Quetzsat 1 Successfully Launched!

The press release says Quetzsat 1 has coverage of Mexico, USA and Central America. There is no mention of Brazil.
News - SES.com

Some excerpts from the transcript of the Echostar earnings call provide an idea. No decisions, just studies. The reference to new slots is their Hughes subsidiary getting 2 new Brazil slots and looking at DBS for at least one of them.

"Yeah and If you think about QuetzSat; QuetzSat is designed as a replacement satellite, although as we put in the queue, we’re currently looking at alternative uses of QuetzSat, given the slots that we have acquired and we’ll continue to acquire. So we're always going to be looking at the fleet in comparison to the over slots that we have in the business opportunities that we have to generate revenue had maximize value."

"Yeah. I mean QuetzSat is reflexible and Anders can certainly try in here, but QuetzSat just is a design has a lot of flexibility and we can put it any number of different places. So as we look at our Latin America strategy, it certainly make sense to explore all opportunities in terms of where we could deploy specific aspects"

"No, I think Dish Mexico is currently being provided surface off of other EchoStar assets and with QuetzSat now becoming available we are examining alternative machines for it. Whereas the interim assets, the currently providing the service have significant lives left in them. And so therefore that opens the door for us to evaluate other opportunities."
 
They had to modify their SUB transmission applications for 77W (pending) to reflect off spec cross polarization.

Looks like their tests indicate that there is a larger cross polarization effect than originally estimated. The original filings estimated the degradation would only be in the northeast but apparantly it also affects other fringe areas.

Narrative
 
Kind of interesting they committed lots of dollars to this and yet are in no hurry to get it in actual service. I assume the lease payment period has begun since the sat was declared operationally ready and a license was granted.
 
Kind of interesting they committed lots of dollars to this and yet are in no hurry to get it in actual service. I assume the lease payment period has begun since the sat was declared operationally ready and a license was granted.
You want them to start moving it when There will be so many gone for T-day next week?
 
I don't care whether they move it or not as it doesn't affect me. I just think it interesting they don't seem in any hurry with this one like they have been with most of the others. I'd be a bit scared if the operations staff aren't working this week to keep the sats in their boxes.
 
I don't care whether they move it or not as it doesn't affect me. I just think it interesting they don't seem in any hurry with this one like they have been with most of the others. I'd be a bit scared if the operations staff aren't working this week to keep the sats in their boxes.
Operations staff will be working but just a limited amount. Not the number that will be working when moving a sat.
 
Which satellite will SES move next, Quetzsat 1 or SES 3?.
SES 3 was launched on July 16th. It's been sitting at 99° West for months now. It's supposed to replace AMC 1 at 103° West.
Quetzsat 1 has completed testing, but is still at 67° West.
 
Which satellite will SES move next, Quetzsat 1 or SES 3?.
SES 3 was launched on July 16th. It's been sitting at 99° West for months now. It's supposed to replace AMC 1 at 103° West.
Quetzsat 1 has completed testing, but is still at 67° West.

Yup, press release but never started the FCC paperwork to operate at 103W.

I've been digging a little more on the Brazilian deal. Echostar probably has won two slots (pending appeal), a company controled by Slim two more (Slim is rumored to be a silent partner in Dish Mexico but COFETEL has not proven it (he is prohibited from participating in Mexico satellite tv for now).

The Brazilians are hot to trot on getting the slots active since it appears their international priority right expire in 2014 if not used.
A condition of the licenses is that they at minimum cover 100 percent of Brazilian territory and dedicate 25 percent of service to Brazilian market with a mix of frequency classes.
And, perhaps most importantly, they want some or all of them running for the 2014 games.

Could be that SES/Echostar/Slim have something going together and need joint capacity operating there on a "fast track".
 
Sunday Nov 27, 3:33 AM Mountain
Location: 67.1W

It's been about 2 months since launch and one can probably conclude that testing is complete and it is just sitting there while they decide what to do with it.

Recent News:

1: Anatel (Brazil FCC) awarded Echostar 2 slots but they are being contested. Echostar filed with FCC to move E3 to one of the slots ( 68.5W) to "start discussions with FCC".
So, if Quetzsat moves to 68.5W (one of the awards), it's principle use will be for South American Service.

2: Carlos Slim's Telmex operations obtained a court order last week which reversed in part, Cofetel (Mexican FCC) decision to continue prohibition of entry into the "pay for tv" business (Telmex presently does billing for Dish Mexico and wants to actively participate in operations). The agency had said Telmex had not fullfilled or supplied evidence of fullfilling competetive cross connection service in the phone business. Cofetel has a couple weeks to decide what to do (appeal, approve or take other action). Meanwhile, two tv giants (Televisa and Azteca) essentially control the Mexico terrestial and satellite tv market and continue their efforts to delay competition. Any politician or government employee that resists them gets smashed by their editorial and news reporting so they will likely continue to control the market.
 
So DISH isn't going to use this satellite for the 77 slot after all? After all this waiting for the national locals to be shifted to spotbeams , they are now going to stay conus?
 
So DISH isn't going to use this satellite for the 77 slot after all? After all this waiting for the national locals to be shifted to spotbeams , they are now going to stay conus?

They are not saying exactly what their plans are, only that E6,E8, and E1 at 77W are still productive and apparantly meeting their needs for the US and Mexico, giving them excess capacity and the opportunity to develop new markets. Quetzsat may go to 77W or maybe somewhere else or they may move one or more of the present satellites located at 77W to a new location per their public comments.

Seems like a lot of money tied up and idle. I would have thought they would have had everything locked in long before it was built, although the Brazilian slot deal is a brand new award (tentative).

Thenew 61.5W E16 with lots of spots is still on schedule for next year. Quetzsat has two nearly identical beams (East and West) and no spots.
 
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They are not saying exactly what their plans are, only that E6,E8, and E1 at 77W are still productive and apparantly meeting their needs for the US and Mexico, giving them excess capacity and the opportunity to develop new markets. Quetzsat may go to 77W or maybe somewhere else or they may move one or more of the present satellites located at 77W to a new location per their public comments.

Seems like a lot of money tied up and idle. I would have thought they would have had everything locked in long before it was built, although the Brazilian slot deal is a brand new award (tentative).

Thenew 61.5W E16 with lots of spots is still on schedule for next year. Quetzsat has two nearly identical beams (East and West) and no spots.
My feeling is they thought that all was going to go as planned. But they got it up there and court fillings out of their control in MEXICO has thrown a monkey wrench into the works.
 
Echostar 6 going to inclined orbit on Dec 12 to save fuel and extend life

"Furthermore, contemporaneously with this application, ESOC is providing notice to
the Commission, under separate cover, that it intends to operate EchoStar 6 at 76.95º W.L. at an
inclined orbit beginning on December 12, 2011. EchoStar 6 will continue to provide the same
local-into-local and Spanish-language programming service during inclined operations as it has
since arriving at 76.95º W.L."
 

How to get a Hopper bug fixed.

Uploading recorded shows from the 722 to the Hopper

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