11-09-09 CORRECTED E

ERRATA, ERRATUM OR ADDENDUM submitted by SkyTerra Subsidiary LLC

Ex Parte Letter

2009-11-09

This document pretains to SES-MOD-20090429-00536 for Modification on a Satellite Earth Station filing.

IBFS_SESMOD2009042900536_778016

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
2300 N Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037-1122 | tel 202.663.8000 | fax 202.663.8007




                                                                                                Tony Lin
                                                                                     Phone: 202.663.8452
                                                                               tony.lin@pillsburylaw.com

November 9, 2009



By Electronic Filing (IBFS)

Marlene H. Dortch
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

                 Re:     SkyTerra Subsidiary LLC
                         Erratum
                         File Nos.: SES-MOD-20090429-00536
                                    SAT-MOD-20090429-00047
                                    SAT-MOD-20090429-00046


Dear Ms. Dortch:

        SkyTerra Subsidiary LLC hereby submits this letter to correct its ex parte
submission dated October 27, 2009. As a result of an administrative error, the word
“customer” did not properly display in the last sentence of the attachment in that
filing. A complete, corrected version of the ex parte submission is attached to this
letter.

                                                                Very truly yours,

                                                                         /s/

                                                                Tony Lin

Attachment




www.pillsburylaw.com


Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
2300 N Street, NW | Washington, DC 20037-1122 | tel 202.663.8000 | fax 202.663.8007




                                                                                                Tony Lin
                                                                                     Phone: 202.663.8452
                                                                               tony.lin@pillsburylaw.com

October 27, 2009



By Electronic Filing (IBFS)

Marlene H. Dortch
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20554

                 Re:     SkyTerra Subsidiary LLC
                         Ex Parte Letter
                         File Nos.: SES-MOD-20090429-00536
                                    SAT-MOD-20090429-00047
                                    SAT-MOD-20090429-00046


Dear Ms. Dortch:

On October 27, 2009, Jeff Carlisle and Gustavo Nader of SkyTerra Subsidiary LLC
(“SkyTerra”) and Bruce Jacobs and Tony Lin, counsel for SkyTerra, met with
William Bell, Stephen Duall, Karl Kensinger, Sylvia Lam, Hsing Liu, Kathyrn
Medley, Robert Nelson, and Frank Peace, all of the Satellite Division, to discuss the
above-referenced applications. At the meeting, SkyTerra discussed the importance of
grant of the applications and provided the attached handout.

                                                                Very truly yours,

                                                                         /s/

                                                                Tony Lin

Attachment




www.pillsburylaw.com


cc:      (via email)
         William Bell
         Stephen Duall
         Karl Kensinger
         Sylvia Lam
         Hsing Liu
         Kathyrn Medley
         Robert Nelson
         Frank Peace




www.pillsburylaw.com      401530297v1


                  ATC Modification Application

                           Presentation to
                          Satellite Division
                        International Bureau
                          October 27, 2009




SkyTerra Confidential


                             Application
The application contains 7 waivers reflecting the coordination agreement with
Inmarsat:

    – one that is general to ATC operations related to air interface protocols;
    – five that relate to ATC base station operations;
    – one that seeks additional flexibility for ATC user devices;

Better addresses real-world operating conditions, increases spectrum
efficiency, and better controls and mitigates interference;

Is consistent with FCC policy encouraging and empowering L-band MSS
operators to negotiate more flexible operating parameters;

Does not change the protection limits with respect to any operators other than
Inmarsat or any services in in adjacent frequencies; increases the coordination
distance re SARSAT in order to maintain the same protection.


                                                  Filings
Party          Description                        Pleading Type      Summary

Mississippi,   Public safety entity               Letter             SkyTerra service is instrumental in furthering mission
Department                                                           of protecting public safety;
of Public                                                            Grant of the application will serve the public interest by
Safety                                                               accelerating the offering of innovative and potentially
                                                                     life-saving services to the public safety community.
Inmarsat       MSS Operator                       Opposition to      Interference concerns are addressed by SkyTerra’s
                                                  Petition to Deny   filings;
                                                                     Inmarsat is committed to work with its customers to
                                                                     resolve potential interference concerns;
                                                                     Coordination Agreement also permits Inmarsat’s reuse
                                                                     of certain, scarce satellite spectrum, allows Inmarsat’s
                                                                     new I-4 satellites to operate at full potential, completes
                                                                     coordination of Inmarsat’s entire fleet of satellites, and
                                                                     resolves long-standing spectrum dispute.
U.S. GPS       Organization of GPS stakeholders   Comments           Use of L-band femtocells indoors may cause
Industry                                                             interference to indoor operation of GPS devices;
Council                                                              Pleading withdrawn after agreement reached with
                                                                     SkyTerra re indoor use of femotocells.


