OTTAWA, March 3, 1997 — Industry Canada has received a proposal to provide Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) facilities to service the Canadian market. The proposal, submitted by Telesat Canada, was developed in cooperation with Spar Aerospace, another major Canadian satellite industry leader.

The application will now be evaluated against the criteria outlined in the Call for Applications, and an announcement regarding the success of the application will be made in due course.

The proposal was submitted 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, which was issued on November 7, 1996.

A proposal submitted by the Borealis Space Corporation earlier in the application process was withdrawn.

For further information, please contact:

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