FCC Green Lights ICO's Rural Broadband
Plan
By Steve Gold, Newsbytes
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A.,
10 Aug 2001, 9:04 AM CST
In a move backers say may help determine the future of rural broadband services, ICO Global
Communications has received a provisional thumbs-up from the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) on plans to refocus the firm's satellite broadband strategy for rural and
underserved customers.
The satellite operator says that the FCC has issued a "notice of proposed rulemaking," which it says is a
necessary step toward modifying rules to allow Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) operators in the 2 gigahertz (GHz)
wave band to reuse their frequencies terrestrially on an ancillary basis.
A spokesperson for ICO told Newsbytes that the satellite carrier applied to the FCC for the change in March and
has welcomed the FCC's swift action on such an important issue.
In a press statement, Craig McCaw, the ICO backer who rescued the carrier from bankruptcy proceedings in May
2000, said the outcome of the FCC's actions may determine whether citizens in rural parts of the U.S. and the
world receive access to broadband communications services.
"Our satellites are built, and if the FCC gives our proposal the green light, we'll move forward aggressively to make
the necessary final technical modifications to our satellites to begin service," he said.
Along with the FCC approval, ICO says it is now developing small terrestrial antenna technology to allows its
satellite signals to be repeated in local areas, solving most problems with signal coverage in indoor and urban
areas,
The repeaters make use of the Bluetooth wireless personal area network technology, allowing users to route their
voice and data calls via the ICO satellite service from mobile phones.
ICO's Web site is at ico.com .
Reported by Newsbytes.com, newsbytes.com .
09:04 CST
(20010810/Press Contact: Bob Ratliffe, Eagle River Investments 425- 766-8686; Michael Johnson, ICO Global
Communications +44-1895-205286 /WIRES TELECOM, ONLINE, BUSINESS, LEGAL/BROADBAND/PHOTO)
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