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Weather balloons proposed for rural wireless operation

Jerry Knoblach’s company isn’t the first to come up with an off-the-wall idea
promising to bring seamless wireless service to rural America.
Some have proposed filling the coverage gaps by launching communication equipment on solar powered
gliders, rockets or blimps tethered to the ground.

BY ALISA BLACKWOOD
Associated Press

But Space Data Corp.’s executives say their plan to launch disposable network repeaters on weather
balloons is feasible, has already undergone some successful testing and is more economical than using
satellite service.
Beginning with two-way text messaging and a plan to add voice transmissions by 2004, Space Data wants
to create America’s first floating wireless network 20 miles above the ground by having its low-cost receivers
and transmitters hitch a ride on National Weather Service balloons, said Knoblach, Space Data’s chairman and
chief executive.
For the last 60 years, the weather service has
launched 70 balloons across the country twice a day
to collect temperature, humidity and wind data.
The balloons rise to 100,000 feet and stay there
for about 24 hours. Because the balloons are
launched every 12 hours, there would always be at
least one of Space Data’s packages for each launch
site operating in the stratosphere, assuring
uninterrupted service for rural areas in the nation’s 48
states, Knoblach said.
Space Data, which is based in this Phoenix
suburb, has raised $13.5 million from private
investors since 1999 and has been negotiating with
the weather service since January 2001, Knoblach
said.
Space Data is offering the weather service a trade
where the company would be allowed to use the
balloons while weather officials could make use of
GPS equipment Space Data is including with its
network repeaters, Knoblach said. The GPS
equipment would give the weather service an updated
way to gather wind data.
"The goal is that no money actually changes hands," Knoblach said.
He said the service’s response has been positive.
Weather service spokesman John Leslie confirmed discussions with Space Data have taken place, but
said they have not progressed to the level of negotiations.
If the government doesn’t approve Space Data’s proposal, the company will continue with its plan by
launching its own balloons, Knoblach said.
Space Data’s service, known as the SkySite Network, would benefit roaming customers, telemetry
customers and U.S. residents in rural areas where wireline and wireless companies don’t reach, he said.
It would sell SkySite’s service to existing wireless carriers who currently have gaps in their coverage.
"We would be the carrier’s carrier," Knoblach said.
Twenty percent of the nation’s population, or about 56 million people, live in rural areas without digital
wireless service. The coverage gap exists because it’s too expensive to build towers in sparsely populated
areas and satellite service is pricey and reaches only a niche market, he said.
"This is really a poor man’s satellite up here at 100,000 feet," Knoblach said.
As he explains how the SkySite works, he admits the idea sounds a little far-fetched at first blush.
Each of the company’s repeaters aboard the weather balloons would provide service to an area 360 miles
in diameter. The result would be overlapping coverage from each balloon that would provide ubiquitous
wireless service throughout the country, he said.
Ground towers typically cover six to 12 miles in diameter, making it economically feasible only to build
towers in areas with densest population, Knoblach said.
Space Data’s plan also is less expensive than building ground towers, he said.
The company’s total operating cost would hover at about $35 million a year, with about half of that going
toward the equipment launched on the balloons, Knoblach said. It would send up $300 worth of equipment, per
balloon, on 50,000 balloons a year.
By comparison, it costs a ground-based provider about $60 million a year simply to lease enough towers to
cover just 10 percent of the United States, he said.
Since the chances of finding a balloon once it falls back to earth is remote, the company isn’t counting on
getting any equipment back once a balloon is launched.
Jonathan Atkin, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets, said the key to Space Data’s success will be in its
ability to handle ongoing operating costs while making money and providing adequate returns to wireless
carriers.
He also said the company would have to convince carriers that the weather balloons are reliable enough to
keep Space Data’s network repeaters in the air for consistent coverage.
"What the wireless companies want to do is provide good service to their customers," Atkin said. "If they
can leverage Space Data’s service to fill in gaps in their own coverage, then there’s no reason why this
shouldn’t come into consideration."
Meanwhile, Space Data is pushing ahead.
In November, it won 1.5 MHz of nationwide spectrum, which is the company’s designated frequency, in a
Federal Communications Commission auction.
Space Data is also clear with the Federal Aviation Administration. Under existing FAA rules, balloons can
be launched without restrictions in domestic airspace as long as the balloon and its contents weigh less than 6
pounds – a requirement the SkySite package meets, Knoblach said.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed.

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