Subject: RE: [NEXTEL-1] World's first balloon-mounted wireless net close to takeoff?

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 15:31:29 -0500

From: "Dan Jones" <[email-masked]>
2:13 PM

Subject:
RE: [NEXTEL-1] World's first balloon-mounted wireless net close to
takeoff?
To: [email-masked]

Didn't some company have something similar going on with kites or
balloons over Indian reservations in The U.S. a little while back. I
seem to remember a little something like.....

Dan Jones
Site Editor, Unstrung

-------- Original Message --------
From: [email-masked]
Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Turning Balloons into Towers
To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>

Turning Balloons into Towers

By Bill McCarthy
Mobile Radio Technology

August 27, 2003

Here is a why-didn't-I-think-of-that: Attach wireless repeaters to
modified
industrial weather balloons.

They could compete with or integrate with terrestrial wireless tower
networks, and minimize many of the environmental, costs, and
line-of-sight
problems that the tower industry faces while expanding coverage
exponentially.

But wait, a lot of people have thought of that. While the concept of
using
weather balloons rather than towers to provide communications has been
around for years, it has been limited by Newton's law, as well as
dangers to
aircraft.

Equipment has been simply too heavy to make the concept feasible and
heavy
enough to bring down an airliner full of people. But at least one
company -- 
Space Data Corporation (http://www.spacedata.net/explorer/index.html) -- 
believes that it is feasible and the industry may soon see if this is a
harebrained idea or ingenious.

Space Data Corp. has been working on the idea for years. If the
Chandler,
Ariz., company can drum up the investment capital it needs to keep
pushing
the boundaries of its technology and its geographic scope, it hopes to
demonstrate its commercial capabilities over the next year or so,
delivering
telemetric information, data and voice.

The company says its SkySite technology is an efficient, yet inexpensive
way
to provide communications services to remote areas since 70 percent of
the
continental United States is beyond the reach of wireless towers.

Combining low-cost, advanced microelectronics with small, expendable,
biodegradable latex weather balloons, Space Data is creating a network
of
SkySites that will operate at about 100,000 feet above the earth's
surface
to work cooperatively with terrestrial networks, provide seamless,
uninterrupted nationwide coverage and operate with existing user
equipment.

All of the United States and most of the world's landmass is in
line-of-sight of weather balloons at 100,000 feet above the earth.

At 100,000 feet, a single SkySite platform can provide service to an
area
the size of Oklahoma, the company says, which it is fond of comparing to
a
tower covering about 12-miles in diameter.

The company will have a demonstration of voice service this year and
plans
to have a regional deployment with a wireless voice customer in 2004.

Wide-Open Market

Jerry Knoblach, CEO and chairman of Space Data, says his company has a
wide-open market.

Wireless tower operators -- Space Data's principal competitors -- face
the
huge financial burden of building sites in isolated locations that may
receive few phone calls in a month, Knoblach said. Satellite service
providers have had many financial problems. Satellites are also aging
and
business needs to take off if the companies hope to replace their
current
birds, Knoblach believes.

Carriers do not, however, have to think of SkySite as replacing existing
towers, Knoblach said. Space Data's SkySites work in concert with
current
ground-based wireless systems and do not interfere with towers or other
service providers.

Although eventually the company is hoping that many carriers will use
the
company's weather balloons instead of building more towers. Knoblach
says
that SkySites are actually complementary to towers because towers still
will
be required in high-usage areas where it probably is not good to hit
users
with falling objects.

But in rural markets, Space Data believes it has a great opportunity.

"Eighty percent of the population lives on just 10 percent of the land,"
Knoblach said in a recent telephone interview, reiterating what the
company
has been saying for several years. "You could never build enough
terrestrial
towers to cover that 20 percent of the population who live in the middle
of
nowhere."

But while the idea of balloons for communications towers is rather old,
Koblach says, "This is way new technology."

Recent advances that allow components to be reduced in size, he said,
are
"fairly revolutionary."

Battery size and power production has improved significantly as well, he
added.

And Knoblach's company sees an opportunity to execute on some ambitious
plans for Space Data's SkySites project.

It hopes to launch Styrofoam-encased radio transceivers connected to
5-foot-diameter latex, biodegradable weather balloons from 70 sites in
48
states by the end of 2004. The balloons, which are designed to float up
to
20 miles above the earth's surface, rising at about 1,000 feet per
minute,
will provide communications services for about 24 hours. Then they will
be
replaced with new balloons.

Launching balloons with attached electronics twice a day in those 48
states
will cost $300 a launch or about $15 million to $20 million a year. The
company argues it is far less expensive funding that ongoing process
than
what most carriers spend on towers without reaching the same coverage
area.

