Attachment 1991TRW Response sec

This document pretains to SAT-A/O-19901107-00066 for Authority to Operate on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATAO1990110700066_1081790

                                                                                                   E%iég?LEl),mr
                                BEFORE THE
                                                                                                  lwe 1
      Federal Communications
                 io             C  Commis
                                        %1 5 1991
                   ASHINGTON, D.C.          Mvoimoy
                                          MM,
                                                                          20554             orec2 VMngcgéogglsw,

In re Applications of




                                          o M V oA it it it Nt Nt Nt Nt
MOTOROLA SATELLITE                                                            File No. 9—DSS—P—91(87) ~—
   COMMUNICATIONS, INC.                                                                CSSs—91—010
ELLIPSAT CORPORATION                                                          File No. 1

For Authority to Construct, Launch
and Operate a Low Earth Orbit
Satellite System in the
1610—1626.5 MHz and/or
2483 .5—2500 MHz Bands


To:   The Commission




                            RESPONSE OF TRW INC.


          TRW Inc.   ("TRW"),    by its attorneys and pursuant to the

Commission‘s April 1,       1991 Public Notice,                                   Report No. DS—1068,

6 FCC Rcd 2083    (1991),    hereby responds to the reply comments

and oppositions that were filed in connection with the

applications of Motorola Satellite Communications,                                         Inc.

("Motorola")    for a low Earth orbit system of 77 satellites

("Iridium")    and of Ellipsat Corporation ("Ellipsat")                                      for a low

Earth orbit system consisting of six satellites ("Ellipso I").1"



1/     Reply comments or oppositions were filed by TRW; Motorola;
       Ellipsat; Hughes Aircraft Company ("Hughes"); Constellation
       Communications, Inc. ("Constellation"); American Mobile
       Satellite Corporation ("AMSC"); and Aeronautical Radio, Inc.
       ("ARINC®").


                               DI    SION

         I.    The Fact That Several Parties Have Applied To
               Provide RDSS Services In The 1610—1626.5 MHz and
               2483.5—2500 MHz Bands Requires The Denial Of
               Requests To Reallocate These Bands For Other Uses.


         wWith respect first to the reply comments filed by AMSC

and Hughes, TRW reiterates that the pendency of five

applications to provide true radiodetermination ("RDSS")

services in the 1610—1626.5 MHz and/or 2483.5—2500 MHz bands

means that the public interest benefits the Commission has

identified with RDSS services are still attainable —— now more

than ever.    The Commission should not prematurely turn its back

on its findings in the RDSS spectrum allocation and system

licensing proceedings by reallocating the RDSS bands for use by

non—RDSS compatible generic mobile satellite service applicants

such as AMSC.2"    Indeed,   the Commission has already allocated



2/    Like Constellation (see Constellation Reply Comments at
     7—8), TRW wishes to correct those applicants who might
     assume that AMSC has some sort of monopoly in the
     provision of generic mobile satellite services.   See,
     e.g., Motorola Opposition and Reply at iii, 18 &
     nn.37—38.   AMSC once held an authorization to establish a
     G@omestic satellite system in 28 MHz of L—Band spectrum.
      It neither had the exclusive right to use the subject
     frequencies, nor the exclusive right to provide mobile
     satellite services in the United States.  See Amendment
     of Parts 2, 22, and 25 of the Commission‘s Rules to
     Allocate Spectrum for and to Establish Other Rules and
     Policies Pertaining to the Use of Radio Frequencies in a
     Land Mobile Satellite Service for the Provision of
     Various Common Carrier Services, 4 FCC Rcd 6043 (1989),
     vacated in pertinent part sub nom. Aeronautical Radio,
     Inc. v. FCC, 928 F.28 428 (D.C. Cir. 1991).  AMSC is not
     now, and never was authorized to be, a monopoly provider
     of domestic generic mobile satellite services.


large segments of spectrum (28 MHz of L—Band frequencies on a

primary or co—primary basis)      for the provision of domestic

generic mobile satellite services,      and has pending a rulemaking

proceeding to allocate additional frequencies to the service.

In these times where spectrum is scarce and any expansion would

leave other applicants and technologies without access to

frequency bands of their own,      the requests of AMSC and its

shareholder Hughes in this proceeding for the allocation of

even more spectrum to the generic mobile satellite service

argue strongly for the proposition that it is no longer in the

public interest for the Commission to license the spectrum

inefficient system AMSC has applied for      (and keeps seeking to

expand) .

