ESOA
contributes
to
European
Commission
workshop
on
Commercial
Satellite
Critical
Infrastructure
Protection
4
March
2010
The
European
Satellite
Operators
Association
(ESOA),
represented
by
its
former
Chairman,
Giuliano
Berretta,
who
is
also
the
current
Chairman
of
Eutelsat,
took
part
in
the
international
workshop
on
Commercial
Satellite
Critical
Infrastructure
Protection
organised
earlier
this
week
in
Ispra
(Italy)
by
the
Joint
Research
Centre
of
the
European
Commission.
Assembling
experts
working
on
critical
national
security
and
emergency
programmes
from
the
European
Commission,
the
US
Department
of
State
and
the
Department
of
Defence,
as
well
as
industry
executives
and
representatives
from
national
space
agencies
and
federations,
the
Workshop
exposed
the
extent
to
which
commercial
satellites
are
entrenched
as a
vital
component
of
communications
networks.
Giuliano
Berretta
highlighted:
"Today,
a
day
without
satellites
means
disruptions
to
trading
on
the
financial
markets,
no
real-time
weather
forecasts,
reduced
relief
intervention
at
disaster
sites,
no
GPS
synchronisation
and
limited
live
TV.
This
suspension
of
so
many
activities
puts
into
perspective
the
importance
of
protecting
satellite
infrastructure
and
the
spectrum
needed
to
operate
and
expand
services
of
value
to
citizens.
We
believe
that
satellites
have
sufficiently
proven
their
value
for
them
to
be
naturally
and
fully
integrated
into
key
policy
areas
such
as
digital
inclusion,
immediate
response
to
disasters
and
Green
ICT
approaches."
The
workshop
also
gave
other
ESOA
members
including
SES,
Inmarsat,
Paradigm
Services
(EADS
Astrium)
and
Telespazio
the
opportunity
to
expose
the
high
and
longstanding
levels
of
cooperation
and
knowledge-sharing
established
by
satellite
companies
to
preserve
the
space
environment
and
ensure
responsible
operations.
ESOA
Secretary
General
Aarti
Holla-Maini
said:
"Safety
challenges
constantly
being
addressed
by
satellite
operators
globally
include
clearing
useful
regions
by
deorbiting
satellites
at
their
end
of
life
from
geostationary
orbit
into
graveyard
orbit,
combating
interference
and
limiting
space
debris".
Operators
reaffirmed
their
commitment
to
initiatives
that
further
improve
safety
and
security,
including
tighter
practices
around
cybersecurity
issues,
such
as
reducing
unintended
interference
and
precision
identification
on
the
source
of
jamming,
and
the
development
of
space
traffic
management
for
improved
utility
of
the
geostationary
orbit.
talk Satellite welcomes comment -
comment@talksatellite.com
