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Satphones Localize



“The rumor of my demise has been greatly exaggerated.” – Mark Twain

Globalstar, the satellite phone provider in competition with Iridium, announced today that it has been granted authority by the FCC to offer Ancillary Terrestrial Component services (ATC) in the U.S.
Globalstar will now be able to use 11 MHz of its allotted radio frequencies for complementary terrestrial wireless service. The Globalstar repeater allows two way conversations on small, inexpensive handsets. They may offer an all IP overlay for cheaper voice and faster data.
Motorola spent $5 billion developing Iridium. In December 2000, Dan Colussy, a PanAm executive, purchased their assets, including the satellite constellation and the terrestrial network for $25 million. Iridium relaunched in March 2001, with cheaper prices and a contract from the U.S. DOD.
Globalstar, which only spend $4 billion, fell to Earth, too, taking Loral with it. Globalstar’s constellation of 48 minisatellites are built by Space Systems Loral and Alenia Aerospazio in Rome.
Now, recent developments in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geosychronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite phones may re-shape the industry. Terrestrial repeaters and spot beams are enabling smaller, cheaper, faster handsets and better service.Here’s a re-cap of recent satellite phone developments:

Currently, the two big LEO satphone operators, Iridium and Globalstar, don’t use terrestrial repeaters. They go direct to the satellite using their alloted 1.6 GHz band. Latency isn’t a huge issue but cost is — everything has to ride on the satellite’s backbone. GEO stationary satellites (like Inmarsat) are further away. They use spectrum at 2.1 GHz and generally need small satellite dishes to communicate.

Iridium frequencies
uplink (system frequencies) 1616.0 – 1626.5 MHz
uplink (licensed frequencies) 1621.35-1626.5 MHz
downlink (system frequencies) 1616.0 – 1626.5 MHz
downlink (licensed frequencies) 1621.35-1626.5 MHz
gateway links 19.4 – 19.6 GHz (uplink)
  29.1 – 29.3 GHz (downlink)
Inter-Satellite links 23.18 – 23.38 GHz
The Ancillary Terrestrial Component is a terrestrial repeater. It uses the same (satellite) frequencies but since they are on cell towers, users get stronger signals. They can penetrate canyons and even indoors. Blocked coverage (and cost) has always marginalized satphone use. That may soon change.
When the FCC assigned the 2 GHz MSS band in 2000, they divided the 70 megahertz available into two 35 megahertz chunks (up and down) that would be divided amongst the proposed MSS systems in geosynchronous space. It got nibbled away for the AWS (3G) band. That left 20 MHz each (10MHz up and 10MHz down) for the two MSS satellite providers still standing — MVS and ICO.
The MSS satellite band is next to the new Advanced Wireless Service (3G band) at 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz. It will be auctioned off this year for 3G/WiMAX services (see DailyWireless: 3G Band Scam?). The FCC’s International Bureau works the MSS (mobile satellite) band.
Now a new generation of huge geostationary mobile satellites is being developed. They will use the MSS satellite spectrum and terrestrial repeaters. These new GEO satellites have giant 75 foot antennas (for spotbeam coverage) and terrestrial repeaters for better coverage inside and out.The Ancillary Terrestrial Component (pdf) is the key. Satphone operators argue that terrestrial repeaters make the satellite phone business viable and competitive with cellular providers. Signals are stronger, they penetrate indoors, latency and costs are reduced. Mobile Satellite Ventures, perhaps the biggest proponent of repeaters, claims over 1300 patents on ATC technology.
But terrestrial satellite repeaters required FCC authorization. Cellular providers fought the proposal. Cellular providers claimed satphone companies unfairly double dipped – they didn’t buy any additional spectrum – they were reusing their satellite spectrum unfairly. Satphone providers argued repeaters were an economic necessity and vital for first responders. The cellular and satellite lobby fought and lost. The FCC reviewed the political and economic arguments as well as the interference claims and sided with the satphone companies, allowing terrestrial repeaters.
An FCC order (pdf) divided 40 MHz in the 2 GHz (S Band) spectrum equally between TMI/TerreStar and ICO. The allocation upped ICO and TerreStar holdings from 8 MHz to 20 MHz each. That made “2 x 10” capability – 10 MHz of uplink capacity and 10 MHz of downlink capacity – possible. Canadian-based TMI Communications created privately held Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV), based in Reston, Va., for mobile satellite services in the United States.
Earlier this month , MSV contracted with Boeing Co. to build three mega-satellites for a combined cost of up to $1 billion. Each of the satellite’s primary antennas will be almost 75 feet across, about twice as large as any previous commercial satellite.
The satellites, to be built by Boeing at its facilities in Southern California, are to be launched in 2009 and 2010. MSV envisions them as the core of a hybrid wireless network that will incorporate satellites working in unison with ground-based towers. The contract provides for the delivery of MSV-1 and MSV-2, which will replace and expand upon the current MSAT satellite system operated by MSV and MSV Canada.
MSV-1 and MSV-2 satellites will cover Canada, the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean Basin, as well as Mexico. The third satellite, MSV-SA will introduce MSV’s advanced communications services into South America.
TerreStar-1 could be operational by the end of 2008, communicating with both terrestrial base stations and standard wireless devices using an antenna almost sixty feet across. Mobile Satellite Ventures talks up WiMAX access through its ancillary terrestrial component for public safety.

