Globalstar applied for authority from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to use its entire assigned Mobile Satellite Services spectrum for Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) services in the United States, claiming it needs the space to offer more services and that current restrictions are unfair and contrary to the public good.

"Ultimately Globalstar’s limited ATC spectrum will hamper its ability to fully serve the needs of its public safety and commercial customers," the company said in its June 20 petition. "The needs of these customers and the public interest require that Globalstar be placed on equal footing with its competitors."

In January, the FCC said Globalstar could use 11 megahertz of its satellite spectrum to provide ATC services, which allow satellite operators to use their authorized satellite radio frequencies to integrate into their satellite service offerings a terrestrial wireless service that is similar to cellular or PCS. Globalstar is seeking to use its remaining 27.85 megahertz of spectrum for providing its service.

"Currently Globalstar is the only MSS operator that is not permitted to use its entire spectrum for ATC," the company said. "Not only does this unequal treatment hinder Globalstar’s ability to grow and develop its MSS/ATC network, it also undermines the very goals that the Commission sought to advance when it adopted the ATC rules: encouraging the flexible use of spectrum and ubiquitous wireless coverage within the United States to ensure reliable communications during times of emergency."

Globalstar says it needs the additional spectrum to offer more services, including video transmission services delivered over satellite with local network coverage provided by via terrestrial stations, large footprint WiFi-type services using licensed and unlicensed spectrum, interactive multimedia services to fixed and mobile users, and interactive services to complement direct broadcast satellite and cable broadcasting services. However Globalstar chairman Jay Monroe said, "The amount of spectrum would not, alone, affect the plans for initially rolling out the service."

Globalstar’s request also may have been triggered in part because the FCC has authorized Iridium to share some of Globalstar’s spectrum and created a new fixed and mobile spectrum allocation in the band. "Now that these proceedings have been essentially completed, there is no further reason for continuing to place restrictions on Globalstar’s ability to use all of its spectrum for ATC services," Globalstar said.

"It sounds like a reasonable competitive argument to me, especially relative to what’s taken place among their competitors," said Jimmy Schaeffler, chairman and senior analyst with The Carmel Group. Globalstar’s competition has used "broadly similar lines" and logic in winning FCC permission to use all of their spectrum for ATC, so it is only fair that the same consideration be applied to Globalstar, he said.

Roger Rusch, president of Telastra, disagrees. "If you read the FCC’s ruling on MSV [Mobile Satellite Ventures], Motient is only allowed to use 10 megahertz of its spectrum for ATC," he said. "That’s only one-third of the company’s total allocation, and about the same share of the spectrum that Globalstar is allowed to use under the current FCC rules. So the notion that Globalstar is somehow being discriminated against just doesn’t wash."

Rusch also doubts Globalstar could safely deploy ATC services on the bandwidth it shares with Iridium. "If Globalstar were to put in ATC ground stations in this spectrum, they would cause interference to Iridium satellite users," he said. "It’s the same reason MSV has been restricted in its ATC deployment, so that it doesn’t cause interference in the spectrum it shares with Inmarsat."

Globalstar argued in its petition that it "repeatedly has proven its ability to operate without causing interference to others."

Rusch sees no reason why Globalstar cannot provide the additional services using its already-approved spectrum and thinks the company is trying to make headlines in advance of a planned initial public offering (IPO).

"Unfortunately, the financial community has this crazy idea that a carrier’s overall value has something to do with how much spectrum is owned and controlled by the company," Rusch said. "The metric is the more spectrum a company has, the more it’s worth. It’s a metric that makes no sense at all, because a company can lose money for years and yet still claim to be worth billions under this thinking, which is total nonsense. Yet this is how the financial market thinks, which is why companies such as Globalstar and MSV want to grab as much spectrum as possible to boost their stock valuations."

If Globalstar is not granted the extra spectrum, "We will evaluate our options after the FCC makes a decision," Monroe said. "We have asked the FCC to expedite the proceeding, but it could take a year."

— James Careless