Attachment 1996Consolidated Res

1996Consolidated Res

REPLY submitted by L/Q Licensee

Consolidated Response to TRW and Constellation

1996-05-02

This document pretains to SAT-WAV-19960307-00043 for Waiver on a Satellite Space Stations filing.

IBFS_SATWAV1996030700043_1031369

                                                                       RECEIVED
                              Before The                   MAY
                                                                                 — 2 1996
                 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIOK
                              Washington, DC 20554                        OFFICE OF SECRETARY

In re Application of                         )
                                             )
L/Q LICENSEE, INC.                           )     File Nos.88—SAT—WAIV—96
                                             )            and 90—SAT—ML—96

For Authority to Construct, Launch           )                             Received
and Operate Globalstar", a Low—Earth         )
Orbit Satellite System to Provide            )                                        q
Mobile—Satellite Services in the             )                             MAY 0 7 1996
1.6/2.4 GHz Bands                            )
                                             )                          Satellite Policy Branch
                                                                          international Bureau


                          CONSOLIDATED RESPONSE


       L/Q Licensee, Inc. (LQL), by its undersigned attorneys, hereby responds to

the comments of TRW Inc. and Constellation Communications, Inc., on its above—

referenced Application and its Request for Waiver of the U.S. Table of Frequency

Allocations. In these pleadings, LQL sought authority to modify its authorization

for the Globalstar"" low—earth orbit Mobile—Satellite Service (MSS) system‘ to

obtain unconditional assignment of feeder links in the 5091—5250 MHz (earth—to—

space) and 6875—7055 MHz (space—to—earth) bands and to operate these feeder

links in conformance with the international allocations adopted at the 1995 World

Radiocommunication Conference (WRC—95)."




   *   LoraU/QUALCOMM Partnership, L.P., 10 FCC Red 2333 (1995).

   * LQL‘s Application also updated information regarding certain system
parameters, and described the anticipated operational power flux density (p.f.d.)
limits which will conform to the technical standards adopted at WRC—95.


      TRW and Constellation were the only commenters on LQL‘s Application and

Request for Waiver. Neither opposed grant of the application or the waiver

request.   Accordingly, LQL urges the Commission to grant its Application and

Request for Waiver expeditiously.   Rapid grant will facilitate completion of the

Globalstar® system on its current schedule of satellite launches in the second half

of 1997 and full constellation operation by January 1, 1999, and thus fulfill the

Commission‘s statutory and public interest objective "of bringing new and

innovative services to the public at the earliest possible time." Amendment of the

Commission‘s Rules to Establish Rules and Policies Pertaining to a Mobile—

Satellite Service in the 1610—1626.5 MHz and 2483.5—2500 MHz Frequency Bands,

9 FCC Red 5936, 5953 (1994) ("Big LEO Report and Order‘").


I.    THE COMMENTS RAISE NO MATERIAL ISSUES RELATED TO
      LQL‘S REQUESTS, AND THEREFORE, THE APPLICATION AND
      WAIVER REQUEST SHOULD BE GRANTED FORTHWITH.


      Neither Constellation nor TRW oppose grant, but instead focus on

intersystem coordination issues. (However, as discussed below, TRW‘s ostensible

concerns with LQL‘s Application reflect an attempt to excuse TRW from

coordination obligations.) As both companies are aware, the Commission has

directed CDMA licensees to conduct intersystem coordination, and to seek the

Commission‘s intervention only if the parties cannot reach an agreement. See Big

LEO Report and Order, 9 FCC Red at 5962—63; see also Memorandum Opinion and

Order, FCC 96—54, at © 39 (released Feb. 15, 1996). At this point in time, the


intersystem coordination process is progressing; grant of LQL‘s requests will, if

anything, facilitate completion of the process.

      A.     TRW. TRW‘s "observations" on LQL‘s proposed system are a

transparent attempt to establish an excuse for TRW not to complete intersystem

coordination with Globalstar".©     In short, TRW claims that a reduction in

average payload power of the Globalstar"" satellites results in a loss of capacity

and the need for greater interference protection from TRW‘s MSS Above 1 GHz

system. From this, TRW concludes that LQL may seek to impose more

constraints on operation of TRW‘s system during intersystem coordination.

