spacetoday.net: FCC approves terrestrial repeaters for satellite communications

Posted: Fri, Jan 31, 2003, 8:41 AM ET (1341 GMT)
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday that it will allow satellite communications providers to use ground-based repeaters to augment satellite signals, a decision that could aid several satellite companies. The FCC decided to approve a proposal for what is known as ancillary terrestrial component (ATC), repeaters that would be placed in urban areas to support signals that are often blocked by tall buildings and fail to work indoors. Several satellite communications companies, including MSV, ICO, and Globalstar, argued that ATC was essential to make their services viable in urban areas. Terrestrial wireless companies had fought the proposal, fearing that satellite companies would use ATC for terrestrial communications without using satellites at all. Unlike satellite companies, which get their spectrum for free, terrestrial wireless companies have to purchase their spectrum at auction, with fees often in the billions of dollars. The FCC decision does require companies using ATC to have established a satellite system and use it as their primary communications network. The FCC also reassigned 30 megahertz of spectrum originally allocated for satellite services for terrestrial systems.