The advent of ancillary terrestrial component, or ATC, will revolutionize the mobile satellite services industry in the long run, according to a new report from Northern Sky Research, a market research firm that focuses on the mobile satellite sector. The prospects have brought renewed...
Inmarsat plc intends to join the mobile satellite services sector's handheld voice market, which it sees as a potential outgrowth of its existing, maritime customer base that could use excess capacity on its recently completed constellation of next-generation satellites. The company said it expects...
The following list details this week's infrastructure awards for the cellular and Wi-Fi industries. The contracts are broken down by transmission technology, country and vendor. The value of the contract is included when available. CellularBrazil: Motorola Inc. said it has been selected by Vivo to...
WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission late last week granted idle 2 GHz mobile satellite service spectrum to ICO Satellite Services and TMI Communications and Co., a stinging defeat with potential competitive implications for the mobile-phone industry. As part of its decision, the FCC agreed to...
The Federal Communications Commission should auction the 24 megahertz of spectrum at 2 GHz that mobile satellite service companies gave back to the government. To do anything else would set a bad precedent for spectrum policy.The spectrum in question was returned to the FCC...
WASHINGTON-Mobile-phone carriers and others are urging the government to launch a rulemaking to decide what to do with discarded mobile satellite services frequencies rather than unilaterally giving more radio channels to the two remaining non-operational 2 GHz MSS operators. The 2 GHz MSS controversy...
WASHINGTON-U.K.-based Inmarsat Ltd. applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a 2 GHz mobile satellite service license that would allow it to offer interoperable communications to first responders and homeland defense officials, adding a new twist to current efforts by satellite companies to regain...
WASHINGTON-U.K.-based Inmarsat Ltd. applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a 2 GHz mobile satellite service license that would allow it to offer interoperable communications to first responders and homeland defense officials, adding a new twist to current efforts by satellite companies to regain...
BETHESDA, Md.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. said in its first-half report that its subscriber base has increased 20 percent to 127,000 customers during the past 12 months and 11 percent from 114,000 subscribers the company reported at the end of last year. Revenue for the first...
WASHINGTON-While sparks fly on Capitol Hill over wrestling free 700 MHz spectrum from TV broadcasters, a lower profile feud with high stakes for mobile-phone carriers is escalating at the Federal Communications Commission. The debate is over whether the remaining two 2 GHz mobile satellite...
CHANDLER, Ariz.-Satellite communications provider World Communication Center said it has expanded its government division.The company hired John D. Kilian and Robert C. Den Hartog as part of the expansion. Kilian most recently was area manager for the Procurement Technical Assistance Center of Minnesota Project...
BETHESDA, Md.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. said it closed a $32 million senior secured credit facility with Bank of America N.A. The company said the financing has allowed it to consolidate debt and reduce interest expenses.
WASHINGTON-The cellular industry this week continued to voice opposition to a request that mobile satellite service spectrum surrendered by Boeing Co. and Iridium be redistributed to other licensees. CTIA said TMI and TerreStar Networks Inc. are simply wrong, arguing the two companies "offer no...
CAMBRIDGE, U.K.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. selected Cambridge Consultants as a strategic wireless technology development consultant. Cambridge has assembled an engineering team with satellite expertise to help Iridium evolve the design of its ground-based terminal equipment, said Cambridge. The agreement calls for Cambridge to develop next-generation...
LOUISVILLE, Colo.-AirCell said it will begin conducting flight demonstrations in July with a prototype of its system that allows commercial airline passengers to use their own mobile devices in flight over a broadband air-to-ground link.AirCell expects to commercially deploy its AirCell Broadband System next...
Iridium Satellite L.L.C. announced it added push-to-talk services to its worldwide satellite-based network, allowing customers to deploy what the carrier calls "multi-user communication nets."Separately, Iridium announced it will sell a new data transceiver based on its Short Burst Data technology, which will support asset...
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and The Consultant Registry, with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, conducted a test to show how background sounds, which are important to 911 call-takers, are transmitted over a Voice over Internet Protocol system. Since VoIP does...
LONGMONT, Colo.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. chose Intrado Inc.'s 911 Call Center Solution to provide emergency service to its subscribers when they dial 911.The solution allows Iridium to process emergency calls without having to staff and manage a 911call center, said Intrado. A 2004 Federal Communications...
BETHESDA, Md.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. announced increased subscribers and revenues for the third quarter as well as new financing. Iridium said its subscriber base increased 29 percent during the first three quarters of 2004 compared with the same period last year. In addition, revenues increased...
BETHESDA, Md.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. said it has made an agreement with Verizon Airfone that calls for the company to sell Iridium services to its general aviation operators.According to the agreement, Verizon Airfone will use the services to supplement its existing MagnaStar system, which is...
WASHINGTON-The two main players in the mobile satellite services market reacted favorably to the Federal Communications Commission's spectrum-sharing plan.The FCC approved a plan for Iridium Satellite L.L.C. to share 3.1 megahertz of spectrum in the 1.6 GHz band with Globalstar L.L.C. to meet increasing...
WASHINGTON-Top mobile-phone operators told a federal appeals court the Federal Communications Commission went astray of the law by awarding additional mobile satellite service licenses despite the sector's desperate financial condition. In its opening brief, AT&T Wireless Services Inc., Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and Verizon Wireless...
Mobile satellite service providers continue to struggle financially, but rebuilding efforts in Iraq appear to have increased minutes of use and precipitated the launch of new services.Bankrupt Globalstar L.P. said its second-quarter results were bolstered by its service launch in Iraq. The company's revenue...
ARLINGTON, Va.-Iridium Satellite L.L.C. said Aug. 4 it has launched short messaging service to its customers that use Iridium 9505 handsets and 9522 L-band receivers.Subscribers can send and receive up to 160 characters per message to and from anywhere in the world. Iridium plans...
