Creating the Global Hot Spot

Iria · Oct 21, 2005, 05:26 PM

LONDON -- Telecom giant Inmarsat is weeks away from launching the second in a series of two super-satellites -- designed to be among the most powerful commercial communications spacecraft in orbit -- that will beam broadband data and voice services to almost any location on the planet.

The I-4 satellites will serve as switchboards in the sky for Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network, or BGAN, service, scheduled for rollout in 2006. Instead of cruising for a Starbucks, BGAN subscribers can hit the road with a portable terminal as small as their laptop computer and surf the web -- or connect with the office LAN -- at broadband speeds of up to 492 Kbps.

"The network will cover 88 percent of the globe's landmass," said Chris McLaughlin, vice president of corporate communications for Inmarsat in London.

Satellite broadband plans have crashed and burned before, notably with the multibillion-dollar bust of wireless pioneer Craig McCaw's Iridium venture. But dreams of blanketing the globe with ubiquitous high-speed connectivity die hard, and satellite communications providers are once again lining up to provide commercial broadband services to consumers and businesses.
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Read More / Source: Wired News

CDsDontBurn · Oct 21, 2005, 05:35 PM

Quote:

"The network will cover 88 percent of the globe's landmass," said Chris McLaughlin

so is that just going to be everywhere but the americas basically

pr0digal jenius · Oct 21, 2005, 05:55 PM

It'll flop.

Cingular, Verizon, and Nextel(or more correctly, Bellsouth, Vodafone, and Sprint) own that market, and that won't do anything but become more obvious.

Oct 21, 2005, 05:26 PM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Creating the Global Hot Spot LONDON -- Telecom giant Inmarsat is weeks away from launching the second in a series of two super-satellites -- designed to be among the most powerful commercial communications spacecraft in orbit -- that will beam broadband data and voice services to almost any location on the planet. The I-4 satellites will serve as switchboards in the sky for Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network, or BGAN, service, scheduled for rollout in 2006. Instead of cruising for a Starbucks, BGAN subscribers can hit the road with a portable terminal as small as their laptop computer and surf the web -- or connect with the office LAN -- at broadband speeds of up to 492 Kbps. "The network will cover 88 percent of the globe's landmass," said Chris McLaughlin, vice president of corporate communications for Inmarsat in London. Satellite broadband plans have crashed and burned before, notably with the multibillion-dollar bust of wireless pioneer Craig McCaw's Iridium venture. But dreams of blanketing the globe with ubiquitous high-speed connectivity die hard, and satellite communications providers are once again lining up to provide commercial broadband services to consumers and businesses. __________ Read More / Source: Wired News

Oct 21, 2005, 05:55 PM	#3
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	It'll flop. Cingular, Verizon, and Nextel(or more correctly, Bellsouth, Vodafone, and Sprint) own that market, and that won't do anything but become more obvious.