Globalstar Oppositio

OPPOSITION submitted by Globalstar, Inc.

Opposition

2010-04-26

This document pretains to SES-MFS-20091221-01606 for Modification w/ Foreign Satellite (earth station) on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESMFS2009122101606_812705

                                 Before The
                   FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C. 20554


In the Matter of                             )        File Nos.
                                             )        SAT-AMD-20091221-00147
GLOBALSTAR LICENSEE LLC,                     )        SES-AFS-20091221-01601
GUSA LICENSEE LLC, AND GCL                   )        SES-MFS-20091221-01602
LICENSEE LLC                                 )        SES-AFS-20091221-01607
                                             )        SES-MFS-20091221-01608
Application for Modification of              )        SES-MFS-20091221-01609
Nongeostationary Mobile Satellite Service    )        SES-MFS-20091221-01610
System License (S2115) To Launch a Second- )          SES-MFS-20091221-01611
Generation System                            )        SES-MFS-20091221-01612
                                             )        SES-MFS-20091221-01613
Application for Modification of Mobile       )        SES-MFS-20091221-01614
Satellite Service Earth Station Licenses and )        SES-MFS-20091221-01615
Mobile Earth Terminal Licenses To Authorize )         SES-MFS-20091221-01616
Communications With Second-Generation        )        SES-MFS-20091221-01617
System and To Incorporate Previously-Granted )        SES-MFS-20091221-01618
Ancillary Terrestrial Component Authority    )        SES-MFS-20091221-01603
                                             )        SES-MFS-20091221-01604
                                             )        SES-MFS-20091221-01605
                                             )        SES-MFS-20091221-01606


            OPPOSITION OF GLOBALSTAR TO PETITION TO DENY

I.      INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

        Globalstar Licensee LLC, GUSA Licensee LLC, and GCL Licensee LLC

(collectively, “Globalstar”) hereby oppose the petitions filed by Iridium Satellite LLC

(“Iridium”) to deny Globalstar’s Space Station and Earth Station Modification

Applications (collectively “Second-Generation System Application”).1/ In the Second-


1/
       See Globalstar Licensee LLC, GUSA Licensee LLC, and GCL Licensee LLC –
Application for Modification of Nongeostationary Mobile Satellite Service System
License (S2115) To Launch a Second-Generation System; Application For Modification
of Mobile Satellite Service Earth Station Licenses and Mobile Earth Terminal Licenses
To Authorize Communications with Second-Generation System and To Incorporate
Previously-Granted Ancillary Terrestrial Component Authority (filed Dec. 21, 2009).
Iridium filed an initial Opposition to Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application


Generation System Application, Globalstar has sought the necessary Commission space

station and earth station licensing approvals in connection with the deployment of its

second-generation satellite constellation, “Globalstar 2.0,” which will enable it to restore

service quality and to provide a variety of advanced voice, two-way data, and messaging

services for at least the next 15 years. That will serve the public interest by benefiting

Globalstar’s customers and increasing competition both here and abroad.

       Iridium, Globalstar’s principal competitor, has failed to present any technical or

policy justification for denying Globalstar’s Application or for imposing the onerous

conditions it has proposed. Rather, Iridium’s pleadings amount to nothing more than an

anticompetitive effort to delay Globalstar’s placement into service of its replacement

constellation in order to impede Globalstar’s recovery and thereby enhance Iridium’s

own prospects for funding its proposed second generation constellation.2/ The

Commission should note Iridium’s objections for what they are and promptly grant

Globalstar’s Application.



on December 31, 2009, before the Application was placed on Public Notice. See
Opposition of Iridium Satellite LLC (filed Dec. 29, 2009) (“Iridium Opposition”). On
January 13, 2010, the International Bureau’s Satellite Division granted Globalstar’s
motion to defer the deadline for responding to Iridium’s Opposition until the Second-
Generation System Application was placed on public notice. See Report No. SAT-
00660, DA 10-89 (rel. Jan. 15, 2010). The earth station and space station components of
Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application were placed on Public Notice on
March 17, 2010, and March 19, 2010, respectively. See Report No. SES-01226 (rel. Mar.
17, 2010) and Report No. SAT-00673 (rel. Mar. 19, 2010). On April 16, 2010, Iridium
filed a Petition opposing the Application. See Petition To Deny of Iridium Satellite LLC
(filed April 16, 2010) (“Iridium Petition”).
2/
        In addition to its December 31st Opposition and April 16th Petition, Iridium also
has filed a motion asking the Commission to delay acting on Globalstar’s Second-
Generation System Application indefinitely. See Iridium Satellite LLC, Motion to Hold
Globalstar Applications in Abeyance (filed Dec. 31, 2009) (“Iridium Abeyance Motion”).

                                            -2-


II.    GLOBALSTAR WILL OPERATE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE
       COMMISSION’S SATELLITE LICENSING RULES AND POLICIES.

       In its pleadings, Iridium asserts that the Commission should deny or impose

unprecedented “compliance conditions”3/ because Globalstar previously has sought a

limited waiver of the terms of the Commission’s Modification Order modifying the

frequencies on which Globalstar’s U.S.-licensed satellites may operate, as well as Special

Temporary Authority (“STA”) to continue to provide service on those frequencies in

Russia – a country in which Iridium is not authorized to operate.4/ As Globalstar has

demonstrated in response to Iridium’s prior pleadings making the identical claims,5/

nothing about the Request for Waiver and STA justifies a denial, conditioning, or further

delay in approving Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application.

       In the Modification Order, the Commission concluded that Globalstar’s U.S.-

licensed satellites should no longer be permitted to operate either in the U.S. or abroad on

the spectrum between 1618.725 and 1621.35 MHz, despite the fact that Globalstar has


3/
       See Iridium Petition at 5.
4/
       See Globalstar Licensee LLC, Call Sign S2115; GUSA Licensee LLC, Call Sign
E970381; Iridium Constellation LLC, Call Sign S2110; Iridium Satellite LLC, Call Sign
E960132; Iridium Carrier Services, Call Sign E960622, Modification of Authority to
Operate a Mobile Satellite Service System in the 1.6/2.4 GHz Frequency Band, Order of
Modifications, FCC 08-248 (rel. Oct. 15, 2008) (“Modification Order”). See also
Globalstar Licensee LLC and GUSA Licensee LLC – Request for Waiver and Request
for Special Temporary Authority, SAT-STA-20081215-00231 (filed Dec. 15, 2008)
(“Request for Waiver and STA”). Globalstar also has sought reconsideration of the
Modification Order. See Petition for Reconsideration of Globalstar Licensee LLC and
GUSA Licensee LLC (filed Nov. 14, 2008) (“Globalstar Petition for Reconsideration”).
Globalstar’s Request for Waiver and STA and Petition for Reconsideration both remain
pending.
5/
       See Opposition of Globalstar Licensee LLC, Call Sign S2115, FCC File No. SAT-
MOD-20080904-00165 (filed May 28, 2009); Opposition to Iridium’s Motion To Hold
Globalstar Application In Abeyance (filed Jan. 11, 2010).