The components parachute to earth, and as long as they weigh less than 6
pounds they cannot harm aircraft on the way down. The debris will land
in
rural areas. The components can be retrieved or mailed by those who find
them.

The National Weather service says that about 20 percent of its
electronic
devices are returned through the mail when they fall to earth.

FAA and FCC Approved

Space Data has received approval from the FCC and the Federal Aviation
Administration for its balloon-based SkySite technology.

Early messaging services will be solely text based working with two-way
Palm
(Nasdaq: PALM) Pilots and two-way pagers such as those manufactured by
SkyTel and Blackberry, said Knoblach.

In the next year or so, Space Data is hoping to bring mobile phone
service
to remote locations for nearly the same price customers pay for cellular
phone service in big cities.

Eventually, Space Data wants to deploy SkySites internationally,
supporting
both voice and data communications.

In its initial implementation, though, the company has been focused on
oil
and gas companies that need communications in the rural Southwest.

Knoblach said that Space Data's beta testing this summer has gone well
in
conjunction with the oil and gas industry to provide telemetry service
to
wells, pipelines and storage facilities in the Southwest.

Oil and gas companies want to monitor oil wells and communicate with
employees in the field in the most isolated of places.

No matter how remote the company said it has the ability to monitor
every
phase of the energy exploration, production and distribution process.
The
firm works with manufacturers of Remote Telemetry Unit (RTU) hardware
and
developers of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) software.

Space Data's network uses ReFLEX technology developed by Motorola.
ReFLEX
systems are used in millions of wireless data devices. Of particular
value
for the energy industry is the fact that ReFLEX modems are designed to
inter-operate with existing RTUs.

The company primarily targeted data applications, specifically
narrowband
PCS operators because the ReFlex messaging protocol is simple to
configure
and the company wanted to start with basic protocols before moving to
more
complex networks.

For years, petroleum companies have used CDPD for telemetry, but that is
system is going away.

The slow removal of some of these types of legacy systems represents an
opportunity for Space Data as well. As cellular-based carriers
discontinue
Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) service (some will drop such service
within the year), Space Data is one of several companies hoping to
replace
those systems. The company says it expects to extend service well beyond
the
reach of CDPD towers at comparable prices, and is far less expensive
than
satellite monitoring.

Earlier this year, the FCC decided to sunset the analog compatibility
requirement for cellular phones, making it unnecessary for carriers to
support analog after the next five years. Analog still dominates in many
rural areas.

Operators may have an increasingly difficult time supporting their
analog
network subscribers. Most of these networks were built for customers
using
3-watt bag phones, a device that is becoming increasingly difficult to
find
because most manufacturers are focusing on newer lightweight handsets
desired by most subscribers.

Without 3-watt phones, carriers' rural coverage areas will have
footprint
gaps and need additional towers to maintain their footprint. That's an
opportunity for SkySite.

As of February, the company said that while the rest of the telecom
sector
may be in an economic decline, it is in a growth mode. Gearing up for
its
commercial launch this year, Space Data moved into expanded facilities
in
Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix.

Space Data believes its system will bring wireless communications to
more
than 50 million rural and underserved consumers throughout the United
States. The new facility represents a 50 percent increase in space and
the
ability to double the number of employees.

The Federal Communications Commission granted licenses for half of the
Narrowband Personal Communications Systems (PCS) spectrum to Space Data
Corp. earlier this spring. The new licenses allow Space Data to provide
nationwide coverage in the 900 MHz band.

Space Data was the successful bidder in the FCC Auction 41 for these 204
licenses in 2001 and completed full payment of its bid amount in April.

Space Data is the first FCC licensee to partner with Native American
tribal
governments to earn bidding credits in an FCC auction. The partnership
commits the company to provide wireless service to Indian tribal lands.

Other high-altitude players include SkyTower Telecommunications, Sky
Station
International and Angel Technologies, all of which use some form of
airplanes or airships to provide rural coverage. Knoblach says that
while
these solutions are viable, they must meet FAA regulations and therefore
are
still a few years away from reality.

Space Data has a patent-pending on its network, claiming it will produce
dependable, strong, clear, two-way signals over hundreds and hundreds of
miles. Space Data also has a Vendor Certification Program for the
companies
that it works with to ensure compatibility of systems. So the company
believes it is way out in front of the competition.