SkyWave        Reseller of Inmarsat capacity      Comments           Proposed ATC base station operations may cause
                                                                     unacceptable increase in interference to its land mobile
                                                                     customers.
Amtech         Reseller of Inmarsat capacity      Petition to Deny   Proposed ATC base station operations may cause
                                                                     unacceptable increase in interference to its land mobile
                                                                     customers.


                                                                          Details
     Waiver Request/Issue                                                                 Amtech/SkyWave             SkyTerra position
                                                                                          position

     General

1.   Use of any air interface protocol that conforms to the parameters agreed to in the   New air interface          Peak-to-average ratio of the base station carrier will be
     Coordination Agreement, rather than use of only those protocols in compliance        protocols may have peak-   no more than 5.5 dB with 1% probability; such short,
     with the Commission’s L-band specific ATC technical rules.                           to-average ratios that     transient spurs will be inconsequential from an
                                                                                          cause harmful              interference perspective.*
                                                                                          interference.

     Mobile Terminals

2.   Deployment of mobile terminals operating 1) in compliance with agreed Delta          None
     T/T limits specified in the coordination agreement, 2) with an OOCE limit of -58
     dBW/4kHz, and 3) with a maximum power of 6 dBW, rather than a peak EIRP
     limit of 0 dBW and an OOCE limit of -67 dBW/4kHz as specified in 47 C.F.R. §
     25.253(g)(1).

     Base Stations

3.   a) Total PFD from BTS emissions in the 1.5 GHz band that is calculated to be         None
     receivable at an AES receiver at an altitude of at least 100 meters from the
     Earth’s surface shall not exceed -26.8 dBW/ m2.
     b) Total PFD from any single ATC BTS sector within 1300 meters of an airport
     that is calculated to be receivable at an AES receiver, when on the ground on a
     runway or aircraft stand area at such airport, shall not exceed -26.8 dBW/ m2,
     rather than -56.8 dBW/m2/200 kHz at the edge of all airport runways and aircraft
     stand areas as specified in 47 C.F.R. § 25.253(d)(5).
     c) Total PFD from any single ATC BTS sector within 1300 meters of a navigable
     waterway shall not exceed -34.6 dBW/ m2, rather than -56.6 dBW/m2/200kHz at
     the water’s edge of any navigable waterway from all carriers operating in the
     1525-1541.5 MHz and 1547-1559 MHz frequency bands as specified in 47
     C.F.R. § 25.253(d)(6) and -64.6 dBW/m2/200kHz at the water’s edge of any
     navigable waterway from all carriers operating in the 1541.5-1547.5 MHz
     frequency band as specified in 47 C.F.R. § 25.253(d)(7).
4.   Use of more precise and flexible operating metrics specified in the coordination     None
     agreement, rather than compliance with the left-hand circular polarization, 16 dBi
     maximum antenna gain, and overhead gain suppression requirements specified in
     25.253(d)(8) and (e).
5.   Protection of SARSAT receivers through coordination of base stations within 80       None
     km or radio horizon of SARSAT receivers, rather than 27 km or radio horizon as
     specified in 47 C.F.R. § 25.253(f)(1).


 *This is uncontested in the Amtech/SkyWave Replies.