                                            -3-


been licensed to operate, and in fact has been operating, on such frequencies since it first

deployed service. In its decision, however, the Commission specifically recognized that

“requiring Globalstar to terminate transmissions in certain parts of the world on

frequencies in which it has existing operating agreements may impose undue costs on

both Globalstar and the countries accessing the Globalstar space stations” and expressly

acknowledged that a waiver of those terms might be necessary in certain circumstances.6/

As Globalstar repeatedly has shown, despite its legal position that the Modification Order

is both unlawful and contrary to the public interest, Globalstar took extensive measures in

order to comply with its terms. Immediately after the Order was released, Globalstar

began the process of adjusting its global channel assignments to conform with the

Commission’s decision.7/ Among other steps, Globalstar contacted its independent

gateway operators (“IGOs”) to determine whether their national licenses would allow

them to use channels below 1618.725 MHz within their territories. As Globalstar has

candidly acknowledged in both its meetings with staff and its pleadings, however, in a

limited number of countries outside of the United States, technical and regulatory

constraints made it either extremely difficult or impossible for Globalstar to fully comply

with the Modification Order’s terms.8/ Among other constraints, for example, a complex

set of technical factors affect the channels that Globalstar is able to assign to a specific




6/
       See Modification Order at ¶ 41.
7/
       Globalstar’s efforts to comply with the terms of the Modification Order are
described in the Affidavit of Paul A. Monte filed on February 2, 2009 in support of
Globalstar’s Request for Waiver and STA (“Monte Affidavit”). See also Opposition of
Globalstar Licensee LLC (filed Feb. 2, 2009).
8/
       See Monte Affidavit at 6-10.

                                             -4-


gateway, and the assignment of specific channels to any single gateway in turn affects the

channels assigned to adjacent gateways and so on with a cascading effect.9/

       In light of these difficulties, complying fully with the Modification Order was not

possible in certain countries without substantially harming existing public services. As

Globalstar informed the Commission, for example, if Globalstar were required to cease

operations on the spectrum at its Russian gateways, it would be forced to eliminate

service to many subscribers, including U.S. troops in Afghanistan who are served through

those gateways.10/ GlobalTel, the Globalstar IGO serving Russia, has verified Globalstar’s

showing of harm, explaining that enforcement of the terms of the Modification Order in

Russia “will actually deny [GlobalTel] the possibility to continue its services.”11/

Accordingly, Globalstar filed its Request for Waiver of the application of the

Modification Order with respect to certain countries, and simultaneously submitted its

Request for STA to allow it to continue to operate on the affected frequencies from

enumerated gateways “for 180 days or until the Commission acts on [its waiver],

whichever is shorter.”12/ Since filing its Request for Waiver and STA, Globalstar has

continued to work hard with its IGOs to come into further compliance where possible,

and in fact has done so in several countries that were part of its original waiver request,

with the result that the only country with respect to which Globalstar is now seeking a




9/
       Id. at 3-6.
10/
       Id. at 9-10.
11/
      See Letter from Oleg Shedenkov, General Director, CJCS GlobalTel, to Marlene
H Dortch, Secretary, FCC (March 22, 2010) (“GlobalTel Letter”) at 2.
12/
       See Request for Waiver and STA at 19-20.


                                            -5-


waiver is Russia.13/ Iridium, the sole beneficiary of the Modification Order, is not even

currently authorized to operate on the affected spectrum in Russia and so has made no

factual showing of any harm to it from Globalstar’s operation in Russia. This fact has

recently been confirmed by GlobalTel as well.14/ In light of these facts, including in

particular Globalstar’s good faith and transparent attempts to obtain relief so as to avoid

shutting down service to customers, Iridium has presented no basis for denying,

conditioning, or delaying action on Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application.

       There similarly is no merit to Iridium’s assertion that Globalstar’s decision to

register its second-generation satellite constellation through France demonstrates an

intent to “evade and negate” or otherwise achieve an “end run” around the terms of the

Modification Order.15/ As Globalstar discussed in its Second-Generation System

Application, over the course of the year-and-a-half since it first sought authority to launch

a replacement constellation,16/ Globalstar determined for a variety of business reasons to

register the Globalstar 2.0 constellation through France. As an initial matter, Globalstar

explained that it has significant business ties to France and that its subsidiary, Globalstar

Europe SARL, holds licenses in France for the service link and feeder link spectrum and

operates a gateway covering Western Europe and parts of Northern Africa and the North




13/
       See Letter from William F. Adler , Globalstar, to Marlene H. Dortch, DCc (Aug.
17, 2009).
14/
       See GlobalTel Letter.
15/
       Iridium Opposition at 3; Iridium Petition at 4, 6.
16/
      See Modification Application of Globalstar Licensee, FCC File No. SAT-MOD-
20080904-00165 (filed Sept. 4, 2008).

                                             -6-


Atlantic, areas in which Globalstar’s customer base is rapidly expanding.17/ Globalstar

also discussed the fact that French companies have been awarded in excess of $1.2 billion

in contracts to build and launch the Globalstar 2.0 constellation, and that the French

export finance agency, Coface, has provided a $586 million credit facility through a

consortium of French banks to fund the constellation.18/ In addition, Globalstar pointed

out that three of the six MSS providers licensed to provide service in the U.S. have – for

business or other technical reasons – chosen to license their space stations through

countries other than the U.S.

       To be sure, Globalstar explained that an additional reason it has decided to

register the Globalstar 2.0 constellation through France is because, if its future operations

outside of the United States were limited to the L-band spectrum authorized in its U.S.-

issued space station license, as modified by the Modification Order, Globalstar would not

have enough global L-band capacity through 2025 – the anticipated lifespan of the

second-generation constellation – to continue to grow its business.19/ Globalstar also

reiterated the fact – now well documented in the record of its waiver proceeding – that in

certain countries outside of the U.S. its IGOs are not authorized to use sufficient L-band

spectrum within the smaller frequency assignment now authorized under Globalstar’s


17/
       See Second-Generation System Application at 8.
18/
       Id.
19/
        Id. at 6-8 (citing Modification Order). As noted, the Modification Order limited
Globalstar’s U.S.-authorized space station operations in the L-band to the spectrum
between 1610-1618.725 MHz for earth-to-space transmissions. In contrast, Globalstar’s
French space station registration will authorize operations on Globalstar 2.0 throughout
the entire portion of the L-band spectrum allocated for Code Division Multiple Access
(“CDMA”) MSS operations throughout the rest of the world, subject to national
licensing.

