05.13.02
Telecommunications Magazine
Global News
Sean Buckley / Boston
Cellular Hits the Stratosphere
PHOENIX, Ariz. — The world is becoming increasingly wireless, but what good is it if the customer's session gets dropped due to lack of coverage? Phoenix, Ariz.-based Space Data, working in conjunction with National Weather Service balloons called SkySites, may have a way to fill coverage holes from above the Earth's stratosphere.
SkySite's immediate benefit could be greater economics: A carrier could fill in hot spots at $300 per-SkySite, launching 50,000 sites to cover 90 percent of the landmass at a cost of $15 million vs. the $60 million it would take to build 5000 towers to cover 10 percent of the United States.
"Most of the top wireless operators' money was allocated to fill coverage gaps in urban areas because often 10 percent to 20 percent of an area they claim to cover, they don't because of gaps," said Jerry Knoblach, SpaceData's CEO. "They are spending $7 billion a year to build out infrastructure to serve areas they don't cover now, yet, incrementally, if they don't cover 10 percent of the land mass now, chances are they will never cover the other 90 percent."
Here's how it works: Small, wireless repeaters are placed in National Weather Service balloons, which are in direct range of much of the world's landmass. Each SkySite provides service for 12 to 24 hours then is replaced with a new constellation of SkySites weighing less than the FAA's mandated 6-pound payload. Consisting of a digital software radio designed to send and receive signals at various protocols, the radio has a software repeater with a 2-watt energy output and a GPS receiver for positioning and time standard.
SpaceData is hoping to complement wireless towers, not replace them. "The towers do the heavy lifting in the high-capacity interference areas like cities, and we do it in the sparsely populated areas where towers do not make sense," said Knoblach. "Between the two systems, the customer gets ubiquitous service."
Currently, SpaceData is in talks with the NWS to develop a cooperative launch system in which one balloon can simultaneously support the NWS radiosonde and the SkySite system. The NWS launches the system from its existing launch sites and collects its data. When SkySite reaches 100,000 feet, the SpaceData wireless system begins operating. From each launch site, a SpaceData ground terminal sends communications and control data between the SkySites and the NOC. The SpaceData NOC coordinates communications of all of the SkySites.
The company received the FCC's formal approval for its balloon-based technology in September 2001 and purchased more than 1.4 MHz of nationwide narrowband PCS spectrum in the 900-MHz band for $4.2 million. Upon approval of its license application, SpaceData will hold licenses that cover 1.5 MHz nationwide. It received $3 million in private funding in its last round, bringing it to $9 million. Acting as a carrier's carrier to existing wireless operators, it plans to deploy a Southwest regional system in 2003 that stretches across 48 states. Initially designed for two-way messaging and SMS services, SpaceData has already begun development for voice service.