The Federal Communications Commission voided a number of Ka-Band licenses held by Loral in an order released late Wednesday April 02/03.

In its action, the FCC declared null and void Loral’s Ka-Band authorizations at 81 degrees, 47 degrees and 78 degrees East. The order came from the FCC's International Bureau as part of a larger rulemaking on satellite spectrum. The bureau said the actions "will allow Loral to provide new domestic and international satellite services to more customers using state-of-the-art technology, while preventing the warehousing of scarce spectrum and orbital resources."

In the order, the International Bureau granted Loral’s requests to relocate its C/Ku-Band spacecraft, Telstar 4, from the 89-degree orbit location to 77 degrees, and to launch Telstar 8 with a hybrid C/Ku/Ka-Band payload into the 89-degree orbital location.

In addition, the bureau extended the milestone dates for Telstar 8 to accommodate Loral’s three-band hybrid satellite technology. The FCC also granted Loral’s request to redefine the spacecraft's coverage area and modify the bird's C-Band and Ku-Band transponder configurations.

Earlier this week, Loral reported 2002 financial results, in which it generated $1.1 billion in revenues. Loral's net loss applicable to common shareholders for 2002 totaled $1.56 billion, which compares to a net loss of $277 million for 2001.