Iridium asked FCC in ex parte Tues. to defer mobile satellite ser...
Iridium asked FCC in ex parte Tues. to defer mobile satellite service (MSS) ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) decision until it could “correct the flaws in the current Big LEO [low earth orbit] spectrum band plan.” Company said current frequencies…
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
were monopolized by Globalstar, which uses 27.85 MHz for uplinking and downlinking that was to be used equally by 4 companies. Iridium uses 5.15 MHz for uplinking and downlinking, which it says isn’t enough to handle “its primary MSS offerings.” “Unleashing ATC services within the Big LEO band prior to revisiting obsolete band plan decisions would substantially bias the already tenuous competitive balance between the two Big LEO operators in favor of Globalstar,” letter said. Iridium proposed to increase its band use by 6 MHz, decreasing Globalstar’s use to 11.85 MHz and reclaiming 10 MHz for reallocation. Cingular Wireless and Sprint also submitted comments to FCC, saying authorization of MSS operators to provide ATC in MSS band would be unfair and illegal based on Sec. 309(j) of Communications Act. “The Commission is required by law to auction terrestrial rights if it decides to permit terrestrial services in the MSS band,” they said.