Iranian in a jam over satellite blocking
By Peter J Brown
The Islamic Republic of Iran is both a member of the United Nations and a
member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency
of the UN that oversees the global satellite industry. The ITU defines and
adopts technical standards for the radio-frequency spectrum and regulates its
worldwide use.
In the ITU's constitution, Article 45 - "Harmful Interference" - states clearly
that, among other things, "the Member States recognize the necessity of taking
all practicable steps to prevent the operation of electrical apparatus and
installations of all kinds from causing harmful interference to the radio
services or
communications mentioned in No 197 above." [1]
In other words, if you jam someone else's satellite transmissions - and
especially if you do so deliberately - you are breaking the ITU's rules and
damaging the satellite industry as a whole.
For weeks, a trio of global broadcasters - the BBC, Deutsche Welle (DW) and
Voice of America (VoA) - have been trying to persuade Iran that it needs to
cease immediately its deliberate jamming of satellite transmissions that carry
their broadcasts in Iran. Paris-based Eutelsat is now unable to conduct normal
and licensed satellite operations that enable it to deliver these services in
Iran using its Hotbird satellite.
Iran's actions are harmful to Eutelsat's business, and over time can contribute
to the weakening of other satellite operators as the perception that violations
of ITU rules and regulations will not result in any penalty or enforcement
action gains ground.
"Several complaints have been lodged by Eutelsat over the last 10 months with
the relevant French and international telecommunications regulatory authorities
to denounce these deliberate jamming operations," Eutelsat stated in a
mid-March press release. It referred to two complaints being filed since May
2009 involving, first, France's Agence Nationale des Frequences Francaise
(ANFR) and later the ITU's Radio Regulations Board (ITU-R). [2]
In February, BBC World Service director Peter Horrocks, DW director Erik
Bettermann and VoA director Dan Austin issued a joint statement in which they
condemned any jamming of their channels and called on "satellite operators and
those who regulate them to take urgent action to put pressure on Iran to stop
this activity". [3]
There is someone on the Iranian space team who must be feeling increasingly
uncomfortable as this situation drags on. He is Ahmad Talebzadeh, head of the
Iranian Space Agency (ISA), which is preparing to launch three satellites,
named Tolou, Mesbah-2 and Navid.
Talebzadeh finds himself in a very awkward position as Iran decides to go on
ignoring the rising tide of protests that are emanating from Europe and the US
over Iran's practice of jamming satellite broadcasts. This activity is possibly
placing Talebzadeh's successful climb up the career ladder - both at home and
abroad - in jeopardy.
He did not respond to e-mails from Asia Times Online.
Besides serving as ISA chief, Talebzadeh is a very visible figure in the global
satellite arena. He serves as the current chair of the UN legal sub-committee
of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). He is also in
charge of the Department of External Relations and Legal Affairs for the
Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO), which is headquartered in
Beijing.
Pay close attention to "legal" in both of his titles here.
It cannot be easy for Talebzadeh, who attended the University of Tennessee, to
stand today on the floor of a UN forum in Geneva and speak for a collective
recognition of the need for the rule of law in space when back in Tehran
leaders of his own country are flagrantly disregarding the ITU's international
rules and regulations.
The fact that Talebzadeh is a deputy minister in Iran's Ministry of Information
and Communication Technology only makes this situation more difficult to
accept.
As a senior UN COPUOS and APSCO satellite official with an oversight role in
examining, if not crafting, legal policies that impact the space activities of
all nations, Talebzadeh is quite aware of the ITU's rules, regulations and
proceedings. [6]
In a speech presented last June in Geneva at the UN Institute for Disarmament
Research's Space Security 2009 conference, ITU secretary general Hamadoun Toure
reminded his audience of the important role that all satellites play.
"Satellites cannot easily share exactly the same orbital position, nor can they
receive and transmit their images, data or voice signals on exactly the same
frequency as another neighboring system, without intensive cooperation and
discussion, to avoid the risk of interference," said Toure. "Our work focuses
on ensuring the essential services delivered over satellite systems can
function as they should, without risk of what we call 'harmful interference'.
In the radio-communication world, this term refers to interference between two
operating radio frequencies that seriously degrades, obstructs or repeatedly
interrupts either or both services."
Toure emphasized that "intentional interference is a rare thing".
"Common sense normally wins through. Countries work together to resolve the
issue quickly, not necessarily because of goodwill, but simply because it is in
their mutual interest to find a solution." [4]
Perhaps Talebzadeh heard this speech. Regardless, Talebzadeh is no doubt aware
of the important satellite-related work done by the World Broadcasting Unions -
International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG). Its headquarters are also
in Geneva.
This group received an award last month along with the Satellite Users
Interference Reduction Group for their important work related to ending all
forms of satellite interference - deliberate or otherwise. The award was given
to the WBU-ISOG by the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI),
and Talebzadeh may well be an SSPI member, too.
At the WBU-ISOG forum last December in Geneva, ongoing interference problems
for satellite operators was the hottest topic of discussion. If Talebzadeh had
attended, he might have instantly seen how upset satellite operators are,
because this is a problem that has yet to be resolved.
It is not that time is running out for Talebzadeh and Iran, but the tone of the
discussion is changing fast. Iran is watching as the allegations of satellite
jamming are moving out of the ITU's domain and up to the ministry level via a
recent letter sent by the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United
Kingdom to the European Union. (5)
Talebzadeh can simply ignore what is in motion, but sooner or later, people are
going to start wondering why a senior Iranian government official is being
allowed to chair such an important UN satellite-oriented legal subcommittee at
a time when Iran seems so intent on thumbing its nose at the ITU and ultimately
at the UN itself.
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