                                            -7-


U.S.-issued space station license to provide a viable level of service over the life of the

second-generation.20/

        Finally and notwithstanding Iridium’s misleading assertions to the contrary,21/

Globalstar’s Application also made clear that its U.S.-licensed, first-generation space

stations will continue to comply fully with the terms of its U.S. space station license:22/

As Globalstar explained “[t]hrough at least 2015 or 2016 (beyond the current 2013

expiration date of its FCC authorization), Globalstar will be operating satellites registered

through two different administrations.”23/ In order to comply with the terms of its U.S.

space station license, as limited by the Modification Order, in the “United States, both the

first-generation and the second-generation satellites will operate on the authorized

frequencies, as modified by [that Order] – specifically, the 1610-1618.725 MHz band in

the L-band and the 2483.5-2500 MHz band in the S-band.24/ It is simply not true that

Globalstar’s decision to register its second-generation space stations through France is

intended to circumvent the conditions on its existing U.S. satellite license.




20/
        See Second-Generation System Application at 6-7 (citing Request for Waiver and
STA).
21/
        Iridium Petition at 7-8.
22/
        As Globalstar noted, it may at some point in the future seek a waiver to operate its
remaining first-generation satellites in the spectrum between 1618.725 and 1621.35 MHz
in certain countries outside the United States in addition to Russia. See Second-
Generation System Application at not 17. Iridium’s assertion (see Iridium Petition at 8)
that this somehow would violate the Commission’s rules makes no sense – the whole
point of seeking such a waiver would be to obtain Commission authority to engage in
such operations.
23/
        Second-Generation System Application at 10.
24/
        Id. at 10-11.


                                            -8-


       Iridium’s request that the Commission impose unprecedented operating

conditions on Globalstar – including the requirement that Globalstar “cease to operate all

currently in-orbit satellites on the spectrum in the 1618.725-1621.35 MHz band outside

of the United States” – is completely misplaced.25/ The satellites receive in the L-band,

they do not transmit. To comply with the Commission’s Modification Order, Globalstar

modifies the software in its control center to prohibit the gateway operators from

assigning channels in the 1618.725-1621.35 MHz band to mobile earth terminals

(“METs”) within their gateway service areas. As explained above, Globalstar has done

so everywhere except for Russia where lower L-band channels are not available.

Commission authority to assign channels in the 1618.725-1621.35 MHz band to METs in

Russia is the subject of its pending Request for Waiver and STA. The Commission

should resolve that issue in that proceeding, not as a condition on the Application here,

which involves second-generation satellites that are not currently in-orbit.26/

       Finally, there is no basis in the record (and Iridium cannot point to any analogous

precedent in the Commission’s prior MSS licensing decisions) for the imposition of

“reporting” or “monitoring requirements.27/ The sole precedent to which Iridium cites in

support of its request that the Commission impose such conditions – the case of TMI – is

wholly inapposite. In that case, the Commission imposed construction milestones and

financial conditions on the licensee because it sought to ensure that “licensees and

spectrum reservation holders construct their satellite systems and provide service to the

25/
       Iridium Opposition at 7; Iridium Petition at 13.
26/
       See Second-Generation System Application at note 17.
27/
       Iridium Petition at 7.


                                            -9-


public in a timely fashion.”28/ Here – but for Iridium’s own efforts to delay the

deployment of Globalstar’s new constellation – there can be no question as to

Globalstar’s intent and ability to construct its replacement system and provide service in

a timely manner.

III.   GLOBALSTAR AND THE FRENCH REGULATORY AUTHORITY
       HAVE FULLY COMPLIED WITH THE ITU’S SATELLITE LICENSING
       PROCESSES.

       In its pleadings, Iridium states that “[w]hile Globalstar is free to pursue its future

satellite licensing plans through a non-U.S. registration at the ITU, it may only do so if its

respects the well-established ITU coordination process.”29/ Iridium fails, however, to

provide any facts to suggest that either Globalstar or the French regulatory authority, the

Agence Nationale Des Frequences (“ANFR”), has failed to do just that.

       On May 15, 2009, Globalstar Europe SARL submitted its application to the

ANFR seeking authority, on behalf of itself and its ultimate parent company, Globalstar,

Inc., to launch the Globalstar 2.0 satellite constellation pursuant to a French-issued

registration. After reviewing Globalstar’s submission, ANFR agreed to sponsor

Globalstar-2. On July 1, 2009, ANFR, submitted the Globalstar 2.0 constellation

registration to the ITU as an Advanced Publication in accordance with Article 9 of the

Radio Regulations. The Globalstar 2.0 constellation has been designated HIBLEO-X,

and was listed in the ITU’s International Frequency Information Circular (IFIC) (Space

28/
       See TMI Communications and Company, Limited Partnership and TerreStar
Networks Inc.— Application for Review and Request for Stay; TMI Communications
and Company, Limited Partnership, Application for Modification of 2 GHz LOI
Authorization; TMI Communications and Company, Limited Partnership, and Terrestar
Networks, Inc. Request to Assign Spectrum Reservation, Memorandum Opinion and
Order, 19 FCC Rcd 12603 at ¶¶ 42-47 (2004) (cited in Iridium Petition at note 21).
29/
       Iridium Petition at 5.

                                            - 10 -


Services) 2650 on August 11, 2009, in Special Section (ssn) 5745 under ITU-R ID No.

109540513. In accordance with the ITU’s regulations, other operators have been granted

the right to request coordination with the new constellation; in fact, several, including

Iridium, have already done so. Thus, Iridium’s assertion that either Globalstar or France

has failed to follow the ITU’s procedures – or that other licensed operators have been

denied the ability to request coordination with the Globalstar 2.0 constellation – is

factually incorrect and indeed inexplicable.

        In light of the fact that both Globalstar and the French regulatory authority have

followed proper ITU licensing procedure in registering the Globalstar 2.0 satellite

constellation, there is no merit to Iridium’s request that the FCC “condition any grant on

Globalstar’s compliance with the ITU’s coordination process and require Globalstar to

notify its U.S. customers that it may need to discontinue or alter service depending on the

outcome of the coordination process.”30/ Iridium’s efforts to have the FCC hold

Globalstar (or for that matter France) to some higher or different standard are unjustified

and, more importantly, could place the U.S. in violation of its own treaty obligations to

abide by the ITU’s spectrum assignment processes and to respect the rights of other

sovereign countries to sponsor MSS systems based upon a showing that they will not

cause interference to previously-licensed systems. Similarly, Iridium’s request that the

Commission “take appropriate steps to protect its authority” and “ensure that the U.S.

retains priority for its ITU registrations over any later in time filings by a different

country” would run counter to established ITU rules and risk placing the U.S. in violation

of its ITU commitments to respect the licensing actions of foreign countries.

30/
        Iridium Petition at 6.


                                             - 11 -


IV.    IRIDIUM HAS PROVIDED NO BASIS FOR CONDITIONING
       GLOBALSTAR’S ACCESS TO THE U.S. MSS MARKET IN THE
       MANNER IT HAS REQUESTED.

