Siterra Enables Seamless Rollout of 4G Network

Siterra Enables Seamless Rollout
of 4G Network www.yankeegroup.com
Josh Holbrook and Brian Kotlyar, Enterprise Research | April 2008
The Bottom Line: Siterra's hosted project management application provides a foundation upon which an otherwise unaffiliated network ofvendors can come together to seamlessly deploy the planned 4G integrated satellite and terrestrial network for TerreStarKey Concepts: Project management, wireless network deploymentsWho Should Read: CIO, COO, VP of engineering
An Ambitious Goal, but an Enormous Undertaking
here are few things more challenging than putting a The ChallengeTcommunications satellite in space. One of them may bebuilding a continent-spanning terrestrial communications network. s a young startup with few legacy assets to protect, andTerreStar, a new North American carrier, has undertaken the task of Aunencumbered with long-standing partnerships, TerreStarexecuting both simultaneously with the goal of delivering service in was able to forge new relationships and focus on best-of-breedearly 2009 (for more information on TerreStar, see Exhibit 1). solutions. TerreStar calls this less capital intensive approachTerreStar plans to build, own and operate North America's first 4G "strategic sourcing." This means that the most critical aspects ofall-IP next generation mobile satellite and terrestrial the buildout such as network design and engineering arecommunications network. TerreStar's vision is to build a 4G performed in-house while the more tactical aspects such as sitewireless network that operates in conjunction with a satellite and construction and search ring evaluations are managed in andelivers a minimum of 4 Mbps speeds to a footprint that outsourced environment. Although this approach is less capitalencompasses 330 million people. This is an ambitious goal that will intensive, it puts a much heavier burden on the company's vendorrequire a great deal of coordination to bring to life. and process management.
Consider, for example, the process required to select a site for aExhibit 1 single cellular tower-the search ring process. Each tower requiresCorporate InformationSource: TerreStar, Siterra, Yankee Group, 2008 between four to seven vendors ranging from local site acquisitionspecialists who navigate the zoning process, to Nokia SiemensCompany Siterra TerreStar Networks Inc. Networks that provides equipment and engineering expertise andHughes Network Systems, which offers satellite services. MultiplyCorporate Headquarters San Francisco Reston, Va. these complexities across dozens of towers in each market andIndustry Type Hosted asset tracking Mobile dozens of markets across the nation and the scope of the trueand project management communications enormity of the project management challenge is revealed.application providerNetwork Breadth 160,000 sites under Ubiquitous coverage The search ring process is particularly complex because each partymanagement across the US and ranks its tower sites based upon its unique set of selection criteria.Canada This is a multi-enterprise management challenge that everynetwork operator faces throughout the lifecycle of a site. Thechallenges of integrating so many experts into the process becameapparent during TerreStar's first days in the field. In an early buildfor the Baltimore/Washington market, TerreStar found itselfcoordinating project teams from Bechtel and Nokia SiemensNetworks as well as two local contactors for permitting and siting.
This custom publication has been sponsored by Siterra.© Copyright 2008 . Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.This Yankee Group Report is published for the sole use of Yankee Group clients. It may not be duplicated, reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part without the express permission ofYankee Group, Prudential Tower, 800 Boylston Street, 27th Floor, Boston, MA 02199. For more information, contact Yankee Group: info@yankeegroup.com; phone: 617-598-7200.All rights reserved. All opinions and estimates herein constitute our judgment as of this date and are subject to change without notice.April 2008
This was the first TerreStar market and the various vendors had yet Responding to process changes in minutes is a departure fromto interact. It quickly became clear that integrating the opinions traditional project management tools where adjustments toand expertise of all the various vendors into a structured decision- proce... [download for more]