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NETWORK & COVERAGE
Future Network
ATC
In its groundbreaking application to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) in 2001, SkyTerra unveiled a bold new architecture for a hybrid Mobile Satellite System (MSS) with an Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) providing unparalleled coverage and spectral efficiency. As set forth in the application, the users of the system would be able to transmit and receive information from virtually anywhere using lightweight, handheld mobile terminals that would communicate through both a space segment and terrestrial facilities using the same frequencies of a satellite band.
The FCC granted SkyTerra the first ever ATC license to enable the company to offer high-quality, affordable mobile services to users inside buildings and in urban areas, in addition to providing MSS in rural areas.
The FCC concluded that SkyTerra's vision of ATC:
Would increase network capacity and efficiency of spectrum use, extend coverage for handset operation in places where MSS operators have previously been unable to offer reliable service, make possible substantial economies of scale, improve emergency communications and enhance competition.
The FCC decision thus paved the way for new ATC-enabled broadband wireless networks to be deployed quickly and cost-effectively while fully and efficiently utilizing the MSS spectrum.
