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 demands for satellite voice and data services, according to Iridium.
“The FCC’s willingness to expand the spectrum available to Iridium recognizes that our rapid and sustained growth has clearly outgrown our original spectrum allocation,” said Carmen Lloyd, Iridium’s chief executive officer.
Globalstar, which uses 1610 MHz to 1621.35 MHz for transmissions from handsets to satellites and 2483.5 MHz to 2500 MHz for transmissions from satellites to its handsets, meanwhile, was pleased it will retain all of its allocated frequencies under the ruling.
“Naturally we are satisfied with the FCC’s decision and look forward to continuing to bring Globalstar voice and data service to the tens of thousands of businesses and individuals across North America that have come to rely on our services,” said Tony Navarra, president of Globalstar.
The FCC plans to examine whether future MSS sharing is feasible, including possibly granting Iridium access to a further 2.25 megahertz of spectrum. “Iridium looks forward to the continued recognition of the critical role that this additional spectrum will play in meeting both present and future demand for our customers,” said Iridium’s Lloyd.