            In addition, AMSC incorrectly characterizes the other

members of the June 3    "processing group" when it states that

"[alll of the proposed systems are Gdesigned primarily to

provide mobile voice services only and to provide position

location services on a secondary basis."      See AMSC Reply

Comments at 6.    TRW is committed to providing RDSS services via

its proposed Odyssey system,      and will provide code division

multiple access    ("CDMA")   spread spectrum mobile voice and data

serviées in a manner that is compatible with its provision of

RDSS services.    Odyssey Application at 25—26, 34.3"     What TRW‘s



3/    AMSC also incorrectly states that "all of the proposed
       systems would operate at power levels that substantially
      exceed the Commission‘s limits for RDSS systems."        IG.

(Footnote continued on next page)


Odyssey system does is enhance the efficient use of the RDSS

bands by integrating additional services in a manner that does

not detract from or degrade the currently—required use of the

bands,    and that does not prevent achievement of the

Commission‘s policy objectives for the RDSS service.


            II.   TRW‘s Petition For Rule Making Will Allow The
                  Commission To Answer The Calls Of Those Parties
                  Who Want To Expedite The Provision of RDSS
                  Services To The Public.


            In its reply comments, Constellation urges the

Commission to act quickly to bring RDSS and mobile voice and

data services to the public.      Constellation Reply Comments at

2—4.     TRW concurs with this request.   It notes that the

regulatory mechanisms it proposed in its July 8,     1991 Petition

for Rule Making and Request for Pioneer‘s Preference —— namely

(1) the revision of Sections 2.106 and 25.141 of the

Commission‘s rules to enable the provision of spread spectrum



(Footnote continued from previous page)

3/       (footnote omitted).   While all of the applicants
         proposing use of the 2483.5—2500 MHz S—Band segment will
         minimally exceed existing power flux dGensity limits in
         that band, TRW has shown that the limits can be relaxed
         to the modest extent necessary to accommodate TRW‘s
         Odyssey system without causing harmful interference to
         existing terrestrial users in that band.  See TRW
         Petition for Rule Making and Request for Pioneer‘s
         Preference at 12—13, and Attachment (filed July 8,
         1991).  See also Odyssey Application at Appendix C,   as
         clarified (waiver of S—Band power flux Gdensity limit
         requested for Odyssey downlink operations).   AMSC‘s
         generic mobile satellite system, of course, is
         incompatible with RDSS systems and with the uses of the
       RDSS bands that were proposed by the other members of the
       June 3,    1991 "processing group," including TRW.


mobile voice and data services in the RDSS bands and the

relaxation of current power flux density limitations at S—Band;

and (2) the retention of the remainder of the current RDSS

licensing rules and policies to cover the applicants in the

June 3,    1991 "processing group" —— are capable of extremely

rapid implementation.

            The Commission thus has before it a blueprint for

bringing RDSS and spread spectrum mobile voice and data

services expeditiously to the public.         TRW urges the Commission

to act in the manner suggested by TRW in its Petition for Rule

Making,    and take the steps necessary to ensure the timely

inauguration of mobile—enhanced RDSS services in this country.


            III.   Motorola‘s Opposition And Reply Leaves
                   Unanswered Many Of The Questions Raised In The
                   Comments and Petitions.


               A. Motorola‘s Asserted Sharing Analysis.


            Motorola states that its proposed Iridium system is

capable of sharing the 1610—1626.5 MHz band with what it terms

"compliant" RDSS systems.        Motorola Opposition and Reply at 4,

20—27,    29—32.   It asserts,   however,   that the only "compliant" system

is the now—d@efunct —— and therefore nonexistent —— RDSS system

proposed by Geostar Positioning Corporation.         Motorola‘s argument

that it need only demonstrate compatibility between Iridium and

so—called "compliant" systems is not consistent with the


Commission‘s RDSS Licensing Order.4/      The Commission will have

to engage in a comparison of all proposals in order to determine

which system design or designs are in the public interest.

            There are six applicants in the June 3 "processing

group" who seek access to the RDSS bands.        Assuming,    arguendo,

that Motorola and one or more of the other members of the June 3

"processing group" are basically (i.e.,     legally,    financially,

and technically)     qualified to be Commission licensees,      the

ability of one or more of these applicants‘        systems to share

these frequency bands will have to be addressed.2"           The system
or systems that can share the band with other existing or

planned systems will clearly advance the public interest, while

systems unable to engage in such intraband sharing will not.

Thus,   the ability of any of the applicants to share spectrum

with an entity whose proposed system will never be built

(Geostar)    is irrelevant to the comparison among competing

qualified applicants to determine which system or systems are

most consistent with the Commission‘s policy favoring

competitive multiple entry.

            Motorola states that it stands prepared to justify the

licensing of its system on a non—competitive basis by



4/      Amendment to the Commission‘s Rules      to Allocate Spectrum
        for, and to Establish Other Rules and Policies Pertaining
        to, a Radiod@etermination Satellite Service, 104 F.C.C.20
        650 (1986)   ("RDSS Licensing Order").

