RE: Spaceway
Quoting "LEO in the Sky with Diamonds" article from Communications News, May 1999:
"Hughes Electronics Corp. said it would invest an initial $1.4 billion into its Spaceway satellite system to provide on-demand network bandwidth for videoconferencing, multimedia, and other broadband applications beginning in the first quarter of 2002."
[Frank: note the coincidence in this amount to the $1.5B cash that AOL is investing in Hughes. Is AOL simply taking GM off the hook in underwriting Spaceway deployment? Does this funding quicken the pace of deployment from the previously announced 2002 timetable, thereby allowing GMH to gain a lead on competitors?]
"...Hughes says its Spaceway system will provide faster speeds than land-based networks and cost 20-30% less. Users will be able to receive files at speeds to 400 Mbps and send information back at 16 Mbps. For the initial U.S. network, Hughes will employ two geosynchronous satellites operating in the Ka-band with an
in-orbit spare. The system will use onboard digital processing, packet switching, and spot-beam technology to offer single-hop connectivity throughout the service area.
Once the geosynchronous system is operational, Hughes will add low-Earthorbit (LEO) satellites to expand the system's reach worldwide and to offer additional interactive broadband services in high-traffic markets.
Though Hughes is the first to commit financially to such a project, a handful of other entrants is expected to follow suit. More than a dozen companies have already received licenses from the Federal Communications Commission to operate in the Ka-band. According to Michael T. Smith, chief executive of Hughes, the market
for broadband data services will reach $50 billion by 2005 in the U.S. alone..."
Frank, also tending to remove doubt that this amounts to AOL funding of Spaceway is this segment from last month's Business Week, 05/31/99, Issue 3631, p44 titled RISKS SOAR, THE ROCKETS DON'T:
"To jump-start its three-satellite Spaceway project, Hughes Electronics Corp. had to shell out over $1.4 billion of its own money. That could pay off big, however: America Online Inc. is considering investing up to $1 billion in Spaceway, according to sources close to both companies." |
