Boeing + LightSquared… SkyTerra 1 Is Enroute (Launch)

[SatNews] Boeing [NYSE: BA] has shipped the LightSquared SkyTerra 1, a high-capacity mobile communications satellite, from the company’s integration and test complex in El Segundo to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Upon arrival, the satellite will undergo final preparations for a Nov. 14 launch aboard an International Launch Services Proton rocket. SkyTerra 1 is a Boeing 702HP satellite designed for geomobile services. It will combine with four gateway ground stations and ground-based beam-forming equipment to create the first of two Space-Based Networks (SBN) that Boeing is building for LightSquared (formerly SkyTerra). LightSquared is building a new, wholesale-only, nationwide 4G-LTE wireless broadband network.

“LightSquared’s SkyTerra 1 next-generation satellite, with its 22-meter diameter reflector, will allow for connectivity to mobile devices with a similar form factor, battery life and performance to conventional cellular phone devices,” said Jeff Snyder, senior vice president of satellite engineering and operations for LightSquared.

“The shipment of the SkyTerra 1 satellite is an important step toward bringing LightSquared and its mobile wireless partners services that are accessible anytime, anywhere, throughout the United States,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager, Boeing Space & Intelligence Systems.

The SkyTerra 1 SBN will enhance the availability of mobile communications across geographic areas and supply greater bandwidth — improving access to wireless devices such as cell phones, PDAs and laptop computers. When operational, the SBN will enable integrated satellite-cellular communications for wireless services throughout the United States. Designed to provide wireless mobile services to millions of subscribers, LightSquared’s SkyTerra 1 satellite features a 22-meter L-band reflector-based antenna — the largest commercial antenna reflector to be put into service. The active phased-array antenna will offer state-of-the-art digital signal processing, channel formation and switching. Through the creation of the first-ever wholesale-only nationwide 4G-LTE network complemented by satellite coverage, LightSquared offers people the speed, value and reliability of universal broadband connectivity, wherever they are in the United States. Through its wholesale-only business model, those without their own wireless network or who have limited geographic coverage or spectrum can develop and sell their own devices, applications and services using LightSquared’s open 4G network – at a competitive cost and without retail competition from LightSquared.