       Iridium further asks that the Commission place wholly unprecedented conditions

on Globalstar’s authority to access its U.S. earth stations and mobile earth terminals using

the Globalstar 2.0 constellation because France has chosen not to authorize Time

Division Multiple Access (“TDMA”) MSS operations, including Iridium’s, in the

spectrum below 1621.35 MHz.31/ Iridium’s request for conditions misstates the

Commission’s established access policies for non-U.S.-licensed satellite systems and

flatly misrepresents facts that are a matter of public record.

       A.      Iridium Distorts the Commission’s DISCO II Entry Policies.

       As an initial matter, Iridium’s pleadings mischaracterize the Commission’s

standards for conditioning or denying applications for entry into the U.S. market by

foreign-licensed satellite providers. In revising the entry requirements applicable to

foreign-licensed satellite systems seeking to serve the U.S. market, the Commission

adopted a strong “presumption in favor of entry in considering applications to access

non-U.S. satellites licensed by WTO Members.”32/ Under this policy, the Commission

“presume[s] that satellite systems licensed by WTO Members” such as France “providing

WTO-covered services satisfy the competition component of the [Commission’s] public




31/
       Iridium Opposition at 9; Iridium Petition at 9-12.
32/
       See Amendment of the Commission’s Regulatory Policies To Allow Non-U.S.
Licensed Space Stations To Provide Domestic and International Satellite Service in the
United States; Amendment of Section 25.131 of the Commission’s Rules To Eliminate
the Licensing Requirement for Certain International Receive-Only Earth Stations, Report
and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 24094 (1997) (“DISCO II Order”) at ¶ 39.


                                            - 12 -


interest analysis.”33/ In support of this presumption, the Commission has concluded that

entry into the U.S. market by WTO-member satellite systems will “further the

Commission's goal of promoting a competitive satellite services market in the United

States.34/ “These benefits include greater availability of satellite services from a larger

number of providers, more efficient and innovative services, lower prices, higher quality,

and, overall, more choices for users and consumers in the selection of satellite

services.”35/

        Although the Commission indicated that parties may endeavor to rebut the

presumption of entry by WTO-member-sponsored systems based on a showing that such

entry would cause competitive harm in the United States satellite market, it explicitly

stated that it would only attach conditions (or deny an application) in “exceptional” cases

where entry “would pose a very high risk to competition.”36/ Examples of such harm

include: “market concentration, discrimination, below average variable cost pricing,

monopoly supply of service…, or where the applicant has market power and could use

that power to raise prices and limit output in the U.S. satellite market”37/ Because such

harms are particularly unlikely in the market for satellite services, the Commission

specifically noted “it has not been necessary to devise or impose competitive safeguards

[in the satellite context] other than the rule against exclusive arrangements.”38/


33/
        DISCO II Order at ¶ 39.
35/
        Id.
36/
        Id. at ¶ 41 (emphasis added).
37/
        Id. at ¶ 37.
38/
        Id. at ¶ 41.


                                            - 13 -


        Iridium’s pleadings fail to demonstrate how authorizing Globalstar’s U.S.-

licensed earth stations and mobile earth terminals to access Globalstar’s replacement

constellation could lead to any of the competitive harms the Commission previously has

identified. In fact, Iridium fails to identify any tangible evidence to suggest that the

approval of Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application would “cause

competitive harm in the United States satellite market,” as it is required to do under

DISCO II before the Commission may even consider conditioning Globalstar’s French-

registered satellites’ access to the U.S.39/ To the contrary, it is Iridium that has staked out

a patently anticompetitive position by attempting to misuse the regulatory process to

impede Globalstar’s future provision of service. Because Globalstar is the only operator

licensed to provide Big LEO MSS service globally other than Iridium, if Globalstar were

prevented from serving the market using its replacement constellation, Iridium would

become the monopoly provider in the market for Big LEO MSS services, which appears

to be its intent.

        At the same time, Iridium has not provided any evidence that France has failed to

abide by the market access commitments or other pro-competitive obligations that led the

Commission to abandon the ECO-Sat test when considering requests by WTO members

to access the U.S. market.40/ Iridium has a long history of providing service in France,

and has a strong and growing European customer base.41/ Iridium’s own website lists no



39/
        Id. at ¶ 39.
40/
        Id.
41/
       See, e.g., PR Newswire, “Iridium Satellite France telecom Mobiel Partner
Services,” June 18, 2002 (“Iridium Satellite LLC…today announced a global distribution
agreement with France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications, a fully-owned
                                            - 14 -


less than nine different distributors that offer Iridium products and service in France.42/

Iridium has even recently touted the substantial progress it has made in capturing a

significant segment of the French market for satellite services.43/ Finally – and most

ironically – Iridium misleadingly fails to disclose that Iridium is looking to France for

help in deploying its own replacement constellation: One of the two finalists in the

“competition” to bid for the right to manufacture an Iridium replacement constellation is

Thales Alenia Space – the same French company that has designed and built Globalstar’s

French-registered replacement constellation.44/ Iridium also appears to be appealing to

France’s export credit agency, Coface, to underwrite the costs of its replacement

constellation.45/ These initiatives – none of which Iridium acknowledges in its pleadings



subsidiary of France Telecom….The agreement further strengthens Iridium’s global
distribution network.”).
42/
        See http://www.iridium.com/Contact/HowToBuy.aspx (sorted by France) (last
visited April 9, 2010).
43/
      See, e.g., Science Letter, “CLS Installs the First Iridium-Based Compliant LRIT
Terminals Onboard French Flag Ships,” (Feb. 17, 2010).
44/
        See Iridium Communications, Inc. Form 10-K filed with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2010 (“Iridium Communications 10-
K”) at 17 (“We have since narrowed our search for a prime system contractor to two
companies, Lockheed Martin Corporation Space Systems Company and Thales Alenia
Space France.”).
45/
        See “Iridium Faces Uphill Battle To Gain U.S. Export-Import Backing for
Lockheed-Built Satellites,” TendersInfo, Euclid Infotech Pvt, Ltd. (Mar. 18, 2010)
(“Iridium is reviewing bids by two competitors for the $2.7 billion Iridium Next
constellation of 66 low-orbiting satellites. One is from Lockheed Martin, which Iridium
has said it would like to pair with Export-Import Bank support; and the other with Thales
Alenia Space of France and Italy, which is assembling a package using up to $1.5 billion
in loan guarantees from France s export-credit agency, Coface.”); Communications Daily
(Apr. 21, 2010) (Iridium’s “discussions with its potential prime contractors, Thales
Alenia and Lockheed Martin, and export credit agencies, the U.S. Export-Import Bank
and Coface of France, are ongoing.”).

