Expanding Wireless Tower Coverage Stratospherically
11.05.02
Twenty percent of the US population lives in areas so rural that they are out of the range of digital wireless communication towers. The economics of tower construction and maintenance make it highly unlikely that towers will ever be built to serve these potential customers. The result is that carriers forgo billions of dollars of potential revenue each year.
Faced with this dilemma, the tower industry is now exploring non-traditional ways of serving hard-to-reach customers. Leading a discussion of alternatives at the Tower Summit and Trade Show in New Orleans this year will be Gerald Knoblach, Chairman and CEO of Space Data Corporation™. His company will deploy a constellation of SkySites™ next year to provide service to rural areas. The FCC-approved SkySite™ system utilizes the highly reliable, weather balloon technology that has been used by weather services all over the world for more than 60 years. The Space Data SkySites™ provide excellent communications operating in the stratosphere nearly 20 miles above the earth at a fraction of the cost of satellites.
Knoblach will outline the ways in which alternative technologies such as SkySites can complement traditional towers. Brian Jacks, vice president of network development for Crown Castle International, will join Knoblach in the November 14 afternoon session.
To arrange interviews with Knoblach before or at the Tower Summit, please contact Tim Ayers at 202-857-9734 or tim@ayersassociates.net.
For more information of the Tower Summit and Trade Show, visit www.towersummit.com.