      TRW‘s analysis is wrong. TRW misinterprets the materials on which its

comments are based, and invokes a comparison which is inconsistent with basic

principles of satellite system analysis. Given the flawed premises of TRW‘s

comments, there is simply no reason to give any credence to its "observations" or

to excuse TRW from fulfilling its coordination obligations.

      At the outset it should be noted that TRW‘s observations are based, in part,

on an incorrect figure in Table 2 of LQL‘s March 1996 modification application.

As LQL recently informed the Commission, the figure for average payload power

in Table 2 should read 550 Watts (instead of 346 Watts).* Even with this



   ° Because TRW‘s comments reveal concerns regarding its own ability to fulfill
intersystem coordination requirements, they should be considered relevant to
TRW‘s modification application, not LQL‘s. See File Nos. 155—SAT—ML—95, 33—
SAT—AMEND—96; LQL Comments (filed Feb. 23, 1996).

    * See Letter to William F. Caton from William D. Wallace (dated April 24,
1996). This letter also noted that the figure for the total system average power in
                                        — 3.


cbrrection, however, TRW‘s analysis is inaccurate because it attempts to draw a

conclusion about the capacity of the system based on a comparison of the peak

power for one satellite component with the average satellite payload power. The

comparison used by TRW is inappropriate without regard to the numbers

available to it, and so, its conclusions cannot be credited as filed or if recalculated

with the corrected numbers.

      In its comments, TRW claims to have found some significance in the

reduction in the average payload power from the figure of 660 Watts projected for

the system in November 1994. See Globalstar System Amendment, at 14, Table 4—

1 (dated Nov. 15, 1994). As noted above, the current projection for average

payload power is 550 Watts.     This reduction in average payload power represents

a substantial improvement in the design of Globalstar"®" satellites as a result of a

more efficient power system. The reduction from 660 Watts to 550 Watts was

made possible through an improvement in the efficiency of the C—band amplifier

(described in the Mitsubishi Electric paper referenced in TRW‘s comments) and a

redesigned L—band filter to reduce the power drawn by the C—band amplifiers

when not in use. The combination of these improvements resulted in a downward

projection for average payload power while maintaining the net output power

available to the S—band amplifiers, RF power output and peak power generation of




Table 2 of the March 1996 filing should be corrected to read 752 Watts (instead of
548 Watts).

                                         — 4.


the satellites. The overall effect is a more efficient satellite with the same

projected capacity.

      TRW‘s speculation regarding the effect of the power reduction is erronecous

from premise to conclusion. Citing the Mitsubishi Electric paper describing the

Globalstar satellite C—band amplifier, TRW notes that these amplifiers are

"capable of delivering 25 Watts of multicarrier RF output power at a DC power

consumption of approximately 120 Watts." TRW Comments, at 3 (footnote

omitted). TRW claims that the satellite will operate at the peak 240 Watts (for

two amplifiers on board the satellite) for C—band feeder link transmissions. TRW‘s

"analysis" consists of subtracting the peak power figure for the C—band amplifiers

from the (incorrect) 346 Watts of average payload power, concluding that 106

Watts of power are left for the S—band user link amplifiers.   TRW performs the

same calculation for Globalstar‘s 1994 figure of 660 Watts of average payload

power, and concludes that there was a 75% reduction in power available for the S—

band user links between the 1994 and 1996 power budgets (according to TRW, 420

Watts in 1994 vs. 106 Watts in 1996).

      TRW has misinterpreted the description of the C—band amplifier. As the

Mitsubishi Electric paper makes clear, the 25 Watt figure is the peak power of the

C—band amplifier.‘ TRW apparently did not bother to read the text of the paper




    ° Globalstar uses two amplifiers in parallel developing 50 Watts of RF power
at peak. The DC power of these amplifiers varies from a small value up to 240
Watts.

                                         — 5.


Which explains how the amplifier operates linearly, to minimize average power

drawn, and that the average power will be substantially less than the peak power.

      Moreover, the average payload power of the satellite is exactly that: the

average power used by a satellite when making many orbits of the earth. As the

satfihte orbits, it spends much of its time over oceans, land masses at night, and

low traffic areas, interspersed with traffic peaks for short periods of time.

