AirCell Swoops in on 3 MegaHertz Spectrum; New License Gives Total US Coverage

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In what might end up being one of the great spectrum bargains of the decade, Venture Wire Reports that Louisville, Colordao based AirCell, Inc has acquired 3 megahertz spectrum covering the entire United States with a winning bid of $31.3 Million.
AirCell has historically equipped private planes with high tech wifi systems that enable air to ground connectivity to support broadband speed web-browsing. According to company materials AirCell WiFi Installations fully support the same applications available to terrestrial users providing unparalleled productivity while airborne.
The spectrum purchase, which is a steep departure from AirCell’s previous business activities appears to be a broad stroke to lock up the exlusive ability to provide high speed air to ground connectivity that does not interfere with terrestrial cellular networks.
Currently while it is possible to secure a WiFi connection for transoceanic flights there has been considerable debate about the use of these networks and their associated air to ground links while over land. (see comment 2.)Several reports indicate that the connections on commercial planes, particularly on takeoff and approach severely disrupt mobile telephony which is in direct contravention of FCC regulations. Thus, the move by AirCell to acquire this spectrum may put the company in the enviable position of having complete control of a highly coveted resource; especially as more and more people realize that it is unacceptable to be in a disconnected state for all but the briefest of flights.
Aircell’s website suggests that they’ll have this new network up some time in 2007. I think it will be interesting to see what kind of carrier deals they end up structuring as this paves the way for an aggressive push to allow mobile telephony on planes now that broadband access makes using VoIP clients a certainty.
Tags: aircell, air-to-ground-link, in-flight-wifi, wifi, mobilecrunch, oliverstarr, FCC, 3megahertz-spectrum Categories: Announcements, Analysis Bookmark this post with del.icio.us