ICO finds Triangle’s terrain a fitting lab for auto technology
RALEIGH – Executives with a Virginia satellite communications company have picked the Triangle as a testing ground for a technology they believe can do for television what satellites have done for radio.Shortly after New Year’s Day, sport utility vehicles will fan throughout the region testing Reston, Va.-based ICO Global Communications’ service – real-time television, navigation and emergency signals delivered by satellite to consumers in their cars. The company, which trades on the Nasdaq stock market, already has set up some equipment in the Triangle for the test.
CEO Tim Bryan was unavailable for comment. Spokesman Chris Doherty says ICO chose the Raleigh-Durham area because it has been a useful test area for other telecom companies. He says the Triangle’s gently rolling hills and tree cover, which are similar to those found in many other East Coast markets, will help the company measure signal strength. Like satellite radio providers, ICO will use towers on the ground to carry signals around buildings. ICO has installed 14 of these “repeaters” around the Raleigh-Durham area.
ICO also will test in Las Vegas, which offers a more urban setting, along with mountains and desert. Between the two cities, Doherty says, ICO can model how the service will work in most of the country. The company wants to tap the market that embraces satellite radio, which is offered under two brands, Sirius and XM, which are now owned by the same company.
“They have 20 million customers, which is nothing to sneeze at,” Doherty says of Sirius and XM.
Technology research firm ABI Research projects that mobile TV subscribers will grow worldwide to 462 million in the next five years. In a report, research director Mike Wolf says consumers are attracted by the improving video experiences coming from larger, more powerful screens.
ICO has signed deals with companies including NBC Universal and Viacom to provide television content. ICO’s satellite covers most of North America, but the company is licensed for service only in the United States. ICO still awaits approval of a license to offer service in Europe.
In-Stat analyst David Chamberlain says ICO isn’t exactly a newcomer. ICO started in 1995 with the aim of using satellites to provide voice and data services globally. The company was saved from bankruptcy in 2000 by an investor group led by telecom veteran Craig McCaw, who had founded the cell phone carrier that became AT&T Wireless.
For most of the last five years, ICO has been in litigation with The Boeing Co. over the aerospace giant’s failure to build and launch 12 ICO satellites. In October, a jury awarded ICO $371 million in the case.
While satellite radio points to a potential market for ICO, it also offers reason for caution, Chamberlain says. The merged Sirius XM Radio has a long way to go before it becomes profitable. And unlike satellite radio, ICO won’t be the only mobile television satellite player. Chamberlain says Qualcomm’s MediaFLO, which delivers video to wireless devices, is expected to expand its geographic reach by using spectrum newly available after broadcast television becomes all digital Feb. 17.
Chamberlain says ICO can distinguish itself with its navigation and communication features, though he notes that global positioning systems and cell phones offer similar functions.