Operating during all these scenarios is factored into the average payload power.

Accordingly, average payload power is not a figure comparable to the peak power

for the C—band amplifiers.

      Despite the irrelevancy of the comparison, TRW subtracted the peak power

of the C—band amplifier from the average payload power to reach its conclusion.

An engineer reviewing TRW‘s observations‘ would have realized that it is simply

inappropriate (and misleading) to subtract the peak power of a C—band satellite—to—

gateway amplifier from the average payload power to obtain a conclusion that

there has been a 75% reduction in power for the S—band amplifier—to—user link.‘




   ° TRW‘s alleged "analysis" of certain technical aspects of Globalstar satellites
does not include an affidavit attesting to the accuracy of the observations, as
contemplated by Section 25.154(a)(4) of the Commission‘s Rules.

   ‘ It is surprising that a satellite manufacturer such as TRW would fall victim
to such an elementary error. It is also surprising that after being provided with
descriptions of the Globalstar"" system filed at the Commission since the original
application was filed on June 3, 1991, and additional descriptions provided during
the intersystem coordination process that TRW would not ask LQL for an
explanation of the payload power reduction before filing its flawed comments.
                                         — 6—


Even without the incorrect average payload power figure in the initial LQL filing,

TRW‘s observations are inaccurate.

       Given its flawed engineering analysis, TRW'S comments on CDMA

inte{_g,ystem coordination are irrelevant to LQL‘s Application. Because there has

beefi%no change in the power available to the S—band amplifiers, LQL is not

seeking "extra protection" for its satellites during intersystem coordination. Cf.

TRW Comments, at 4.

      Similarly, LQL is not seeking to impose "additional regulatory limitations

on other CDMA MSS systems." Cf. id. at 3. As LQL pointed out in its comments

on TRW‘s modification application, downlink p.f.d., the parameter which concerns

TRW, was identified as a "key interference parameter" in resolving CDMA system

coordination in the "Final Report of the Majority of the Active Participants of

Informal Working Group 1 to Above 1 GHz Negotiated Rulemaking Committee," at

Section 3.1.1 (Apr. 6, 1993), a report to which TRW is a signatory. As explained

therein, the CDMA coordination p.f.d. value should be specifiéd "as the maximum

PFD spectral density that is permitted at any point in the service area from the

aggregate of all satellites in the interfering system." Id. (emphasis supplied). In

its comments on TRW‘s system p.f.d., LQL simply requested that TRW follow the

coordination parameters to which all CDMA systems in the current processing

group agreed three years ago.

      B.     Constellation. Constellation noted that LQL has committed to work

toward reaching an intersystem coordination agreement for both the MSS Above 1


GHZ user links and the 5/7 GHz feeder links. Constellation Comments, at 2. LQL

remains committed to fulfill the Commission‘s mandate on intersystem

coordination, and to work with other MSS Above 1 GHz licensees which are

willing to negotiate in good faith to reach a coordination agreement. Therefore,

this is not an issue which needs further consideration.


II.   CONCLUSION


      As noted above, no oppositions were filed to grant of LQL‘s modification

Application and its Request for Waiver. LQL is ready, willing, and able to finish

construction and then launch and operate the Globalstar"" system. Accordingly,

LQL requests that the Commission act expeditiously to grant LQL an

unconditional license for the Globalstar"" system, and that it be granted


unconditional assignment of feeder links at 5091—5250 MHz (earth—to—space) and

6875—7055 MHz (space—to—earth) as requested in its Application and Request for

Waiver.

                               Respectfully submitted,

                               L/Q LICENSEE, INC.


Of Counsel:                    By:   Q (/Q/QUMQ@L 0 &
                                     William D. Wallace \3\
William F. Adler                     CROWELL & MORING
Vice President &                     1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
 Division Counsel                    Washington, DC 20004
GLOBALSTAR                           (202) 624—2500
3200 Zanker Road
San Jose, CA 95134

Lesliec A. Taylor
LESLIE TAYLOR ASSOCIATES
6800 Carlynn Court
Bethesda, MD 20817
(301) 229—9341                       Its Attorneys

Date: May 2, 1996


            11703766        46: 06                                                        ww




                                     DECLARATION

       I, Rubert A. Wicdeman, am the Vice President for Engineering of
       Loral/QUALCOMM Partnership, L.P., and Globalistar, L.P.