                                                        Details (con’t)
       Waiver Request/Issue                                                              Amtech/SkyWave                SkyTerra position
                                                                                         position
6.     Rather than the general OOCE restriction of -57.9 dBW/MHz specified in 47         Amtech/SkyWave oppose         Amtech/SkyWave concerns are moot; the application
       C.F.R. § 25.253(b), the limit on OOCE will be based on total PFSD from base       any request to replace the    proposes to operate all base stations within the same
       station emissions in the 1.5 GHz band, as follows:                                general requirements with     OOCE limits.*
       a) -187.27 dBW/m2-Hz at a spectral offset of 2 MHz from the nominal edge of       a new set of limits that
       spectrum at the input of the AES receiver;                                        would apply only to the
       b) -181.27 dBW/m2-Hz within 1300 meters of an airport at a spectral offset of 2   protection for aeronautical
       MHz from the nominal edge of spectrum; and                                        and maritime terminals.
       c) -181.27 dBW/m2-Hz within 1300 meters of a navigable waterway at a spectral
       offset of 1 MHz from the nominal edge of spectrum.
7.     Rather than the peak EIRP limits established in 47 C.F.R. § 25.253(d)(1)-(4),     SkyTerra’s proposed base      Amtech/SkyWave have misunderstood and overstated
       base stations shall not exceed a maximum average EIRP of 42 dBW per BTS           station operations at a       the proposed base station power levels;*
       sector in the 1.5 GHz band, and the total EIRP in any 1 MHz segment shall not     maximum EIRP of 45
       exceed 32 dBW/MHz regardless of the number of carriers and bandwidth of each      dBW per BTS sector will       Proposed base stations will operate at levels no higher
       carrier.                                                                          generate added front-end      than levels already authorized for other MSS systems
                                                                                         overload interference and     with ATC or for other terrestrial wireless providers;*
                                                                                         intermodulation
                                                                                         interference to               Amtech/SkyWave use an unrealistic propagation model
                                                                                         Amtech/SkyWave;               that overstates overload and intermodulation
                                                                                                                       interference;
                                                                                         SkyTerra’s interference
                                                                                         model is a best case          Amtech/SkyWave could significantly reduce overload
                                                                                         analysis that understates     exposure by deploying better-designed receivers.
                                                                                         real world interference.




     *This is uncontested in the Amtech/SkyWave Replies.


                      Interference Analysis

• Amtech/SkyWave’s interference calculations are based on an
unrealistic LOS propagation model that exaggerates potential
interference

• SkyTerra estimates that, for a typical market, the area of potential
overload interference will be less than 0.05% and the area of potential
intermodulation interference will be less than 2% of the entire market

• Amtech/SkyWave are wrong in their speculation about possible
deficiencies in testing procedures and assumptions regarding the drive
test
    –the study was conducted by a professional, independent company (Bechtel)
    primarily to provide information for ATC network deployment plans
    –the routes were selected to be statistically representative of the overall
    urban/suburban environment;
    –the receivers were mounted on the exterior of the vehicles;
    –the base station antennas were placed at typical heights for cellular
    installations (i.e. building rooftops and other high structures);

• Amtech/SkyWave can also alleviate interference by installing filters;
redesigning equipment; or making use of hybrid terminals and terrestrial
frequencies in urban areas


         Deference due Coordination
                 Agreement
o Consistent with L-band regulatory regime, ATC orders and rules expressly
  encourage and empower L-band MSS operators to negotiate and agree to
  less restrictive L-band ATC operational limits, in order to promote more
  efficient use of the spectrum.
o FCC rules and policies as a general matter support deference to operator
  coordination. See, e.g., In the Matter of Row 44, Inc., DA 09-1752 (August
  4, 2009); 47 C.F.R. 25.220(d).
o Any interpretation requiring coordination with resellers or individual users
  would be unworkable and undermine the FCC’s grant of ATC authority to
  MSS operators.
o Deference to the Coordination Agreement is good policy.

    o System operators are the only entities with the ability to make the
      necessary decisions regarding system trade-offs and compromises; and

    o The appropriate course for Amtech/SkyWave is to pursue private
      discussions with Inmarsat in the context of any satellite capacity or other
      applicable agreement.


          Additional support for grant
o A balance of public interest considerations weighs strongly in
  favor of approving SkyTerra’s request.
   o ATC will increase availability of broadband, improve
     spectrum efficiency, enhance the value and flexibility of
     MSS, provide additional communications options to protect
     the public, facilitate U.S. technological innovation, and
     create new high-paying jobs.
   o In contrast, Amtech/SkyWave seek additional,
     unnecessary protection involving a relatively small number
     of users for the provision of legacy, narrowband services.
o Amtech is the only party to file a formal petition to deny, and
  there are questions regarding whether it actually has any
  customers.



Document Created: 2009-11-09 18:06:27
Document Modified: 2009-11-09 18:06:27

© 2024 FCC.report
This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FCC