Mobile Satellite Ventures starts terrestrial build of satellite network after FCC decision

Mobile Satellite Ventures LP (MSV) is already in the preliminary stages of building an ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) to its satellite network following the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision last month to grant mobile satellite service (MSS) operators the right to do so (RoW, Feb. 4/03). The company is currently talking to the various equipment vendors about the merits of their gear and expects to begin conducting trials of the system later this year with partial service going live sometime during 2005. "We’re thrilled by (the decision)," MSV’s VP regulatory Lon Levin tells Report on Wireless. "The fact is that this really gives us an opportunity to build up the mobile satellite business. "The FCC has made a bold and exciting decision here. They’ve done it for the right reasons. It makes sense. It’s in the public interest. We’re not using anyone else’s spectrum, so why not allow these satellite companies take advantage of what they have and increase the flexible use of their spectrum to offer a far better service." The January 30 FCC ruling ends two years of mud slinging south of the border between proponents of the MSS terrestrial in-fill network and opponents made up mostly of the mobile wireless industry. The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association and the U.S. mobile wireless industry were vehemently opposed to any FCC decision giving MSS players more flexibility with their spectrum. They believed that MSS players would gain an unfair advantage by obtaining the spectrum for free, unlike wireless service providers (WSPs), which have to purchase licences in an auction. However, the FCC put an end to the acrimonious exchange and allowed MSS operators to use their spectrum in a terrestrial network. The commission said it would be more efficient to grant ATC build-out rights to MSS players than to award the terrestrial rights to the spectrum to third parties. It also noted that effectiveness of both systems would likely be compromised in a shared usage environment. "Based on the record and our detailed technical analyses, we find that granting shared usage of the same MSS frequency band to separate MSS and terrestrial operators would likely compromise the effectiveness of both systems, particularly satellites already operating in the L-band and Big LEO band," states the FCC’s detailed order. "In this case, making limited terrestrial authority available to licensed MSS operators in the form of ATC better serves the public interest than the more limited and technically difficult prospect of attempting to share the MSS spectrum, which would pose an unacceptable risk of harmful interference to the existing and planned operations of licensed MSS operators." Canadian decision still pending While the FCC ruling opens the door to offering better coverage in dense urban centres in the United States, MSV’s Canadian partner MSV Canada is still waiting for the green light to build a similar terrestrial in-fill network in Canada (RoW, Nov. 13/01). The U.S. decision will likely turn up the heat on Industry Canada to make a similar ruling. As was the case in the United States, MSV Canada’s proposal received stiff opposition from mobile wireless players and two rival satellite operators. Mobile WSPs argued that MSV Canada should be forced to use existing terrestrial spectrum from a third party. They also noted that if the department was going to allow for ATC deployment, then it should open the licensing process up to all comers. The satellite companies stated that MSS was already viable and didn’t need an ATC to compete effectively (RoW, Jan. 22/02 and Feb. 5/02). Levin believes, however, that Industry Canada will come to the same conclusion as the FCC. "Industry Canada … I’m confident shares the same vision as the FCC," he notes. Industry Canada is well aware that TMI Communications put up a valiant effort to mount a mobile satellite business, "but it can do better if it can offer much better products, which are essentially smaller handsets, using far more powerful satellites with cheaper services," Levin explains. An independent study of the potential interference issues associated with an ATC, prepared by COMTEK Associates and released by Industry Canada last November, demonstrated that implementation of an ATC could be achieved with minimal interference (RoW, Nov. 25/02). In concluding that ATC implementation was doable, COMTEK wrote, "In our view, it is certain, however, that ATC interference contribution is not as trivial as depicted by MSV, nor is it as horrendous as depicted by Inmarsat." Levin praised the independent analysis. "At the end of the analysis, (it proved) this is workable without causing interference to spectrum neighbours … and because of its independence it helped to verify our conclusions," he states.

Mobile Satellite Ventures starts terrestrial build of satellite network after FCC decision

News | 02/18/2003 5:00 am EST

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