       1 have been working on the technical design of the Globaistar®" satellite system
       for over six years.

       I am familiar with the original Globalstar‘" application filed with the Federal
       Communications Commission on June 3, 1991, and the amendments to this
       application filed on November 16, 1994, and March 8, 1996. I am also familiar
       with Parts 2 and 25 of the Commission‘s Rules and the rules and policies adopted
       for the MSS Above 1 GHz service in the and released October 14,
       1994.

       I have reviewed the foregoing "Consqlidated Response," and the facts stated
       thorcin regarding the Globalstar®" system arc accuratc.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the forgoing is truc and correct to the best of my
knowledge and belicf.

Signed this 2nd day of May 1996 in San Jose, California.



                                            &RPLL
                                              Rabert A. Wiedeman
                                             Vice President for Engincering
                                             Loral/QUALCOMM Partnership, L..P.
                                             Globalstar, L.P.


                           CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE


      I, William D. Wallace, hereby certify that I have on this 2nd day of May

1996, caused copies of the foregoing Consolidated Response to be delivered via

hand delivery (indicated with *) or by U.S. mail, postage prepaid, to the following:

 *Scott Blake Harris                       *Thomas Tycz
 Chief                                     Chief,
 International Bureau                      Satellite & Radio Communications
 Federal Communications Commission         Division
 Suite 800                                 Federal Communications Commission
 2000 M Street, N.W.                       Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20554                     2000 M Street, N.W.
                                           Washington, D.C. 20554


*Cecily C. Holiday                         *Karl A. Kensinger
Deputy Chief                               International Bureau
Satellite & Radio Communications           Satellite Radio Branch
Division                                   Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission          Suite 800
Suite 800                                  2000 M Street, NW.
2000 M Street, N.W.                        Washington, D.C. 20554
Washington, D.C. 20554

*Kathleen Campbell                         *Fern J. Jarmulnek
International Bureau                       Chief
Satellite Policy Branch                    Satellite Policy Branch
Federal Communications Commission          Federal Communications Commission
Suite 800                                  2000 M Street, NW.
2000 M Street, N.W.                        Washington, D.C. 20554
Washington, D.C. 20554

*Harry Ng                                  *Michael J. Marcus
Satellite Engineering Branch               Office of Engineering and Technology
Federal Communications Commission          Federal Communications Commission
2000 M Street, N.W.                        2000 M Street, NW.
Fifth Floor                                Room 480
Washington, D.C. 20554                     Washington, D.C. 20554


*Bruce Franca                           *Fred Thomas
Office of Engineering and Technology    Office of Engineering and Technology
Federal Communications Commission       Federal Communications Commission
2000 M Street, NW.                      2000 M Street, NW.
Room 480                                Room 480
Washington, D.C. 20554                  Washington, D.C. 20554


*Charles Iseman                         *Donald H. Gips
Federal Communications Commission       Office of Plans and Policy
1919 M Street, NW.                      Federal Communications Commission
Room 322                                1919 M Street, NW.
Washington, D.C. 20554                  Room 822
                                        Washington, D.C. 20554

Jill Abeshouse Stern                    *Norman P. Leventhal
Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge       Raul R. Rodriguez
2300 N Street, NW.                      Leventhal, Senter & Lerman
Washington, D.C. 200836                 2000 K Street, NW.
                                        Suite 600
                                       Washington, D.C. 20006

*Robert A. Mazer                       Lon C. Levin
Albert Shuldiner                       American Mobile Satellite Corporation
Vinson & Elkins LLP.                   10802 Parkridge Boulevard
1455 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.            Reston, VA 22091
Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20004


Bruce D. Jacobs                        Philip L. Malet
Glenn S. Richards                      Alfred M. Mamlet
Fisher Wayland Cooper                   Steptoe & Johnson
   Leader & Zaragoza                   1330 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
2001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.          Washington, D.C. 20036
Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20006




                                  OW
                                    William D. Wallace



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Document Modified: 2013-12-27 14:15:46

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