Comments on: Harbinger’s ATC plans revealed https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/ Satellites, spectrum and other stuff Tue, 03 Feb 2026 21:36:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Mozoot Mobile Site https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-440 Mozoot Mobile Site Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:18:56 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-440 [...] to acquire SkyTerra, which plans to launch their huge L-band satellite platform next month. Harbinger will use 10 MHz of SkyTerra’s MSS spectrum to develop a nationwide terrestrial LTE [...]

]]> By: Mozoot Mobile Site https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-430 Mozoot Mobile Site Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:03:50 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-430 [...] Tim Farrar thinks T-Mobile could be a partner in the terrestrial service. Using satellite phone frequencies on some 36,000 terrestrial towers is expected to enable Harbinger to bring 4G terrestrial wireless broadband technology to underserved areas. Harbinger said in its statements to the FCC that all major markets will have ATCs installed by the end of the second quarter of 2013. On January 13, 2010, the FCC granted the company authority to integrate TerreStar’s 20 MHz S Band spectrum into its next generation terrestrial mobile wireless network. Presumably, that would also result in LTE “4G” service on the satellite’s 2 GHz band. [...] [...] Tim Farrar thinks T-Mobile could be a partner in the terrestrial service. Using satellite phone frequencies on some 36,000 terrestrial towers is expected to enable Harbinger to bring 4G terrestrial wireless broadband technology to underserved areas. Harbinger said in its statements to the FCC that all major markets will have ATCs installed by the end of the second quarter of 2013. On January 13, 2010, the FCC granted the company authority to integrate TerreStar’s 20 MHz S Band spectrum into its next generation terrestrial mobile wireless network. Presumably, that would also result in LTE “4G” service on the satellite’s 2 GHz band. [...]

]]> By: FCC: Satphone Spectrum for 4G | Tech Alps https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-429 FCC: Satphone Spectrum for 4G | Tech Alps Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:27:15 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-429 [...] Tim Farrar thinks T-Mobile could be a partner in the terrestrial service. Using satellite phone frequencies on some 36,000 terrestrial towers is expected to enable Harbinger to bring 4G terrestrial wireless broadband technology to underserved areas. Harbinger said in its statements to the FCC that all major markets will have ATCs installed by the end of the second quarter of 2013. On January 13, 2010, the FCC granted the company authority to integrate TerreStar’s 20 MHz S Band spectrum into its next generation terrestrial mobile wireless network. Presumably, that would also result in LTE “4G” service on the satellite’s 2 GHz band. [...] [...] Tim Farrar thinks T-Mobile could be a partner in the terrestrial service. Using satellite phone frequencies on some 36,000 terrestrial towers is expected to enable Harbinger to bring 4G terrestrial wireless broadband technology to underserved areas. Harbinger said in its statements to the FCC that all major markets will have ATCs installed by the end of the second quarter of 2013. On January 13, 2010, the FCC granted the company authority to integrate TerreStar’s 20 MHz S Band spectrum into its next generation terrestrial mobile wireless network. Presumably, that would also result in LTE “4G” service on the satellite’s 2 GHz band. [...]

]]> By: Joe Orref https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-412 Joe Orref Thu, 13 May 2010 20:25:46 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-412 Finally somebody is doing what I always thought it should have been done before: “One Network??? infrastructure where different service providers can tap-in to provide different service to their end-users.

The present business model of many operators Building, Operating and Maintaining their own separate LTE networks is no longer cost effective, if we are to lower the price for services to the end-user. I am aware that some infrastructure sharing is already taking place (cell towers, CS_Core / PS_Core equipment, etc).
If you agree with me, I could provide specific examples next time.

Here is what I would recommend to Phil Falcone of Harbinger capital:

- Build most of the LTE network in the next couple of years (before a lot of capital is spent by the other carriers). The worldwide labor force is available to do it in this timeframe and the LTE specs are mostly complete.

- Select 3 or 4 large suppliers to build the infrastructure (say Ericsson/Lucent/Nokia//Huawei). Assign ¼ of the USA infrastructure to each of them to provide competition.

- Insure that the network:
> Has different pipes that can be leased to other carriers / non-carriers (Google, etc) who can then manage their own content.
In other words, think of the LTE network as a “common services platform??? that can be used by content providers to reach their mobile customers.
> Is secure (LTE allows this but is not trivial).
> Is maintainable (highest availability): NOC, Tier1, Tier2, Tier3 support.

- Outsource the whole Operation/Maintenance (O&M) of the network to either the equipment vendors (Ericsson/Lucent//Nokia/Huawei) or other companies
Not easy but doable with proper SLAs.

Doing the above would be a good start and the price for cellular service to the end user should drop significantly.

I will have other suggestions later.

