Middle East takes strict stance on VSAT operation

Shipowners with vessels serving the Arabian Gulf need to be aware of new rules imposed by national authorities that have a significant impact on the use of VSAT in this region

New rules in the Middle East will change the conditions under which VSAT systems may operate and, furthermore, place responsibility for compliance squarely on the shoulders of the shipowner or operator.

The global regulatory regime that currently governs the operation of maritime VSATs was largely the product of two groups not normally associated with the industry: the United States Navy and Middle East governments. As one of the first adopters of maritime VSATs, the US Navy operated C-band VSAT systems in the 1990s without a clear international legal framework.

At that time, the service was not used widely enough to warrant adoption of an international regime, so the navy operated its systems under its traditional host nation agreements and under existing International Telecommunication Union rules. These allowed for the operation of such systems on a non-interference basis.

Over time, complaints were made by Middle East governments that these US Navy C-band systems were interfering with their land based, fixed point-to-point telecom networks. This appeared to be a particular problem in the many narrow waterways in the region used by US Navy ships that brought them close to these shore-based networks.

Heated debates over this problem occurred at the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2003 (WRC-03), with many Arab countries taking the position that neither C-band nor Ku-band maritime VSATs should be allowed. After intense negotiations, a compromise was adopted which required prior consent from concerned countries before maritime VSAT C-band or Ku-band systems would be allowed to operate respectively within 300km or 125km from a country’s shore.

In the six years since WRC-03, few administrations have implemented rules covering maritime VSATs and only a handful of systems have been licensed in the region. These issues have since been a subject of debates within the Gulf Cooperation Council, but to date, no co-ordinated regional approach to maritime VSAT licensing has been adopted.

In August of 2009, however, the United Arab Emirates became the first administration in the region to adopt new regulations for maritime VSATs. These regulations make plain the historic concerns over interference to terrestrial fixed point-to-point systems and set out requirements to protect those systems.

Firstly, the UAE regulation prohibits all VSAT use within UAE territorial waters, regardless of frequency. The responsibility for ensuring that VSATs are switched off is placed on the shipowner/operator.

Secondly, the regulation prohibits maritime VSATs from causing any harmful interference to fixed point-to-point stations in UAE territory, even if the VSATs are operating outside UAE territorial waters. This obligation extends to the 125/300km zones adopted by WRC-03. Again, the obligation to ensure protection of these sites is with the shipowner/operator.

How can one determine whether VSAT operation might interfere with UAE fixed service radio links? The regulation requires VSAT operators to use an analysis technique developed by the ITU to determine whether VSAT operation might interfere with specific UAE fixed service sites. This analysis requires knowledge of the location and technical characteristics of those sites.

Finally, operation within 125km of the UAE’s shore for Ku-band VSATs, or within 300km of shore for C-band VSATs, is only allowed if the VSAT is listed on a ship’s radio licence and adheres to the conditions of the regulation.

The practical effects of these requirements are to require owners and operators to ensure that their maritime VSATs are co-ordinated with UAE fixed service sites and to shut off their maritime VSATs when in UAE territorial waters. Since the newly-adopted regulation will presumably be circulated to UAE port authorities, it is possible that ships making port calls in the UAE will be expected to show that their VSATs comply with these rules.

There has been discussion about the enforceability of the 125km and 300km prior consent zones adopted by the ITU in WRC-03. Many observers point out that these zones are outside the 12nm territorial waters of any nation, so compliance with any national regulations is therefore not necessary.

While it is true that the minimum distance zones and associated operation rules adopted by the ITU at WRC-03 are not within national waters, this does not mean the rules can be ignored. The ITU rules are based on how countries around the world have agreed to use and share the radio spectrum to avoid interference. In this instance, the world radio community has explicitly defined how and where C-band and Ku-band maritime VSAT systems can operate.

It is the intent of the ITU rules that system operators seek prior consent before operating C-band or Ku-band services within the zones discussed above. Prior consent may be obtained by implementation of a country-to-country agreement or by a system operator approaching an administration directly to request prior consent.

Because most regional governments have failed to pursue country-to-country agreements since adoption of the WRC-03 rules, the practical alternative is for system operators to obtain prior consent from individual administrations. Ultimately, however, whether prior consent is pursued by a system operator or by an administration, the shipowner/operator is responsible for making sure that proper approval has been obtained from the country in whose waters he is operating.

Consistent with the foregoing and in the case of the UAE, the idea of co-ordinating spectrum usage is a universally accepted principle among nations. Because the UAE rules require co-ordination with existing radio facilities in the area outside its territorial waters, and do not simply prohibit it, the rules comply with accepted principles of international law.

The UAE tends to be a first-mover when it comes to regulations in the region. For example, the UAE was one of the first nations to authorise the Boeing Co’s Connexion maritime VSAT system. Other nations in the region can be expected to follow with their own regulations. Given the widespread deployment of fixed service systems in the region, it is unlikely that other countries will adopt a less-burdensome co-ordination requirement.

Shipowners and operators should not be left in the uncomfortable position of risking liability for unauthorised operations of maritime VSATs in the region’s waters. Indeed, as the UAE regulations show, owners and operators are not in a position to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

The VSAT system operator is the only one that can ensure co-ordination with other services and centrally control where the VSAT is allowed to transmit. In order to best protect themselves, buyers of maritime VSAT services should demand that their service providers obtain the requisite authorisations prior to the service being offered. MEC

* Guy Christiansen is a director and principal of CGP Solutions, located in Genoa, Italy