Sea Launch Embarks on the First Mission of 2004

Sea Launch is making final preparations for its fist mission of 2004: the launch of the Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 communications satellite scheduled for 09-Jan-2004. The SS/L 1300 series spacecraft carries 41 Ku-band transponders with five unique and interconnecting coverage beams. Fifty percent of the satellite's power will be dedicated to Brazil, providing a dedicated Ku-band solution for the Brazilian marketplace. The satellite's other beams will cover the Americas and the North Atlantic Ocean, where Connexion by Boeing will use the satellite to provide its Internet-to-aircraft service. Following the Telstar 14/Estrela do Sul 1 mission, Sea Launch is scheduled to launch DIRECTV-7S and then Telstar-18.
http://www.sea-launch.com

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Connexion by Boeing Seeks Momentum in 2004

"History will record 2004 as the year when air travelers for the first time could choose to be connected while in flight to family, colleagues and friends," said Scott Carson, president, Connexion by Boeing. Following successful trials of its service by Lufthansa and British Airways in 2003, Connexion by Boeing has obtained the first regulatory authorizations to operate wireless devices aboard commercial airliners in flight. Some other recent milestones for the service include in-flight VPNs, the first two-way video-teleconference between the air and the ground during a commercial airline flight, and the first two-way, real-time e-mail exchange in flight between two airline passengers flying on different airplanes.


SAS, Singapore Airlines and All-Nippon Airways are also planning to equip their long-range fleets with the Connexion by Boeing service. The company also cited increased momentum in the executive-jet market: Kingdom Holding Co. of Saudi Arabia announced plans to install the Connexion by Boeing system, initially on a Boeing 747.www.connexionbyboeing.comIn July 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference approved the use of a range of radio frequencies for satellite-based communications for aeronautical purposes. The allocation cleared the way for regulatory authorities within each country's airspace worldwide to authorize certain in-flight connectivity services such as Connexion by Boeing.

Agreements also were reached with satellite service providers, including Eutelsat, Intelsat and Space Communications Corporation.

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FCC Opens Proceeding on Smart Radios

The FCC opened proceedings seeking public comment on the use and applications for cognitive "smart" radio systems. Smart radios are defined as devices having the capability to adapt their use of spectrum in response to information external to the radio. For instance, a system could use geolocation information to determine whether certain transmissions are permissible. Alternatively, such radios could sense their RF environment and use this information to determine the optimal frequencies and transmit powers to use, while avoiding harmful interference.


The FCC is seeking comment on ways to encourage and remove regulatory impediments to continued development and deployment of smart radio technologies, including, for example, facilitating the ability of licensed spectrum users to deploy them for their own use to increase spectrum efficiency, and to facilitate secondary markets, allowing licensees to lease their spectrum access to third parties using such technologies. The FCC is also seeking comment on ways in which smart radios can facilitate opportunistic use of the spectrum by unlicensed devices, while protecting incumbents from harmful interference. The FCC is developing rules permitting additional technical flexibility, including allowing unlicensed devices in limited bands to use higher transmit powers in rural and underserved areas.
http://www.fcc.gov

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