firms, and nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, entities may hold observer status. An alternative definition is that an international organization is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system.

South Centre is an intergovernmental organisation of developing nations, established by an intergovernmental agreement (treaty), which came into force on 31 July 1995, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It functions as an independent policy think tank, whilst also holding observer status at the United Nations and other development agencies.

Nurudin N. Mukhitdinov is a Tajikistani politician. Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Tajikistan from 1995 to 2003, he is the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC) Executive Committee Director General.

The Institute of Space and Telecommunications Law (IDEST) was founded in 2000 under the initiative of professionals in the space and telecommunication sectors. The institute is attached to the Interdisciplinary College of Research at the University of Paris-Sud. IDEST is made up of a number of lecturers, professors, PhD students, and researchers under the control of a scientific counsel composed of professors and key figures in the sectors involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houlin Zhao</span> Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union

Houlin Zhao is a Chinese engineer who served as the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from 2015 to 2022. He was first elected at the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan, and re-elected at the 2018 Plenipotentiary Conference in Dubai. ITU is the specialized United Nations Agency for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), working on promotion, collaboration, and standardization.

Since Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, international recognition of Kosovo has been mixed, and the international community continues to be divided on the issue. The Republic of Kosovo is member of some international intergovernmental and international non-governmental organisations.

Eutelsat I F-4, also known as European Communications Satellite-4 (ECS-4) is a decommissioned communications satellite operated by the European Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (Eutelsat). Launched in 1987, it was operated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 10° East, before moving to several other locations later in its operational life, before it was finally decommissioned in 2002. It was the fourth of five satellites launched to form the first-generation Eutelsat constellation.

Eva Berneke is a Danish engineer and company executive. Since January 2022 she has been the CEO of Eutelsat.

References

  1. ↑ "Member States | Eutelsat IGO" . Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Eutelsat Amended Convention" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "About | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "European Telecommunications Satellite Organization | Yearbook Profile | Union of International Associations". uia.org. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Convention establishing the European Telecommunications Satellite Organization Eutelsat" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Roisse, Christian (2013). "Chapter 4: The Evolution of Eutelsat: A Challenge Successfully Met". In McCormick, Patricia (ed.). The Transformation of Intergovernmental Satellite Organisations: Policy and Legal Perspectives. Leiden: BRILL. pp. 119–174. ISBN   9789004257061. OCLC   861559359.
  7. ↑ "About | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  8. ↑ "Activities | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "About | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  10. ↑ "Mr. Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski". broadbandcommission.org. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  11. ↑ "Activities | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "The State of Broadband 2018" (PDF). itu.int. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  13. ↑ "Activities | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  14. ↑ "Germany hosts the joint 47th session of the Board and 22nd session of the Operations Committee of Intersputnik". INTERSPUTNIK. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "Activities | Eutelsat IGO". Eutelsat IGO. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "RCC Members". en.rcc.org.ru. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  17. ↑ "Governance | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  18. ↑ "Governance | Eutelsat IGO". eutelsatigo.int. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  19. ↑ "42nd Virtual Meeting of the Eutelsat Assembly oF Parties 24-25 March 2021" (PDF). Eutelsat IGO. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.