Marshall, To backup my views on Wireless Satellite read the following, and keep in mind all the "buzz" that has been going on regarding the degradation of service over the internet due to the demand that is being placed on a antiquated infrastructure. What is going to be the path of least resistance, once Corporate America starts to do commerce over the internet, are they going to wait for the entire communications industry to rebuild the infrastructure from the ground up (literally) or are they going to force the Legislative bodies to put a pen to paper, and flip the switches? The decision in this country is always based on the real power, "MONEY" and when it comes to $trillions worth of revenues, the choice is obvious.
Here's another excerpt from Interactive Week that demonstrates the probable solutions and what I feel will cut short any foothold that ADSL will begin to achieve. Remember, with ADSL, the strength is only as good as it's weakest link, and in this case, their trying to make a
silk purse out of a sows ear, the basic infrastructure is outdated and the cost is too high in both time and money.
Here's the excerpt:
Big Plans for Satellite Networks
Received: November 01, 1996 06:23am EST From: Inter@ctive Week
From Inter@ctive Week for October 28, 1996 by Paula Bernier
What's up with broadband satellite services? Not much today. But in the
next few years there will be at least five global satellite networks
offering fixed broadband services.
The satellite groups posit that satellites can cost-effectively deliver
blanket coverage to provide broadband services in areas outside
metropolitan regions, where other carriers are less likely to focus
their early efforts.
The satellites are also well-suited to provide basic phone services to
underdeveloped countries or other areas lacking telephone
infrastructure.
"SpaceWay's role is to provide a wireless complement to the terrestrial
network," says Ed Fitzpatrick, a vice president at Hughes Communications
Inc. in charge of the company's satellite service, SpaceWay.
Fitzpatrick says the high-speed Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, or
ADSL, services that are being tested by the telephone companies and the
cable modem services that cable television companies are beginning to
offer will be rolled out on a spotty basis.
With immediate plans for two geostationary satellites above North
America and another two above Asia -- where service will launch first
-- and projected satellites above Europe and Latin America, SpaceWay
will be able to reach those consumers and businesses that don't have
access to ADSL, cable modems or direct fiber connections but want
high-speed links to the Internet, he says.
New technologies that allow satellites to support higher payloads and
the ability to put digital signal processors on satellites to route
traffic enable these services, such as SpaceWay, to offer relatively
low-cost broadband services.
SpaceWay plans to offer high-speed services for a cost of between $30
and $40 a month, Fitzpatrick says.
The satellite groups expect customer equipment, including antennae and
PC interface devices, to be at or below $1,000 per subscriber, with
numbers varying depending on the company.
Teledesic Corp. is planning to target areas just outside of metropolitan
hubs as well as high-end telecommuters wherever they are with broadband
satellite-based services, according to the company's vice president of
engineering, David Patterson.
Teledesic, a $9 billion project, will consist of 840 interlinked
geostationary low-earth orbit satellites.
"This could be complementary even in urban areas, but most need exists
outside urban areas," he says.
Loral Aerospace has a slightly different twist on the market, according
to Jack Weinberg, program manager for CyberStar.
The $1 billion-plus CyberStar network will initially include three
geostationary satellites over the U.S., Europe and Asia.
The number of satellites could potentially be doubled.
In addition to offering two-way data and multicast services, Loral plans
to cut deals with content providers to help differentiate its service.
Loral plans to offer its own package of movies and other entertainment
programming, as well as electronic shopping services, says Weinberg.
Motorola Inc.'s M-Star, meanwhile, is putting its focus on international
corporations that want low-cost connections at 2 megabits per second or
52 Mbps (Inter@ctive Week, Oct. 21, page 10).
And AT&T Corp. has yet to detail plans for its VoiceSpan service --
which will be supported by 12 geostationary satellites -- other than to
say it will offer interactive broadband services for businesses and
consumers, says Mark Siegel, a spokesman for the effort.
Ira Brodsky, president of Datacomm Research in Wilmette, Ill., points
out that in order to achieve worldwide economies of scale, these
satellite companies will have to get the necessary clearance to operate
their services.
"The fixed satellite world needs to get right to compete worldwide in
all markets," Brodsky says.
"Right now in the U.S., for example, Teledesic is treading very gingerly
at the FCC," he says. "In their public announcements, they're trying to
say the service is only for remote, undeveloped areas.
"But for them to really get a big market at some point they're going to
need the right to compete with local cable TV providers, local telephone
companies.
"If they can get the restrictions removed, they can achieve global
economies of scale. But right now there's a lot of resistance to letting
them compete in major cities."
Brodsky says these satellite groups will rely heavily on third parties
to market their services in the local markets.
The number of partners in each satellite effort is certain to grow in
the coming months as the companies seek new partners, both to raise
money and to distribute the satellite services locally.
Copyright c 1996 Inter@ctive Week. All rights reserved.
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