WCA November 2015

From the Americas for satellites with chemical propellant.” This perhaps explains the emphasis on ABS-3A’s achievement of full functionality about a month ahead of schedule. (“ABS All-Electric Satellite Arrives Early at Operating Orbit,” 10 th September) ABS-3A was launched in March aboard a Falcon 9 two-stage rocket operated by SpaceX of Hawthorne, California. The 4,299lb satellite was paired with the slightly heavier Eutelsat 115 West B, weighing 4,850lb, for a launch that, as noted by Mr Selding, “became a showcase for how even smaller fleet operators can trim capital expenditures with smart buying practices.” ABS and fleet operator Satmex, of Mexico – since purchased by Paris-based Eutelsat – secured favourable contract terms from Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems and with SpaceX, both as inaugural customers for the all-new Boeing 702SP design, and because of the purchase commitment. The contract, finalised in March 2012, stipulated four firm satellite orders and options, with the first four – two for ABS, two for Satmex – paired on Falcon 9 launches. According to Mr Selding, industry sources at the time said ABS and Satmex paid about $90 million for each satellite, with the two evenly splitting the cost of a $60 million Falcon 9 launch. To build and launch satellites carrying 40-plus transponders for around $120 million apiece “was unheard of” at the time of the contract signing, he noted. Since then, other satellite builders, including Airbus Defence and Space of Europe, have ploughed resources into their own all-electric designs and have won commercial orders.  Eutelsat 115 West B was scheduled to arrive at its operating station, 115 degrees west longitude, by late September and to commence service in October, with the heavier mass accounting for the one-month difference in arrival times between the paired satellites. ABS-3A carries 24 C-band and 24 Ku-band transponders and is expected to provide tele- communications to the Americas, Africa, Europe and the Middle East for at least 15 years. A water conservation effort by wireless provider AT&T in drought-stricken California targets household leaks According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, residential water leaks can waste more than a trillion gallons of water annually – equal to the water usage of 11 million American homes. Average household leakage can account for more than 10,000 gallons of wasted water every year. These statistics are especially pertinent in California, now in the fourth year of its worst drought in a millennium. On 11 th September, the National Weather Service released an update on the anomalous periodic (once in seven years) weather phenomenon known as El Niño, which seemed to promise a wet winter on the Pacific Coast. But, as noted by science editor Nick Stockton of Wired (10 th September), “That forecast comes laden with caveats.”

For one, it matters where and when the precipitation falls – even if, as predicted, El Nino 2015 is a soaking weather system. California’s wettest El Niño, in 1983, dropped nine times the annual average rainfall, and at least that much would be needed now to bring reservoirs back up to normal. Wrote Mr Stockton: “No matter how much water El Niño brings, it’s unlikely it will be enough to sate the Golden State’s deficit.” In these conditions water conservation is of the first importance. In FierceWater , a newsletter of the FierceMarkets Energy Group , Barbara L Vergetis Lundin reported on a new programme designed by AT&T to help its California customers counter the major source of water waste: household leaks. (“Wireless Provider Gets in on Water Conservation Game,” 25 th August) This summer, the company – which in 2013 set a goal of reducing its own global water use by 150 million gallons annually – offered new customers a bill credit of $5 a month for six months when they sign up for a digital water detection service that sends alerts to mobile devices when a sensor detects water leakage in the home. Alternatively, new customers could opt for a credit of $10 a month over six months on signing up for a digital water control service. This not only detects and reports leaks but also allows users to shut off the water source remotely from a mobile phone or tablet. Existing customers were also eligible to receive a bill credit of $5 a month for six months upon adding a water detection feature to their current service. Additionally, for each purchase of either service made at participating California retail locations, AT&T pledged to donate $10 to the Nature Conservancy for projects like Save the Sierra Nevada: Save our Water.  Every such effort is to the good. According to a paper published on 14 th September in the journal Nature Climate Change , last winter’s snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, an essential source of fresh water for California, was at its lowest in 500 years. The new study used tree-ring data from centuries-old oaks to provide historical context for the diminished snowfall in the mountain range. As of 1 st April, the snowpack levels were at just five per cent of their 50-year historical average. Elsewhere in telecom . . .  After reviewing records of cable faults worldwide, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) concluded that concern about shark attacks on undersea fibre optic cables is unfounded. The danger was addressed in a graphic video of a shark frenzy shown during Shark Week 2014 on the Maryland-based Discovery Channel, since viewed widely on YouTube. But, as reported on Smartgridnews.com (7 th July), ICPC studies have discerned a marked decline in faults caused by fish including sharks. From 1901 to 1957 – a period dominated by subsea telegraphic cables – at least 28 such cables were damaged by fish. From 1959 to 2006 – a span that

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2015

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