                                            - 15 -


– flatly contradict any notion that Iridium operates at a competitive disadvantage in

France or that there is any competitive basis whatsoever on which the Commission might

deny or condition Globalstar’s authorizations.

       B.         Iridium Misrepresents the Facts Relating to the MSS Spectrum
                  Assignments in Europe.

       The sole justification Iridium presents in its pleadings for imposing competitive

conditions on Globalstar’s authorization to serve the U.S. market from its French-

registered satellite constellation is its contention that the Big LEO MSS band plan in

France raises “obvious and direct” “anti-competitive effects” and poses “ample risk of

competitive harm.”46/ However, Iridium has entirely failed to demonstrate how the

French MSS band plan can possibly implicate the competitive criteria that the

Commission identified in DISCO II as justifying a denial of entry into the U.S market by

WTO members. More troubling, Iridium’s pleadings blatantly misrepresent the factors

that have led France (as well as other European countries) to adopt the MSS band plans

that they have.

       As an initial matter, Iridium fails to acknowledge in its it pleadings that it

aggressively supported the MSS band plan in effect prior to the Modification Order in

France and throughout most of the rest of the World. Soon after the Commission adopted

the original MSS Big LEO band plan applicable to U.S.- licensed satellite operators,

Iridium’s founder, Motorola, advocated adoption of the U.S. band plan by other licensing

administrations.47/ Iridium also worked cooperatively with Globalstar and Odyssey (the

other CDMA MSS licensee at the time) to secure MSS spectrum assignments in other

46/
       Iridium Opposition at 11; Iridium Petition at 9.
47/
       See Document SE28(96)41 (also known as SE40(05)(15) submitted by Motorola,
“Sharing Analysis Between CDMA and TDMA Systems” (July 1, 1996).
                                           - 16 -


countries, including France, that would be harmonized with the MSS band plan adopted

in the United States.48/ In light of these facts, Iridium cannot now plausibly claim that the

continued existence of that plan constitutes a “very high risk to competition.”49/

       Iridium also makes the unsupported assertion that, because the “French regulatory

authorities have gone so far as to require Iridium to prove that its system would not cause

interference into ‘CDMA networks,’” authorizing Globalstar’s continued service in the

U.S. from its Globalstar 2.0 constellation would pose the type of “exceptional”

competitive harm that the Commission must find before it will limit a WTO member’s

access to the U.S. satellite market. 50/ But a country’s requirement that one licensed

service not interfere with another licensed service when operating within its boarders can

hardly be characterized as anticompetitive or otherwise unreasonable conduct that could

justify limiting that country’s access to the U.S. satellite market. And in any event,

France and other countries have imposed the same non-interference requirement on

Globalstar’s operations as well, by requiring that it not cause interference to Iridium’s

TDMA operations.

       Iridium’s statement that “[t[he French regulatory authorities have a history of

denying Iridium equitable access to spectrum in France” similarly misrepresents facts




48/
        See Iridium LLC News Release, “Globalstar, Iridium, Odyssey Global Mobile
Satellite Phone System Operators Sign Spectrum Agreement” (Oct. 16, 1996) (“Our
Agreement conforms with the International Telecommunication Union’s frequency
authorizations for global mobile systems. We think it provides a workable framework for
countries around the world to adopt.”).
49/
       Iridium Opposition at 10; Iridium Petition at 12.
50/
       Iridium Petition at 10.

                                           - 17 -


that are a matter of public record.51/ As noted, the Big LEO band plan in effect in France

was specifically modeled after the one established by the Commission to apply to U.S.-

licensed MSS operators, which Iridium actively supported. Iridium’s suggestion that the

ANFR has somehow disregarded its demonstration of “increased congestion over its

network” by refusing to alter the L-Band MSS spectrum assignments in France is

misleading. Although Iridium has failed to cite to any French or European document or

other source in support of its statement, it appears to be referring to proceedings before

the FCC in 2003-2004 in which Iridium sought access in the Middle East to spectrum

then reserved for CDMA operations because of increased congestion on its network

because of the Persian Gulf War.52/ Those “showings” – which Iridium presented to the

FCC (and not, to Globalstar’s knowledge, to the ANFR) – related only to temporary

congestion on Iridium’s network in the Middle East, not in Europe.53/ They accordingly had

nothing to do with Iridium’s operations in France, where to Globalstar’s knowledge Iridium

has never submitted any factual showing indicating that network congestion required that it

have access to additional spectrum.

       In fact, as Iridium is fully aware, the real reason that France and other European

countries have been reluctant to allow Iridium to operate its TDMA system below 1621.5

MHz is because of the potential for Iridium’s secondary downlinks to cause harmful

interference to Radio Astronomy Service (“RAS”) operations in the 1610.6-1613.8 MHz


51/
       Iridium Opposition at 10; Iridium Petition at 9-10.
52/
       See, e.g., Modification of Licenses Held by Iridium Constellation, LLC and
Iridium US LP for a Mobile Satellite Service System in the 1.6 GHz Frequency Band,
Order, 18 FCC Rcd 20023 (lnt’l Bur. 2003).
53/
       Id.


                                           - 18 -


band. These concerns were well known to Iridium at the time it was licensed to provide

MSS service, and remain just as troubling to regulators and scientists today. 54/ One of

the primary bases for the European Radiocommunication Committee’s (“ERC’s”)

recommendations regarding the appropriate MSS band plan in Europe since the MSS

service first began has been the need for MSS systems to protect radio astronomy

operations.55/ For this reason, since the original Big LEO MSS spectrum allocations were

established, the ITU’s Radio Regulations and ERC member countries have required that

MSS services meet certain emission limits in order to prevent interference to the RAS.56/

Iridium’s compliance with these requirements has always been a matter of concern to the

RAS community and European regulators, and there have been numerous complaints in

54/
        See Application of Motorola Satellite Communications, Inc. for Authority to
Construct, Launch, and Operate a Low Earth Orbit Satellite System in the 1616–1626.5
MHz Band, Order and Authorization, 10 FCC Rcd. 2268 (1995) at ¶ 14 (“Motorola
indicates that it will fully coordinate Iridium's operations with the radio astronomy
community…. We…remind Motorola that it will have to terminate operations if
unacceptable interference should occur to Radio Astronomy observation.”); Amendment
of the Commission's Rules To Establish Rules and Policies Pertaining to a Mobile
Satellite Service in the 1610–1626.5/2483.5–2500 MHz Frequency Bands, Report and
Order, 9 FCC Rcd. 5936 (1994) at ¶¶ 100-119.
55/
        See, e.g., ERC Report 50, “ERC Report on Interference Calculations from MSS
Satellites into Radio Astronomy Observations,” Moscow, September 1997, at 1,
Available at http://www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/pdf/REP050.PDF (the MSS
“allocations were identified by the ERC Working Group Spectrum Engineering (WG SE)
as eventually constituting a risk of interference to the radio astronomy primary
allocations at 1610.6-1613.8 MHz, adjacent to the MSS secondary downlink allocation at
1.6 GHz.”).
56/
        See, e.g, European Radiocommunications Committee (ERC) Decision of 30 June
1997 on the Harmonised Use of Spectrum for Satellite Personal Communication Services
(S-PCS) operating within the bands 1610-1626.5 MHz, 2483.5-2500 MHz, 1980-2010
MHz and 2170-2200 MHz (ERC/DEC/(97)03), available at
http://www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/pdf/DEC9703E.PDF, at 3 (Radio
Regulation S5.372 requires that harmful interference shall not be caused to stations of the
radio astronomy service using the band 1610.6 - 1613.8 MHz by stations of the radio
determination-satellite and mobile satellite services in the bands 1610 - 1626.5 MHz.”).

