Mobile satellite operator Globalstar has joined its ATC counterparts in seeking regulatory permission to use its spectrum for terrestrial only services.
The group is petitioning the FCC for the flexibility to offer two separate but complementary…
Mobile satellite operator Globalstar has joined its ATC counterparts in seeking regulatory permission to use its spectrum for terrestrial only services.
The group is petitioning the FCC for the flexibility to offer two separate but complementary terrestrial service offerings. Ultimately, Globalstar wants approval to provide LTE-based services across the entirety of its spectrum, helping it address the insatiable demand for mobile broadband.
In the near term, however, the operator aims to combine frequencies it has in the 2.4GHz band with unlicensed Industrial, Scientific, and Medical Equipment (ISM) spectrum to provide terrestrial low power services (TLPS). According to Globalstar, by using the combined 22MHz of spectrum in this way, it can increase the available Wi-Fi capacity in the US by 33%.
To sweeten the deal, Globalstar said it would deploy 20,000 free TLPS access points in schools, colleges and hospitals. MSS services will also be offered free of charge to customers in federally declared disaster areas.
The request is similar to attempts by fellow ATC licence holders Dish Network and LightSquared to be granted the flexibility to deploy terrestrial only services without a satellite element.
Despite the delays that have held up Dish’s spectrum flexibility request in particular, Globalstar said it expected the FCC would move quickly to initiate the requested rulemaking following a public notice and comments period. It hopes to receive a final decision on the TLPS proposal by December 2013, although approval for LTE could take longer to investigate any potential interference issues.
L. Barbee Ponder IV, the company’s vice president of regulatory affairs, said: “Given recent public statements made by [FCC] chairman Genachowski and the other commissioners, we believe that the FCC will proceed expeditiously through this process.”
The plan comes as Globalstar prepares to complete the deployment of its delayed second generation constellation. Ponder said the group was also keen to follow Dish’s lead as it appears close to receiving favourable flexibilities to its own spectrum rules.
With the FCC expected to make its decision on Dish’s spectrum before the end of the year, it is likely that this ruling will help accelerate future judgements.
However, like Dish, Ponder said Globalstar would need to secure a partner to help build its terrestrial network.
For LightSquared, which fell into chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after its frequencies were found to interfere with GPS technology, greater flexibility to the rules governing its ATC licence would significantly help to validate its business model.
But this is not the first time Globalstar has attempted to adjust the rules governing its ATC licence. It received a waiver enabling it to provide terrestrial services only to have this revoked following delays to its satellite launches. An attempt to extend certain milestones was rejected by the FCC back in 2010 – a move that helped push its spectrum partner, US rural wireless broadband provider Open Range, into liquidation.
