ICO Global Communications praised Monday's decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assign a total of 20 MHz of spectrum to ICO Satellite Services, G.P., a subsidiary of ICO North America, ICO's principal operating subsidiary.
The assignment is part of the FCC's action to re-distribute spectrum allocated to mobile satellite services (MSS) in the 2 GHz frequency band to existing 2 GHz MSS licensees, including ICO's subsidiary.
"The chairman and commissioners' action strengthens the public safety and national security capabilities of our country," said Craig Jorgens, president of ICO. "The decision recognizes the important role that ubiquitous satellite services play in meeting critical U.S. communications needs."
The assignment will assist ICO, through its subsidiaries, in fulfilling its mission to provide advanced wireless voice, data and Internet services with handsets similar to existing cellular phones.
In addition, ICO North America will apply its technology and satellite service offerings, redundant to terrestrial networks, in order to uniquely address growing national security and public safety needs. The system is expected to support any existing and future wireless protocols including GSM, CDMA, OFDM and TCP/IP.
"The FCC's decision will ensure that ICO can provide advanced wireless services to customers throughout the U.S., including rural and underserved areas of the nation," added Jorgens.
In August 2005, ICO's wholly owned subsidiary ICO North America raised $650 million in a private debt placement to fund its authorized geostationary 2 GHz MSS system. This recent funding, together with amounts invested since ICO emerged from bankruptcy, brings the total amount of investment to approximately $1.85 billion.
The ICO North America system, scheduled to be operational in July of 2007, is being built by Space Systems/Loral ("SS/L"). SS/L and ICO North America have completed certification of all applicable FCC milestones, to date.
