Brazil's Anatel Extends Viasat GX8 Satellite Deployment Deadline to Three Years

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has announced an extension of the deployment deadline for Viasat Brasil to operate the GX8 satellite, adjusting it from the original two years to three years. This decision was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors during a deliberation meeting on Monday, the 13th of this month.

This extension was made in response to a request from Viasat, which informed that there were delays in the manufacturing process of the GX8 satellite. Since Anatel has not yet issued the Certificate of Authorization for Operation, the Board determined that the original conditions could be revised. The revised deployment deadline will begin from the date the authorization is published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU).

Anatel's Board emphasized that this adjustment only modifies the satellite deployment timeline and does not alter the substance of the operating authorization granted to Viasat. The agency confirmed that Viasat has fulfilled its obligation to pay public fees, but it still needs to submit a performance guarantee to implement the space segment operation, a requirement that has been retained.

The GX8 is a geostationary satellite under Viasat, positioned at 72.5 degrees West longitude, and has received Anatel authorization to provide partial Ka-band satellite capacity within Brazil. According to Viasat, the satellite is part of the new generation Global Xpress fleet, designed to increase capacity and serve mobile applications such as aircraft, ships, and land vehicles. The satellite has not yet been launched and is still in the manufacturing phase, with this delay being the direct reason for the company's request to extend the deployment deadline.

In addition to revising the deadline, Anatel also required an update to the satellite system coordination priority list to reflect the coordination agreement reached between Viasat and Claro. The agency stated that this agreement resolves previously outstanding coordination issues related to the StarOne D2 system (located at the 70 degrees West orbital position). This revision does not affect other terms of previous decisions, including the 15-year validity period of the GX8 operating license and the requirement that the satellite must not cause harmful interference to systems with which no coordination agreement has been reached during operation.