And a 1 minute call from New York to Philadelphia would cost $20.
Posted on 09/22/2017 11:33:13 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The voice call lasted more than a minute and went off without a hitch, said Meir Moalem, CEO of the United Kingdom-based startup Sky and Space Global.
...
During the testing, Sky and Space Global engineers also sent text messages, images and voice recordings via the company's three nanosatellites, dubbed the 3 Diamonds. The satellites, launched on June 23, circle the Earth in a sun-synchronous orbit at the altitude of 500 kilometers (310 miles).
Eventually, Sky and Space Global envisions building a constellation of 200 nanosatellites that would provide seamless communication services to people living in tropical regions where no communication capabilities currently exist.
"People in the Western world take communication infrastructure for granted," Moalem said. "But there are people in the world who can't make phone calls, who can't go and look up information on the internet, and we want to change that."
Sky and Space Global uses low-cost satellite terminals that can be installed in homes and are similar to Wi-Fi routers. The terminals would enable the occupants to make phone calls or use applications similar to WhatsApp to send text messages and images using regular, commercially available smartphones.
That is a huge advantage compared to what is currently available in the market, Moalem said.
"There are companies, such as Iridium or Inmarsat, that enable voice calls via satellites," Moalem said. "But they usually require specialized phones that are very expensive, and that's something that people in developing countries can't afford."
Sky and Space Global's satellites weigh a few kilograms each, compared to the several-hundred-kilogram or even multiton craft of the company's competitors. The whole constellation is expected to cost about $150 million, which is two-thirds of the cost of a regular telecommunications satellite...
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Dang Capitalism!
Always coming up with a better, cheaper, faster way of doing things!
Said no one ever....................except commie, prog ,liberals...............
Dang it.
Never fails.
I just got a new cell phone.
I guess I’ll go watch a movie on my Betamax VCR.
“seamless communication services to people living in tropical regions where no communication capabilities currently exist.
“People in the Western world take communication infrastructure for granted,” Moalem said. “But there are people in the world who can’t make phone calls”
hogwash. 2nd Gen Iridium spans all parts of the globe; they just don’t want to pay for the service.
Satellite phones are not cheap. But you can get a cheap cell phone at Dollar General................
Not as much bandwidth as this though.
Increase the supply and the price goes down.
“Mr. Watson—come here—I want to see you.”
And a 1 minute call from New York to Philadelphia would cost $20.
By the end of this year, the company hopes to demonstrate streaming of data from an airplane’s black box via the 3 Diamonds, according to Moalem. The full constellation is expected to be operational by 2020.
Great a new back door into an airplanes avionics suite.
LOL! Agree, it’s so lousy that capitalism and individual initiative always win the day...
The laserdisc player died too.
yup
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
