Teledesic is a broadband LEO system, designed to compete with fiber, while Globalstar, Iridium et al are going after the wireless market with their Big LEO systems. That's straight from the horse's mouth (Teledesic) on their official web site. Could it be more clear that NXTL will not be using Teledesic's system?
Here's the actual words from Teledesic's web site at:
teledesic.com
Low-Earth-Orbit Satellite Systems
The evolution from geostationary to low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites has resulted in a number of proposed global satellite systems, which can be grouped into three distinct types. These LEO systems can best be distinguished by reference to their terrestrial counterparts: paging, cellular, and fiber.
System Type Little LEO Big LEO Broadband LEO Example Orbcomm, VITA Iridium, Globalstar, ICO Teledesic
Terrestrial Counterpart Paging Cellular Fiber Frequency <1 GHz 1 - 3 GHz 20/30 GHz
The Big LEOs, for example, provide premium-priced, narrowband mobile voice service, whereas Teledesic provides primarily fixed, broadband connections at costs comparable to urban wireline service. Just as cellular and fiber are generally not considered to be competitive, the only thing Teledesic really has in common with the Big LEOs is the use of low-Earth-orbit satellites. |
