The Canadian government has announced plans to allow AWS-4 spectrum to be used for mobile services as part of sweeping measures to release more frequencies.
This will enable local venture Terrestar Solutions, which acquired AWS-4 in 2008, to deploy a…
The Canadian government has announced plans to allow AWS-4 spectrum to be used for mobile services as part of sweeping measures to release more frequencies.
This will enable local venture Terrestar Solutions, which acquired AWS-4 in 2008, to deploy a combined satellite and terrestrial network to serve rural communities.
Terrestar owns 40 MHz of AWS-4 spectrum, previously known as S-band, and has a licensing agreement which gives it access to 20 MHz of mobile satellite spectrum held by Dish Network’s Canadian subsidiary.
Speaking to SatelliteFinance, Terrestar’s president Andre Tremblay said he hoped to be able to develop a network in two years’ time, but that much depended on Dish.
The DTH operator owns AWS-4 spectrum in the US but is yet to use it and, until it does, manufacturers will not build handsets compatible with the frequencies.
Tremblay explained that the Canadian market was not big enough for manufacturers to tailor their devices for, and so it would have to wait until Dish developed a network with its licences.
Tremblay added that when it is feasible to develop services using the spectrum, Terrestar will be looking for equity and debt financing.
Dish is currently taking part in the AWS-3 auction in the US where bids have now passed the US$44bn mark. Dish has been amassing spectrum for a while but is yet to do anything with it. Tremblay said he was confident it would be put to use in some way soon.
In a statement, Tremblay commented: “I congratulate Prime Minister Harper and industry minister James Moore for this decision which supports wireless services in rural and remote communities and spurs wireless competition in Canada, thereby lowering wireless prices for Canadians and producing new jobs in this high technology industry.”
Terrestar Solutions is a Canadian company and independent of Terrestar Networks, which went bankrupt in 2012.