The company says that millions of successful weather balloon flights
prove
it is one of the most dependable and sustainable of all modern systems
for
beaming info through the airwaves. For more than 60 years, weather
balloons
have been the foundation of global meteorology as they provide
atmospheric
data to weather stations. Hopefully, we'll soon see if the system is as
dependable for wireless communications.

http://iwce-mrt.com/ar/radio_turning_balloons_towers/index.htm

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From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 15:28:50 -0500

Subject:

Dan Jones
Site Editor, Unstrung

-------- Original Message --------
From: [email-masked]
Subject: [NEXTEL1] Weather balloons to plug wireless gaps - June 22,
2002.html
To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>

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Weather balloons to plug wireless gaps

Space Data Corp.'s Jerry Knoblach, left, and David Wu want to create a more economical wireless network by using weather balloons.

CHANDLER, Arizona (AP) -- Space Data Corporation isn't the first company to come up with a pie-in-the-sky idea promising to bring seamless wireless service to rural America.

Some have proposed filling the coverage gaps by launching communication equipment on blimps, rockets and solar-powered gliders. As yet, for a slew of financial and technological reasons, none has proven feasible.

But Space Data says its plan to create America's first floating wireless network -- by putting disposable transmitters on government weather balloons -- has already undergone successful testing and is economically viable.

A trial run with text-messaging service in the Phoenix area is slated for this summer. The official launch of the messaging service would begin next spring in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, extending nationwide by the end of 2003. Cellular phone service could be added a year later if the company secures more funding.

'Poor man's satellite'

For the last 60 years, the National Weather Service has launched 70 balloons across the country twice a day to collect temperature, humidity and wind data. The balloons typically hover at about 100,000 feet for about 24 hours.

Because the balloons are launched every 12 hours, there would always be at least one of Space Data's packages floating in the stratosphere above each coverage zone, assuring uninterrupted service for all rural areas in the continental United States, said Jerry Knoblach, Space Data's chairman and chief executive.

Space Data, based in a Phoenix suburb, has raised $13.5 million from private investors, and has been discussing the idea with the weather service since January 2001, Knoblach said.

Knoblach hopes to arrange a barter deal: In exchange for letting the company hitch a ride on the balloons, weather officials would use the satellite-based tracking system on Space Data's network to gather wind and other data more precisely.

"The goal is that no money actually changes hands," said Knoblach, who described the weather service's response as positive.

Weather service spokesman John Leslie confirmed discussions with Space Data have taken place, but said they have not progressed to the level of negotiations.

If the government doesn't approve Space Data's proposal, the company will proceed with the endeavor by launching its own balloons, Knoblach said.

Space Data's service, known as the SkySite Network, would benefit roaming customers and those who live in rural areas where wireless service currently isn't available, he said.

The service would be sold to existing wireless companies who have gaps in their network coverage.

"We would be the carrier's carrier," Knoblach said.

While nearly everyone in the country now has access to at least one cellular service where they live, there are still huge swaths of unpopulated and rural land where there's no wireless signal.

Wireless carriers are not rushing to fill such gaps because there isn't enough business in sparsely populated areas to justify the hefty expense of installing and operating a wireless tower.

"This is really a poor man's satellite," Knoblach said.

Hopes for seamless coverage

As he explains how the SkySite works, he admits the idea sounds far-fetched at first blush.

Each of the weather balloons could provide service to an area of about 100,000 square miles. The resulting overlap in coverage between balloons would enable ubiquitous wireless service throughout the country, Knoblach said.

By contrast, the signal from a wireless tower typically covers from 100 to 150 square miles.

The company estimates its annual operating expenses at $35 million per year. About half of that would go toward equipment: $300 worth for each of the 50,000 or so balloons that would be launched over the course of a year.

Since the chance of finding a balloon once it falls back to earth is remote, the company isn't counting on getting any equipment back once it is launched.

Jonathan Atkin, an industry analyst for RBC Capital Markets, said the key to Space Data's success will be in its ability to contain operating costs while providing adequate returns to wireless carriers. He also said the company will have to convince carriers that the weather balloons are reliable enough to keep Space Data's network gear in the air for consistent coverage.

"What the wireless companies want to do is provide good service to their customers," Atkin said. "If they can leverage Space Data's service to fill in gaps in their own coverage then there's no reason why this shouldn't come into consideration."

Meanwhile, Space Data is pushing ahead.

In November, the company won the rights to use a designated frequency of 1.4 MHz in a Federal Communications Commission auction.

Space Data doesn't expect any obstacles from the Federal Aviation Administration. Under existing FAA rules, balloons can be launched in domestic airspace as long as the balloon and its contents weigh less than 6 pounds -- a requirement the SkySite package meets, Knoblach said.

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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