                                          - 19 -


Europe about interference into the RAS service.57/ France has played a central role in

documenting and reporting the Iridium system’s likely interference into the RAS bands

for quite some time.58/ The French regulatory authority is understandably reluctant to

permit TDMA operations below 1621.35 MHz unless and until it is demonstrated that

interference can be avoided.

       Iridium’s contention that its proposed conditions are justified because “France

supported the ECC Decision that would allow MSS licensees, in particular Globalstar, to

operate on the entire L-band” is also disingenuous.59/ In that decision, following

extensive analysis and deliberation, the European Communications Office of the CEPT

(“ECO,” formerly European Communications Committee, or “ECC”) chose to eliminate

all band segmentation in the Big LEO bands, leaving it to the operators to coordinate




57/
         See, e.g., German Report of Harmful Interference, March 30, 2006 (referenced in
Globalstar’s Ex Parte Filing in IB Docket 02-364 (filed Feb. 6, 2007) at 3-4; Letter from
Markus Schreiber, Bundesnetzagentur, to FCC International Bureau (June 22, 2006)
(reporting unwanted emissions from Iridium into the radio astronomy band 1610.6-1613.8
on a daily basis in violation of International Radio Regulations 15.10 and 15.11); Letter
from Steve Harding, OfCom, to FCC International Bureau (June 14, 2006)
(“measurements carried out in the UK and other CEPT countries have indicated that the
Iridium network has continued to operate within the referenced extended frequency band
[i.e., outside of its licensed spectrum assignment] in spite of not having received the
relevant authorization….We remain very concerned that the Iridium system appears not
to be operating in accordance with UK authorization, international agreements and that
the operation of Iridium earth stations within the UK is not in accordance with the
conditions of the relevant statutory instrument.”).
58/
        See, e.g., Working Group SE of the Electronic Communications Committee SE 40
– Additional Analysis of Iridium Interference to RAS (Nov. 29, 2009) (“The updated
analysis by France....provides an estimate of the probability of interference and the
expected number of affected 20 KHz channels within the RAS 1610.6-1613.8 MHz
band.”)
59/
       Iridium Petition at 10.


                                           - 20 -


their use of the band between themselves.60/ As a result, once that decision is

implemented, Globalstar and Iridium each will have access to all of the L-band spectrum,

subject to the requirement that they demonstrate that their operations would not cause

harmful interference to other licensed operations. The decision is not, as Iridium

suggests, intended to grant Globalstar access to a greater amount of spectrum or provide

any competitive benefit to Globalstar as compared to Iridium.

       In any event, to the extent that Iridium is displeased with the band plan a

particular country has established for MSS operations within its borders, the appropriate

avenue for relief is to file a request with that country’s licensing administration – not to

seek to have the Commission impose conditions in connection with Globalstar’s request

to continue to serve the U.S. market once its replacement constellation becomes

operational. Indeed, Iridium is pursuing that exact path in Germany, where it has

unsuccessfully petitioned the country’s regulatory authority to conform the band plan in

effect in that country to the one in place in the U.S. following the October 2008

Modification Order.61/ It also is pursuing similar activities in the CEPT member




60/
       See ECC/DEC(09)(02), Harmonisation of the Bands 1610-1626.5 MHz and
2483.5-2500 MHz Used by Systems in the Mobile-Satellite Service (June 26, 2009),
available at http://www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/Word/ECCDEC0902.DOC at 4.
61/
         See, e.g., Letter from Thomas Heutmann, Bundesrepublik Deutschland, to
William F. Adler, Globalstar, Inc. Re: Assignment No. 11/2005/BNetzA, Hearing on the
Planned Revocation of Frequencies in the band 1618.725-1621.35 (Jan. 4, 2010).
Globalstar has only recently received a letter dated April 16, 2010, from the
Bundesnetzagentur stating that it will not revoke Globalstar’s authority to operate in the
1618.715-1621.35 MHz portion of the band. Globalstar will provide a translation of the
letter for the record in this proceeding when it is available.

                                            - 21 -


countries working group. 62/ Nothing prevents Iridium from doing the same in France (or

in any other country in which it disagrees with the existing MSS band plan).

       C.      Iridium’s Pleadings Ignore ITU Precedent and Conflict with
               Other Countries’ Sovereign Rights to Regulate the Use of Spectrum
               Within Their Borders.

       At bottom, the alleged “market access” concerns Iridium identifies in its pleadings

are nothing more than dissatisfaction with the MSS spectrum allocations established by

countries other than the U.S. for application within those countries’ own borders. For all

practical purposes, Iridium requests that the Commission hold Globalstar’s application to

access the U.S. market with its French-registered satellites hostage because Iridium is

unhappy with the manner in which France has chosen to regulate TDMA earth station

operations in that country. But France’s authority to determine the spectrum on which

Iridium (and any other satellite licensee) may operate its earth stations in France is

entirely distinct from Globalstar’s proposed U.S. operations, and should not be a

consideration in this (or any other U.S. licensing) proceeding.

       The Commission’s recent MSS licensing decisions, as well as Iridium’s own prior

filings with the Commission, unequivocally confirm that France’s and any other

country’s decision whether or not to allow TDMA MSS operations in the spectrum below

1621.35 MHz because of concerns about interference to RAS operations is entirely

within its legal authority. In the Modification Order, the Commission specifically

concluded that while “U.S. Big LEO licensees [such as Iridium] may provide service in

other countries only on frequency bands in which the Commission has given them

specific authority to operate[,]….[w]hether a country chooses to allow such service on
62/
        See, e.g., CEPT, Electronic Communications Committee, Submission of Iridium
to the Working Group FM44, 4 December 2007, Doc. No. FM44(07)38.