MSV is authorized by the FCC to use 28 MHz in North America for a terrestrial wireless network with an integrated satellite overlay. Inmarsat objected (pdf) to MSV’s CellSat (above), then proposed one of their own. Both ICO and TerreStar (SEC) have been awarded FCC licenses to provide cellular-like satellite-based services along with terrestrial repeaters in the 1990-2025 MHz and 2160-2200 MHz mobile-satellite service (“MSS”) band. The FCC dismissed Inmarsat’s petition for reserve spectrum in the 2GHz MSS band for a geostationary satellite to be located at the 113° W.L. orbital location.
Terrestrial repeaters may allow LEO-based Iridium and Globalstar, and GEO-based MSV and ICO, to compete more directly with cellular providers. Spot beams on MSV’s geosynch satellites will enable smaller, cheaper handsets (although latency when talking over a geosynchronous satellite is still problematic).
XM satellite radio also uses a repeater system (SDARS) but their signal is only one way. Just what XM intends to do with their new adjacent 2.3 GHz frequencies (in addition to SDARS), is still up in the air.
In related news, the FCC announced an auction of airwave spectrum for in-flight broadband access. The technology works via base stations on the ground similar to cellphone towers, and promises to be cheaper to deploy than Boeing’s satellite-based Connexion system.
Giving airline passengers live Internet access could become a big business; an FCC report said Boeing in 2004 pegged the future potential revenue of its Connexion service worldwide at $500,000 per airplane per year, for an annual total of $2 billion. Connexion service is available on just nine airlines and 170 flights, none domestic.
Verizon plans to partner with other wireless companies so that airline passengers can access the service through their own providers. Bill Pallone, president of Verizon’s Airfone, the unit that will bid for the spectrum. said Verizon will be able to offer passengers rates around $11 to $15 a day. Connexion charges $27 for a day.
The Top 10 Fixed satellite operators (pdf) have changed significantly since the list below (below) was compiled by Space News. Intelsat’s proposed $3.2 billion purchase of PanAmSat, expected to close this year, creates an operator that will overtake SES Global as the world’s largest with 53 satellites, customers in over 220 countries and more than $1.9 billion in annual revenue. SES Global, currently the world’s largest operator of satellites, has agreed to buy rival New Skies Satellites for $760 million.
The rankings below also do not include Inmarsat of London or Mobile Satellite Ventures of the United States, because providing mobile satellite services is considered a separate business. Similarly, DirecTV and EchoStar are not listed because they have a different business model. They don’t lease capacity to others.
  1. SES Global: Luxembourg. 2004 revenue – $1.56 billion.
    SES has substantial ownership stakes in AsiaSat, Nahuelsat and NSAB.
  2. Intelsat: Bermuda/U.S.A. 2004 revenue – $1.04 billion.
    Intelsat IA-8 satellite was launched June 23. Company took charges in 2004 and 2005 for in-orbit failures of two satellites, and an IPO is likely.
  3. Eutelsat: France. 2004 revenue – $1.037 billion
  4. PanAmSat U.S.A. 2004 revenue – $827.1 million
    5 Two Orbital Sciences-built satellites expected to launch this summer.
  5. JSAT: Japan. 2004 revenue – $430.7 million
  6. Telesat: Canada. 2004 revenue – $300.7 million
    Has contracts for operating other companies’ satellites (XM, Msat).
  7. Loral: U.S.A. 2004 revenue – $223 million $
  8. Space Communications Corp.: Japan. 2004 revenue – $217.6 million.
    Superbird 6/A-2 satellite, launched in April 2004, has been declared a total loss and is not being used.
  9. New Skies: Netherlands. 2004 revenue – $210.7 million.
    IPO in May, and revenues don’t include one-time payment from Intelsat of $32 million to resolve an orbital-slot dispute. Bought by SES Global for $760 million.
  10. SingTel Optus Pty. Ltd.: Australia. 2004 revenue – $167.7 million.
    Company’s parent, SingTel, is a 20.3 percent shareholder in APT and leases transponders on the Apstar 5 satellite in addition to owning the ST-1 spacecraft.
Satellite television is where the money is. More than 25 million subscribers in the United States subscribe to either DirecTV or Echostar. Two-way satellite broadband is getting pushed aside as HDTV and carriage of local broadcast signals expand. Recent DBS developments include:

Posted by Sam Churchill on Monday, January 23rd, 2006 at 8:28 am.

3 Responses to “Satphones Localize”

[...] But some believe Murdock could be expanding his horizons with an MSS Satellite Phone service. [...]

Left by dailywireless.org » John Malone in Space on December 7th, 2006

[...] MSV contracted with Boeing to build three mega-satellites (above) for a combined cost of up to $1 billion. Each of the satellite’s primary Ka band antennas will be almost 75 feet across. They’ll be launched in 2009 and 2010, working in unison with ground-based towers. MSV-1 and MSV-2 will replace and expand upon the current MSAT satellite system operated by MSV and MSV Canada. [...]

Left by dailywireless.org » Advanced EHF - Wait for It on January 3rd, 2007

[...] That combination might provide local connections via satphone repeaters, cellular (AWS) or Mobile WiMAX (M2Z). The geosync satellite would provide global connectivity. It’s being pitched as a “homeland security” solution. [...]

Left by dailywireless.org » Satellite Repeaters: Grounded in Reality? on February 5th, 2007

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