ICO Global Communications is in the final phases of preparing for the launch of its ICO G1 satellite, scheduled for one-week from today.Last week, the company received its grant from the FCC for a milestone extension reflecting the planned launch date. Under the revised milestones, ICO is to launch the satellite by April 15th, and have its mobile satellite services (MSS) systems operational by May 15th.
The ICO G1 satellite was mated to its Atlas V launch vehicle (pictured) on April 2nd and the launch is scheduled for next Monday (April 14th) from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
"A week from today we will launch one of the largest commercial satellites ever built," commented Tim Bryan, chief executive officer of ICO.
The geosynchronous ICO G1 Satellite is based on a Loral 1300 standard satellite platform - the same design that Sirius and XM's latest satellites are based off of. It has an expected service life of 15-years and features a 12-meter antenna that focuses the 2 GHz signals on North America.
The service, ICO mim, is scheduled to be commercially available sometime next year. It'll offer features like real-time traffic and weather, roadside assistance/messaging (think OnStar but satellite-powered), and most notably live audio/video content.
(Due to spam, I'm closing comments to this post. Sorry.)
More potential competition and yet the FCC drags their feet. Geez, I wonder if Jesse Jackson and Georgetown Partners are going to be asking for a free piece of ICO's action as well?
Does this mean we're near and end already for Satrad? What hope is there? We've lost billions and face even stiffer competition than we did 3 years ago when everyone was planning on becoming millionaires, me included. I have over 50k shares. The loss is killing me!
With the launch of this service( which is basically Sirius on steroids) the whole Monopoly arguement is basically useless. Geee guys, ICO is basically using Sirius/ Xm Satellites.
Sirius on steroids??? No you cannot say that The location of the satellite is not good for the north. It is competition for Sirius in some ways so shame on the FCC.
Why is the FCC even talking to Georgetown if they are not also asking for some of this satellite?
Didn't I read somewhere that this company is partnered with NBC?
On the ICO web site it says KU BAND that is not 2 Ghz am i missing something is it dual band?
Ku is not good for this service.
Isn't OnStar already powered by satellites?
When I invested in satellite radio (a commercial entity) and purchased a subscription, I did not intend to invest in a charity (Georgetown Partners) or want my subscription dollars to subsidize a charity. If I wanted to do that, I would have donated my money to a cause of my choosing. I do not want the FCC making that choice for me.
It is time for the FCC to show the Georgetown Partners the door and approve this merger without conditions, immediately.
April 14 is the launch day? Wouldn't it be ironic if the FCC approves the merger on that day, if the launch is successful?
OnStar actually runs on a cellular network. Based on the network footprint available when OnStar was rolled out, they picked Verizon Wireless, and most of the units ran on an analog signal. Some of the first units are unable to be converted to a digital signal and with the ending of the analog cellular networks this year, many people are losing their OnStar, and merely being given a discount on service if they buy a brand new GM vehicle!
If it was satellite based, this would not be an issue. But it is not a sat service, simply a basic cellphone in your car.
Huh? so where is the lack of competition or monopoly? FCC and DOJ have truly drag their feet on this one and it is very shameful. But then again what do you expect from the government. Have the balls and either rule on yes or no for this already. How hard is it to rule on this one item?