1st Responders Urged To Check Mobile Satcom Gear Early

Tag : mobile phone tool

With wildfires raging on the West Coast of the United States andhurricane season approaching its busiest months, emergency workersshould be checking their mobile satellite communications equipmentto make sure they have adequate coverage, warns a Futron Corp.white paper.
Although the first handheld satellite phones entered the commercialmarket 10 years ago, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 drove home the need for satellite phones that could offerfirst responders a communications tool when disasters render cellphones and traditional phones unusable.
A wide range of satellite data and voice services exist in theUnited States with more to come in two to three years, but optionsare reduced from last year due to gaps in voice service from one ofthe four mobile satellite service companies, concludes Futron's"Mobile Satellite Services: Status Check for FirstResponders," which was published in June. The white paperoutlines present and planned mobile satellite service capabilitiesfrom Globalstar of Milpitas, Calif., Iridium of Bethesda, Md., MSVof Reston, Va., and London-based Inmarsat — with TerreStar ofReston factored into the mix for future services.
The four existing providers are in the process of constructingnext-generation satellites, with some facing financial challengesover the next five years as they attempt to build or sustain theirbusiness, the Futron paper said.
"People need to be aware as they look immediately at theirinventory for what they're going to need this year, and looking atthe longer term, these are the issues you need to keep inmind," said Andrea Maleter, technical director ofBethesda.-based Futron. "The last paragraph of the white papersums it up: 'Candid, early discussions with service providers arethe best way to determine whether the solutions procured over thepast two to three years will be the best options for the next twoto three years.'"
Of the four existing service providers, only Globalstar and Iridium offer what Futron categorizes as "optimal"portable, low-cost handheld services. Globalstar, however, isexperiencing gaps in its phone service availability due to weakenedsignals from its fleet of 48 satellites — some of which are 10years old. Degraded performance of the amplifiers for the S-bandsatellite communications antenna is causing the gaps in voicecoverage.
The highest level of concern expressed in the marketplace, in themedia and by Internet bloggers, relates to Globalstar's ability toprovide voice service over the next 18 months as it launches itsnext generation of satellites, the white paper said.
"First responders need to be aware that if they haveGlobalstar phones lying around and they're going to rely on themthis summer, they may have a real problem," Maleter said."This is not in any way to disparage the company or their dataservices, which are fine, but it's important to check what youneed, what you can get, and plan accordingly."
The company has acknowledged its gaps in voice coverage in filingswith the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and in advisoriesposted on its Web site.
Tony Navarra, president of the company's global operations, saidthe company has addressed the problem in several ways. In somecases the company has provided customers with packages that combinea set of Globalstar phones with a couple of Iridium phones foremergencies. It also offers an Internet service called OptimalSatellite Availability Tool (OSAT) that allows customers to checkfour days in advance to determine when phone service will beavailable in their area.
He admits the system is not perfect.
"We wouldn't be the best choice for emergency services todaybecause you couldn't plan in advance some of your voice services,but we would be acceptable, if not superior, for our higher dataservices," Navarra said.
The Futron paper, which assigned "optimal,""partial" and "limited or not available"ratings to 11 categories, including voice and data services, systemcontinuity, independence from terrestrial systems,interoperability, global coverage, funding and next-generationplans, said Globalstar's data service is "optimal."
Iridium fared the best with "optimal" ratings in all butone category: defining its next generation system, for which itscored "partial." MSV scored the fewest number of"optimal" ratings with three — for its data service,interoperability and next generation definition — andGlobalstar and Iridium scored five and seven "optimal"ratings, respectively.
Navarro said some of the scoring, such as the "limited or notavailable" rating assigned to Globalstar's interoperability,was inaccurate.
The other three companies scored "optimal" in thatcategory.
"We're completely interoperable with all the public switchnetworks, we have connectivity to cell phones, to data managementsystems, to all the other ways to communicate, so we have no more,and frankly no less, interoperability than the other guyshave," he said.
The biggest challenge for mobile satellite service providers isshoring up funding for their next generation of satellites.Globalstar will begin launching 24 next-generation satellites on Soyuz rockets in September 2009 to add to eight new satellites launched in 2007.The 32-satellite constellation is designed to last 15 years, doublethe seven and one-half year scheduled lifespan of the existingconstellation, Navarra said, adding that he borrows money on ayearly basis to cover costs after factoring in revenue for theprevious year.
Iridium and Inmarsat are on solid financial footing, the whitepaper concludes, but MSV and TerreStar still need financing tosupport satellite construction, Futron said.
In addition, Futron said Globalstar, MSV and TerreStar have not yetdefined their ancillary terrestrial components, another pointNavarra disputes with regard to Globalstar.
The company is under a $100 million contract with Hughes NetworkSystems of Germantown, Md., for its ground network, including250,000 chipsets, and has a contract with Open Range CommunicationsSystems of Denver to provide broadband services in rural Americausing Globalstar spectrum, he said.
Navarra said the Futron paper was more pessimistic than it neededto be, especially toward his company.
"We have a ground segment, we have a space segment, we haveexisting customers and a revenue stream. How could we be the onesselected as being the most risky?" he said. "I would saythat was very unfair to us; it's not what's happening."