5/      See RDSS Licensing Order, 104 F.C.C.24 at 654 (system
        Gesign that permits only one system to operate in a fre—
        quency band must be "unquestionably superior" to justify
        departure from Commission policy favoring competitive
        entry by multiple independently—licensed systems).


demonstrating the "unquestionable superiority" of the Iridium

system over the other five applicants.         Motorola Opposition and

Reply at 28—29.       TRW and others have emphasized that Motorola‘s

proposal to operate bi—d@irectionally in the 1610—1626.5 MHz

band,   combined with its use of time division multiple access

and frequency G@ivision multiple access techniques, will hinder

or precludé sharing of the RDSS bands between Iridium and

systems employing spread spectrum CDMA transmission

techniques.     See TRW Petition at 4.

           Motorola claims in the text of its Opposition and

Reply that all of the applicants proposing CDMA spread spectrum

techniques are in violation of the Commission‘s rules because

they do not "spread their transmissions over the entire 1.65

MHz RDSS wide      [sic]   band as required by the rules."    Motorola

Opposition and Reply at 39 n.95        (citing RDSS Licensing Order,

104 F.C.C.28 at 660).        See also id. at 23 n.51l.    Contrary to

this assertion, neither the RDSS Licensing Order nor the

Commission‘s rules contain any requirement that RDSS systems

spread their systems‘ signals over the entire 16.5 MHz bana.5"


6/      In the RDSS Licensing Order, the Commission rejected a
        proposal from a non—spread spectrum applicant for what
        now are the RDSS bands to split the bands between spread
        spectrum RDSS services and non—spread spectrum mobile
        satellite services.  The Commission Gdid not impose a
        technical requirement that applicants spread their
        systems‘   signals across the entire band.       Instead,   it
        "conclude[a) that spread spectrum systems should operate
        using the entire bandwidth allocated for RDSS, and
        reject[ed] Omninet‘s ‘band splitting‘ proposal." RDSS
        Licensing Order, 104 F.C.C.28@ at 660. The Commission
        did, however, state that it "will not mandate specific
        system parameters or coding schemes . . . .   IQ@. at 662.


             While all of the applicants in the June 3 "processing

group" that propose CDMA transmission techniques in the S—Band

(2483.5—2500 MHz) will require some relaxation of the power

flux density limitations, all have requested waivers of the

restrictions to the extent necessary.       See, e.g., TRW Odyssey

Application at Appendix C,      as clarified.   Moreover, TRW has

petitioned the Commission to relax the limitation,       noting that

easing the limits by 9 GB (i.e.,      to —135 GBW/m2—4 kHz) would

double the potential user base for spread spectrum RDSS systems

operating in the S—Band without causing harmful interference to

terrestrial systems.      TRW Petition for Rule Making and Request

for Pioneer‘s Preference at 12—13 and Attachment       (filed July 8,

1991) .27
             TRW does not agree with Motorola‘s comments on spread

spectrum technology.      See Motorola Opposition and Reply at

32—34.      TRW expects to have an opportunity to address specific

comments about its Odyssey system and the CDMA spread spectrum

transmission techniques incorporated therein once the




1/       Motorola observes that "there are no [power flux density]
         limits specified in the space—to—Earth direction of the
         1.6 GHz band that IRIDIUM proposes to use for such
         transmissions."  Motorola Opposition and Reply at 36.
         The only reason no power flux density limitations exist
         in this band is that until Motorola filed its Iridium
         application, there had been no requests for downlink
         operations in that band (since existing rules do not
         permit them).  Now that such a request has been made and
         will be discussed as a possible secondary allocation at
         the upcoming World Administrative Radio Conference,     it is
         reasonable to anticipate that the International
         Telecommunication Union will place downlink power flux
         limits in this band.


Commission places the Odyssey application on public notice.

TRW will defer further comment until that time.


                    B.     Motorola‘s Opposition And Reply Leaves Many
                           Technical Questions Concerning Iridium
                           Unanswered .


           Motorola did not completely respond to challenges to

specific aspects of its technical proposal for the Iridium

system.    For example, whereas AMSC leveled a series of very

specific challenges to the technical feasibility of the Iridium

system, Motorola replied only to several             (see, e.g., Motorola

Opposition and Reply at 37,           38),   and dismissed the balance.

           Given the gravity of the questions raised by AMSC and

otheré in their comments and petitions,             a response is

warranted.      Left unaddressed in Motorola‘s Opposition and Reply

are charges that only a small portion of the Iridium system‘s

communications capability can be used at any one time;              that all

77 Iridium satellites must be in place for the system to work;

and that it is inherently inefficient for the Iridium system to

provide uniform coverage of populated and unpopulated areas.

