Satellite provider Mobile Satellite Ventures teamed with Nortel to deploy a trial integrated WiMAX and satellite broadband service. Could the move revive the beleaguered MSS industry? Many players, like MSV, are banking their survival on incorporating an ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) that would solve a fundamental problem plaguing the MSS industry: operators' inability to penetrate buildings with satellite signals. That technical shortfall has had a tremendous constraint on demand and resulted in higher operating and equipment costs.
The trial with Nortel, which will be conducted in the Reston, Virginia area, will initially feature high-speed wireless voice, data and Web access, file sharing and VoIP connectivity using residential gateway devices and PC Cards for users in fixed and portable modes of use. Subsequently, MSV expects to incorporate push-to-talk, video calling, picture-caller ID, presence capabilities, full MSS/ATC integration and support for a range of mobile devices. Nortel will integrate its WiMAX and IMS connectivity as well as devices and ASIC technology from Kyocera, WiNetworks, and Runcom Technologies. -Lynnette