Regards
Joe

]]> By: Cue the “Mission Impossible??? Theme for Harbinger’s LTE Plans | Mobiles Review https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-411 Cue the “Mission Impossible??? Theme for Harbinger’s LTE Plans | Mobiles Review Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:18:05 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-411 [...] costs. First, there’s the issue of finding a partner to build out the network. I, as well as Farrar, have fingered T-Mobile as the likeliest source because the FCC has forbidden AT&T and Verizon [...] [...] costs. First, there’s the issue of finding a partner to build out the network. I, as well as Farrar, have fingered T-Mobile as the likeliest source because the FCC has forbidden AT&T and Verizon [...]

]]> By: wiser twin https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-404 wiser twin Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:03:08 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-404 The T-Mobile story only indicates T-Mobile imminent need of spectrum for 4G. What kind of unique service can T-Mobile offer to Harbinger in return? T-Mobile does not currently (or in the near future) have a 4G infrastructure in place. Probably not too much T-Mobile can offer that other major players cannot. It makes more sense to work with a partner that has something working already. Why not piggyback on Clear's backhaul? The T-Mobile story only indicates T-Mobile imminent need of spectrum for 4G. What kind of unique service can T-Mobile offer to Harbinger in return?
T-Mobile does not currently (or in the near future) have a 4G infrastructure in place. Probably not too much T-Mobile can offer that other major players cannot. It makes more sense to work with a partner that has something working already. Why not piggyback on Clear’s backhaul?

]]> By: Morningstars https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-401 Morningstars Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:33:14 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-401 http://mobile-voip.tmcnet.com/topics/mobile-voip/articles/80096-another-national-4g-network.htm TMF response: yes I can see that some people like to copy and paste wholesale from my articles without attribution and portray my analysis as their own. http://mobile-voip.tmcnet.com/topics/mobile-voip/articles/80096-another-national-4g-network.htm

TMF response: yes I can see that some people like to copy and paste wholesale from my articles without attribution and portray my analysis as their own.

]]> By: Morningstars https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-400 Morningstars Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:29:39 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-400 Terrestar-1 is equipped with LTE technology, in orbit and fully paid for. The combination of the Skyterra 10 MHZ MSS spectrum and the Terrestar 10 MHZ MSS spectrum would be logical with the Terrestar-1 satellite be able to handle both spectrums this would mean 2 MSS spectrum networks for the price of 1. TMF response: the above is complete nonsense, TerreStar's satellite is not compatible with the L-band. Neither is it "equipped with LTE technology". All beamforming is done on the ground, and in any case the satellite air interface is either GMR-3G (Hughes+Infineon) or S-EVDO (Qualcomm+Alcatel). Terrestar-1 is equipped with LTE technology, in orbit and fully paid for. The combination of the Skyterra 10 MHZ MSS spectrum and the Terrestar 10 MHZ MSS spectrum would be logical with the Terrestar-1 satellite be able to handle both spectrums this would mean 2 MSS spectrum networks for the price of 1.

TMF response: the above is complete nonsense, TerreStar’s satellite is not compatible with the L-band. Neither is it “equipped with LTE technology”. All beamforming is done on the ground, and in any case the satellite air interface is either GMR-3G (Hughes+Infineon) or S-EVDO (Qualcomm+Alcatel).

]]> By: Cue the “Mission Impossible” Theme for Harbinger’s LTE Plans https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-397 Cue the “Mission Impossible” Theme for Harbinger’s LTE Plans Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:55:00 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-397 [...] costs. First, there’s the issue of finding a partner to build out the network. I, as well as Farrar, have fingered T-Mobile as the likeliest source because the FCC has forbidden AT&T and Verizon [...] [...] costs. First, there’s the issue of finding a partner to build out the network. I, as well as Farrar, have fingered T-Mobile as the likeliest source because the FCC has forbidden AT&T and Verizon [...]

]]> By: timfarrar https://tmfassociates.com/blog/2010/03/27/harbingers-atc-plans-revealed/comment-page-1/#comment-396 timfarrar Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:34:22 +0000 http://tmfassociates.com/blog/?p=198#comment-396 Its been a buyer's market for ATC spectrum in the last five years, and we've only found one buyer (Harbinger) for a nationwide ATC network so far. Time will tell if there are more buyers out there, but until late April TerreStar must negotiate exclusively with Harbinger. As Harbinger state in their business plan conditions, they may seek to host other terrestrial (i.e. non-MSS) spectrum on the new network, so there are presumably other options (for a start NextWave has some WCS spectrum it needs to monetize, and that was one of the bands mentioned by the FCC in the Broadband Plan). Its been a buyer’s market for ATC spectrum in the last five years, and we’ve only found one buyer (Harbinger) for a nationwide ATC network so far. Time will tell if there are more buyers out there, but until late April TerreStar must negotiate exclusively with Harbinger.

As Harbinger state in their business plan conditions, they may seek to host other terrestrial (i.e. non-MSS) spectrum on the new network, so there are presumably other options (for a start NextWave has some WCS spectrum it needs to monetize, and that was one of the bands mentioned by the FCC in the Broadband Plan).

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