See,   e.g.,   Hughes Comments at 6—8.


               C.        Motorola‘s Call For Processing Guidelines For
                         The Applicants In The June 3 "Processing Group"
                         Is Premature.


           In its Opposition and Reply, Motorola suggests a

series of processing quidelines that it feels should be applied

post haste to the members of the June 3 "processing group."

Specifically, Motorola:           (a) urges the dismissal of all


                                 — 10 —


applications not basically qualified;         (b) urges the dismissal

of all applications not proposing RDSS services; and (c)

recommends the conditioning of all licenses on strict adherence

to milestone schedules     (subject to revocation for

non—compliance).      Motorola Opposition and Reply at 39.

            TRW approves in concept of all three of Motorola‘s

recommendations.      Nevertheless, TRW remains concerned that

summary Gdismissal of any applicant before placement on public

notice could lead to protracted litigation and ultimately serve

to delay the initiation of service to the public.


            IV .    nclusion


            TRW urges the Commission to consider the matters

discussed above in the course of its processing of the Motorola

and Ellipsat applications,     and as it Gdevelops rules and

policies to govern the processing of the other applicants in

the June 3     "processing group."


                                     Respectfully submitted,

                                     TRW INC.



                                     By :
                                            NormanP. Leventhal /
                                            Raul R. Rodrigqguez
                                            Stephen D.   Baruch

                                            Leventhal, Senter & Lerman
                                            2000 K Street, N.W.
                                            Suite 600
                                            Washington, D.C.      20006
                                            (202)   429—8970

August 5,    1991                    Its Attorneys


                        CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE



         I,   Katharine K.    Bryant,    do hereby certify that a copy

of the foregoing "Response of TRW Inc." was mailed,         first—class

postage prepaid,   this 5th day of August 1991, to the following:


               Mr. Leonard S. Kolsky,
               Vice President and Director of
                 Regulatory Affairs
               Motorola, Inc.
               1350 I Street, N.W.
               Washington, D.C.  20005

                Philip L. Malet, Esq.
               Alfred M.     Mamlet,    Esq.
               Steptoe & Johnson
               1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
               Washington, D.C.  20036
                 Counsel for Motorola Satellite
                   Communications, Inc.

               Jill Abeshouse Stern, Esq.
               Eldred D. Ingraham, Esq.
               Miller & Holbrooke
               1225 19th Street, N.W.
               Suite 400
               Washington, D.C.   20036
                 Counsel for Ellipsat Corporation

               Gary M. Epstein, Esgq.
               James F. Rogers, Esq.
               Kevin C. Boyle, Esq.
               Latham & Watkins
               1001 Pennsylvania Avenue,       N.W.
               Suite 1300
               Washington, D.C.  20004—2504
                 Counsel for Hughes Aircraft Company

               Lon C. Levin, Esq.
               Glenn S. Richards, Esq.
               Gurman, Kurtis, Blask & Freedman,       Chartered
               1400 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
               Suite   500
               Washington, D.C.  20036
                 Counsel for American Mobile Satellite
                   Corporation


Bruce D. Jacobs, Esq.
Fisher, Wayland, Cooper & Leader
1255 23rd Street, N.W.
Suite 800
Washington,   D.C.    20037
  Counsel for American Mobile Satellite
    Corporation

Cheryl Lynn Schneider, Esq.
Communications Satellite Corporation
950 L‘Enfant Plaza,     S.W.
Washington,   D.C.    20024

Robert A.   Mazer,   Esq.
Albert Shuldiner, Esq.
Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle
One Thomas Circle, N.W.
Suite 800
Washington, D.C.  20005
  Counsel for Constellation Communications,   Inc.

Troy D. Ellington
Terri B. Natoli
GTE Spacenet Corporation
1700 O1ld Meadow Road
McLean, VA   22101

Bruce L. Bucklin
Acting Chief
Technical Operations Section
U.S. Department of Justice
Drug Enforcement Administration
9th and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20537

Robert L. Riemer
Senior Program Officer
National Research Council
Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics,
  and Applications
2101 Constitution Avenue,          N.W.
Washington, D.C.     20418

Leslie A. Taylor, Esq.
Leslie Taylor Associates
6800 Carlynn Court
Bethesda, MD  20817
  Counsel for Norris Satellite
     Communications,        Inc.


Henry M. Rivera, Esq.
Ginsburg, Feldaman and Bress, Chartered
1250 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.   20036
  Counsel for RDSS Inc.

John L.   Bartlett, Esq.
Wiley, Rein & Fielding
1776 K Street,   N.W.
Washington, D.C.  20006
  Counsel for Aeronautical Radio,   Inc.



                    Herlosct .fagonZ
                        _~Katharine K/ Bryazh t



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