OTTAWA, April 3, 1997 — Industry Minister John Manley today announced that Telesat Canada has been awarded one of Canada's prime Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) orbital positions.

“We challenged the industry to come forward with innovative options for a Canadian DBS solution and I am delighted to see that they have come through,” said Mr. Manley. “We've approved the Telesat proposal and licensed them to build and launch their satellite. By issuing this licence, the Government of Canada has put in place the elements required for a Canadian DBS solution, and we're now looking to the DTH industry to deliver first class services to Canadians.”

Telesat's plan, developed in cooperation with Spar Aerospace, is to build and launch a high-powered 32- transponder DBS satellite into Canada's 91° WL orbital slot. The satellite will meet the foreseeable needs of the Canadian direct-to-home (DTH) television industry which has been constrained by the lack of satellite capacity. “With the satellite authorization in place, it is my expectation that all parties will move quickly and decisively to ensure that Canadians have access to this exciting new service at the earliest possible moment,” said the Minister.

Telesat's venture will bring jobs, investment and millions of dollars in revenue for Spar, ComDev and other companies in the Canadian satellite industry. “Its a win-win situation,” said the Minister. “Highly skilled jobs will be created in Canada's satellite industry. Canadian DTH broadcasters will get the stable and secure platform they need. Canadian consumers will receive a full range of DBS and DTH programming from Canadian suppliers.”

Telesat submitted its proposal in response to the department's Call for Applications to Develop and Operate Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Facilities in the 91° West Longitude Orbital Position to Serve Canadian Broadcasting Needs issued on November 7, 1996.

The submission successfully met all the evaluation criteria contained in the Call. These included: timely deployment, advancement of competition, industrial benefits, demonstrated financial and institutional competencies and technical merits.

For further information, please contact:

Bill Milliken
Office of the Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001

Jan Skora
Radiocommunication and Broadcasting Regulatory Branch
(613) 990-4817
skora.jan@ic.gc.ca