Space Data Corp. announced it scored 262.5 kilohertz of nationwide spectrum in the recent Federal Communications Commission 900 MHz band spectrum auction, which the company said it would use to continue its rollout of its weather balloon-based wireless data telemetry services.
“This is extraordinarily valuable ‘real estate,’ ” said Gerald Knoblach, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Because our spectrum is contiguous nationwide, it allows us to deliver ubiquitous nationwide wireless data services. We can offer our customers and partners unprecedented access, particularly in the 70 percent of the continental U.S. not served by wireless towers. The only comparable service in remote areas is provided by satellite systems, which are inherently far less cost effective than our SkySite-based service.”
Space Data said it now owns more than 1.7 megahertz of narrowband PCS spectrum, which the company said is more than half of the total spectrum available for narrowband PCS use in the United States.
The company is offering wireless data services-mainly for telemetry and machine-to-machine communications-using Motorola Inc.’s ReFLEX two-way paging technology. The company’s wireless repeaters are stationed 100,000 feet above the ground in modified weather balloons, which the company said allows one such platform to cover an area the size of Oklahoma.
“During the past three years, we have raised capital, completed research and development, acquired spectrum and received all necessary government approvals,” Knoblach said. “The field tests of our live network are complete, and we are now ramping up production for our customers.”