                                            - 22 -


these terms is…a matter for that country to decide.”63/ As the Commission explained,

“we agree with Iridium that earth stations within the territory of another country fall

under the jurisdiction of that country” and that foreign “[c]ountries have full discretion

to decide whether to use a U.S.-licensed satellite to provide Big LEO service in their

country.”64/ Iridium has further confirmed that “[u]nder established law, every sovereign

nation generally has the authority to determine whether it will allow a provider to operate

an earth station within its territorial borders and to determine the frequencies upon which

it may operate those earth stations. The Commission has consistently recognized this

fundamental principle of international telecommunications law, and no party to this

proceeding – neither Globalstar nor Iridium – disputes this legal conclusion.”65/

       Accordingly, the relief Iridium requests is flatly inconsistent with international

law, as well as with its own prior statements to the Commission. Indeed, it effectively

seeks to insert the Commission into the sovereign decisions of the French licensing

authority – a precedent that could then be used by other countries that could refuse to

grant licenses for U.S.-sponsored operators unless the Commission were to change some

policy with which they disagree. It also would in effect place Globalstar’s Application

on hold indefinitely, since Globalstar has no greater ability than Iridium to control or

influence individual countries’ MSS licensing decisions.

63/
        See October 2008 Modification Order at ¶ 23 (emphasis added) (citing Request
for Special Temporary Authority, Iridium Constellation, LLC, for a Mobile Satellite
System in the 1.6 GHz Frequency Band, Order, 18 FCC Rcd 25814 (Sat Div., Int’l Bur.
2003)).
64/
       Id. at ¶ n. 60 (emphasis added).
65/
        See Opposition of Iridium Satellite LLC to License Protect of Globalstar, Inc.
(filed June 16, 2008) at 14-15.

                                           - 23 -


V.     GRANT OF GLOBALSTAR’S SECOND-GENERATION SYSTEM
       APPLICATION WILL NOT VIOLATE THE COMMISSION’S POLICY
       AGAINST DUAL LICENSING.

       Iridium also argues that the grant of Globalstar’s Second-Generation System

Application “seems to run afoul of the Commission’s policy” against dual licensing of

space stations.66/ Here, too, Iridium throws mud against the wall to see if it will stick. In

so doing, Iridium misrepresents the facts contained in Globalstar’s Application and

misstates the Commission’s rules.

       In the DISCO II proceedings, the Commission concluded that it will not “issue

separate (and duplicative) U.S. licenses for those space stations under the jurisdiction of

another licensing or coordinating administration,” and instead will “license earth stations

located within U.S. territory to communicate with particular non-U.S. satellites.”67/

Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application and its plans for the deployment of

Globalstar 2.0 are entirely consistent with these policies. As Globalstar’s Application

confirmed, Globalstar’s second-generation satellite constellation initially will utilize a 32-

satellite L- and S-band Walker configuration, consisting of 24 new, French-registered

satellites and the eight U.S.-licensed satellites it launched in 2007.68/ As Globalstar

explained, together those 32 satellites will form the core of Globalstar’s second-

generation constellation.69/ None of these satellites will be subject to dual licensing –

each will be registered either in the U.S. or France, but not both.


66/
       Iridium Opposition at 12; Iridium Petition at 5.
67/
       See DISCO II Order at ¶¶ 183, 188.
68/
       See Second-Generation System Application at 9.
69/
       Id.


                                            - 24 -


       Globalstar has sought authority to modify the operations of its first-generation

U.S.–licensed satellite constellation to the extent necessary to allow for the transition to

its second-generation constellation – including, in particular, the authority to modify the

operations of the eight U.S.-licensed in order to integrate them with second-generation

constellation.70/ At the same time, Globalstar requested that the Commission modify its

U.S. gateway earth station licenses and mobile earth terminal license to authorize

communication with the second-generation satellites that will be registered by France.71/

Such a request is fully consistent with the Commission’s licensing policies and

precedents, whereby the Commission can act to modify existing U.S.-licensed earth

stations by granting them the authority to access a foreign-licensed satellite system.72/

VI.    THE EXPEDITIOUS GRANT OF GLOBALSTAR’S SECOND-
       GENERATION SYSTEM APPLICATION WOULD SERVE THE PUBLIC
       INTEREST.

       Finally, Iridium’s pleadings nowhere dispute the substantial public interest

benefits that deployment of the Globalstar 2.0 satellite constellation will produce for

consumers in the U.S. That, of course, should be the focus of the Commission’s inquiry
70/
       Id. at 12.
71/
       Id. In its Application, Globalstar also requested that the Commission take the
ministerial action of modifying its blanket mobile earth terminal license to reflect
Globalstar’s previously-granted authority to offer Ancillary Terrestrial Component
(“ATC”) services. Id. at 24. Iridium has not opposed that request and it should promptly
be granted.
72/
        See, e.g., Amendment of the Commission's Space Station Licensing Rules and
Policies, First Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in IB
Docket No. 02-34 and First Report and Order in IB Docket No. 02-54, 18 FCC Rcd
10760 (2003) at ¶¶ 287-289 (confirming that in cases where a non-U.S.-licensed satellite
operator seeks access to the U.S. market through an in-orbit satellite and has initiated
international coordination negotiations for that satellite network pursuant to the ITU’s
International Radio Regulations, the appropriate procedure is to file an application for a
new or modified earth station license to list the non-U.S.-licensed space station as a
“point of communication.”).
                                            - 25 -


in this proceeding, not Iridium’s legally untenable and factually inaccurate assertions

regarding the MSS band plan elsewhere.

       As Globalstar has demonstrated, grant of its Second-Generation System

Application will serve the public interest by enabling it to provide robust MSS services

for the benefit of its current and future customers for the long term.73/ Globalstar has

deployed a variety of affordable, reliable MSS services, including one- and two-way

portable, mobile, and fixed voice and data communications services, satellite data modem

services, Simplex personal asset tracking, and remote monitoring services. In addition to

supporting all of the services originally offered over Globalstar’s first-generation

constellation, the second-generation constellation also will make possible a number of

additional, affordable, state-of-the-art advanced MSS services, including wireless

broadband service, that will benefit Globalstar’s current and future customers and

dramatically increase competition in the global market for MSS services. Globalstar also

has made substantial progress in the deployment of ATC services to augment and

enhance its MSS service. These services will prove to be of enormous value to

Globalstar’s customers and advance the Commission’s policy of bringing broadband

service to unserved and underserved areas, while at the same time enabling Globalstar to

make the most efficient use of its assigned spectrum.

