da002350.doc-FederalCommunicationsCommission.docVIP

Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 ) In the Matter of ) ) TMI Communications and Company, L.P. ) File No. SES-MOD00345 ) For Modification of its Blanket ) Authorization to operate up to 100,000 ) Mobile-satellite earth terminals (METs) ) Through Canadian –licensed satellite ) MSAT-1 at 106.5 degrees W.L., in ) Frequency bands 1646.5-1660 MHz ) (transmit) and 1545-1558.5 MHz (receive) ) ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION Adopted: December 8, 2000 Released: December 11, 2000 By the Chief, Satellite and Radiocommunication Division: INTRODUCTION By this Order, we modify the blanket license held by TMI Communications and Company, L.P. (TMI). The license permits TMI to operate up to 100,000 mobile earth terminals (METs) to provide mobile satellite service (MSS) in the United States via the Canadian-licensed MSAT-1 satellite. This modification permits TMI to operate a new type of MET, a half-duplex, packet-data terminal manufactured by EMS Technologies, Inc. (EMS). This will, in turn, lead to increased competition in the MSS market by making increased service options available to U.S. consumers.   BACKGROUND TMI holds a blanket license to operate up to 100,000 full-duplex METs in portions of the 1545-1558.5 MHz and 1646.5-1660 MHz frequency bands (“the upper L-band”) via the Canadian-licensed MSAT-1 satellite. A portion of these bands is shared on a co-primary basis between commercial MSS and the Federal Government aeronautical mobile satellite service (AMS[R]S). According to Footnote US308 in the Table of Frequency Allocations, MSS operators must be able to provide priority access with “real-time preemption” to provide AMS[R]S. To date, only full-duplex METs have been able to meet this requirement. On March 7, 2000, TMI applied to modify its license by adding a half-duplex MET manufactured by EMS to provide services. The new METs will operate in a packet-data mode with packet-switched servi