       Each of these public interest benefits will accrue regardless of where Globalstar’s

second-generation constellation is licensed. As noted, it is for this very reason that the

Commission has confirmed that foreign-licensed MSS providers are to be granted access

to the U.S. market without any of the onerous conditions Iridium advocates here. Under



73/
       See Second-Generation System Application at 24-33.
                                           - 26 -


this policy, the Commission already has authorized no less than three other MSS

licensees (Inmarsat, DBSD (formerly ICO Global), and TerreStar) to offer voice and data

services in the U.S. using satellites licensed by foreign administrations. By authorizing

each of these providers to serve the U.S. market, the Commission has reaffirmed that its

“regulatory policies for licensing providers of domestic service using non-U.S.-licensed

satellite systems are based on the goals of promoting competition in the United States and

in foreign markets.”74/

       Iridium has failed to provide any evidence that these goals will not be met through

the grant of Globalstar’s Application, or offered any other justifiable reason for holding

Globalstar to a higher or different standard than the other foreign-licensed MSS providers

authorized to serve the U.S. market. Rather, its opposition to Globalstar’s Second-

Generation System Application is simply the latest salvo in its relentless effort to reduce

competition in the MSS marketplace by delaying the deployment of Globalstar’s

replacement constellation. Iridium’s motives for doing so are obvious given that it has no

realistic plans for replacing its own aging constellation. As Iridium has explicitly warned

its investors, “we cannot guarantee we will be able to provide [a commercially

acceptable] level of service” through 2014 or “through the transition period to Iridium

NEXT.”75/ Even under Iridium’s own optimistic admission, its theoretical “Iridium

NEXT” system would not become operational until sometime in 2017 – three years after




74/
        See, e.g., Amendment of the Commission's Regulatory Policies to Allow Non-
U.S. Licensed Space Stations to Provide Domestic and International Service in the United
States, Report and Order, 12 FCC Rcd 24094 (1997).
75/
       See Iridium Communications 10-K at 21-22.

                                           - 27 -


its existing constellation will cease to provide reliable service,76/ and almost five years

after its space station license expires.77/ At the same time, Iridium now admits, despite its

explicit statements otherwise to the Commission when it sought approval for the GHL

transaction that closed less than a year ago,78/ that it has no funding to pay for a

replacement constellation. Although Iridium estimates the “aggregate costs associated

with the design, build and launch of Iridium NEXT…to be approximately $2.7 billion,” it

has acknowledged there “can be no assurance that our internally generated cash flows

will meet our current expectations or that we will be able to obtain sufficient external

capital to fund Iridium NEXT.”79/ Given the real questions that have now materialized as

to whether Iridium will even be operating in the next few years, its request for conditions

on Globalstar’s second-generation operating authority are all the more dubious.




76/
       See, e.g., “Iridium NEXT Satellite Constellation – All Systems GO – On Schedule
for Launch,” available at http://www.iridium.com/About/IridiumNEXT.aspx (last visited
April 22, 2010).
77/
        According to Iridium’s public filings, its fifteen-year constellation “license term
began on or about May 5, 1997, the date the first satellite was in orbit and the first
transmission occurred.” See Iridium LLC, Form 10-K405 filed with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 1999, at 19. It its most recent public
statements, Iridium has suggested that it does not even plan to “begin launching” its
replacement constellation until “late 2014.” See “Iridium Names Thomas J. Fitzpatrick
as CFO,” Press Release (Apr. 5, 2010), available at http://investor.iridium.com/
releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=456570 (last visited April 22, 2010).
78/
        In its Public Interest Statement in support of the proposed Iridium-GHL
Acquisition Corp. transaction, Iridium stated that “[t]he cash received by Iridium in this
transaction, together with cash generated from Iridium's growing operations, will provide
a substantial portion of the cash necessary to fund Iridium NEXT.”). See Iridium Carrier
Services LLC, FCC Form 312, Exhibit F at 2 (filed Oct. 21, 2008). In retrospect, that
appears not to have been the case.
79/
       See Iridium Communications 10-K at 20.


                                            - 28 -


       Iridium has spent the past several years trumpeting the degrading nature of

Globalstar’s first-generation satellites in order to obtain an advantage before the

Commission and in the MSS marketplace.80/ With the launch and placement into

operation of Globalstar’s new constellation, that opportunity is rapidly drawing to a close,

as Globalstar is set to reemerge as a viable, long-term presence in the market for MSS

services. Far worse for Iridium, however, its own satellites are now reaching the end of

their functional life, and Iridium has no plans or financing to replace them. The

Commission accordingly must view Iridium’s pleadings for what they are: a final and

desperate attempt to foreclose competition in the MSS marketplace by indefinitely

delaying the deployment of Globalstar’s second-generation constellation.

VII.   CONCLUSION

       For all of the foregoing reasons, the Commission should deny Iridium’s petition

to deny and expeditiously grant Globalstar’s Second-Generation System Application to

ensure that Globalstar can proceed with the launch and operation of its second-generation

system, which is now scheduled to begin less than five months from now.


                                                    Respectfully submitted,

                                                    /s/ Anthony J. Navarra
                                                    ______________________
                                                    Anthony J. Navarra
                                                    President – Global Operations
                                                    Globalstar, Inc.

80/
        See, e.g., Iridium Satellite LLC Ex Parte Letter in IB Docket No. 02-264 (filed
April 11, 2007) (As part of its meeting with Commission staff, Iridium “discussed the
condition of Globalstar, Inc.’s satellite system.”); “Iridium Extends and Expands Trade-
Up Program,” Press Release (July 20, 2009) available at http://investor.iridium.com/
releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=429124 (last visited April 23, 2010) (“Iridium launched the
Trade-Up to Iridium initiative in January 2008 to provide an opportunity for customers
affected by the well-publicized degradation of Globalstar's satellite voice service to take
advantage of Iridium's high network quality and global coverage.”).
                                           - 29 -


                            461 S. Milpitas Blvd.
                            Milpitas, CA 95035
                            (408) 933-4401

William F. Adler            Samir C. Jain
Of Counsel                  Josh L. Roland
                            Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale
                                and Dorr LLP
                            1875 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
                            Washington, D.C. 20006
                            (202) 663-6000

                            Counsel for Globalstar Licensee LLC,
                            GUSA Licensee LLC, and
                            GCL Licensee LLC




April 26, 2010




                   - 30 -


                             ENGINEERING CERTIFICATION

       I hereby certify under penalty of perjury that I am the technically qualified person
responsible for preparation of the engineering information contained in the foregoing
“Opposition of Globalstar to Petition to Deny” (“Opposition”); that I am familiar with the
relevant sections of the FCC’s rules referred to in the Opposition; and that the technical
information set forth in the Opposition is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief.


       Signed this 26th day of April, 2010

                              /s/ Paul A. Monte
                              ______________________
                              Paul A. Monte,
                              Vice President, Engineering & Product Development
                              Globalstar, Inc.


                                 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

         I, Josh Roland, do hereby certify that on April 26, 2010, I caused a true and correct copy
of the foregoing Opposition of Globalstar to Petition to Deny to be served on the following
parties:

R. Michael Senkowski*
Jennifer D. Hindin
Peter D. Shields
Wiley Rein LLP
1776 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Counsel for Iridium Satellite LLC

*by First Class and electronic mail




                                             /s/ Josh Roland
                                         ______________________________
                                             Josh Roland



Document Created: 2010-04-26 13:33:12
Document Modified: 2010-04-26 13:33:12

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