Hi Maurice and all << Handsets reach new heights
It's well-known that CDMA technology will play a pivotal role in Globalstar's global
mobile satellite service. However, all the satellite systems soon to begin commercial
services are planning to offer handsets with cdmaOne capability. Erik Milstone
If all goes as planned, three multi-billion dollar satellite companies will offer service in
the next two years to business executives, explorers and other globetrotters who trek to
even the most remote places in the world. Although each company is using a different
technology to link its satellites with ground stations and customers, each will also use
cdmaOne.
Globalstar L.P. is using a proprietary version of CDMA technology to link its gateways,
or ground stations, satellites and customers who will carry a special satellite phone.
The company is betting CDMA's advanced technology will help it provide better
service at a more reasonable price than its competitors.
Meanwhile, Globalstar, Iridium LLC and ICO Global Communications Services Inc. will
all take advantage of the growing popularity of cdmaOne by offering a phone that can
make calls on its own satellite network or through one of the growing number of
CDMA wireless carriers on the third rock from the sun.
Appealing
"The fact that you have Globalstar and Iridium both planning on offering handsets that
will allow worldwide roaming for CDMA systems is very appealing," says Perry
LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development Group in Costa Mesa, Calif.
"[As for] cdmaOne itself, its strong point is that it's in a number of very large markets
that are growing rapidly."
By the end of 1997, there were an estimated six million cdmaOne subscribers worldwide,
according to the Yankee Group in Boston. That gave CDMA a three per cent share of
the worldwide wireless phone business. By 2002, however, CDMA will account for 17.3
per cent of the market, surpassing the number of analog subscribers but still trailing
GSM subscribers, who will account for about 47 per cent of the market worldwide, the
Yankee Group estimates. Among the markets that will drive CDMA's growth are Japan,
China and Latin America.
Along with expanding potential markets, the fact that all three satellite companies will
use CDMA terrestrial wireless networks gives a boost to the technology and a further
response to its critics. Partnering with global satellite networks could also help end the
ongoing squabble within the wireless industry about which technology is best.
"Iridium and Globalstar certainly are trying to present themselves as a multi-standard
system as a way of tying it all together and I think that's smart for them," says Ira
Brodsky, president of Chesterfield, Mo.-based Datacomm Research Co., a consulting
firm.
From a technological standpoint, Globalstar believes its CDMA-based system will be
superior to ICO's or Iridium's, which plan to use GSM or TDMA technology in their
satellite links. Among other things, CDMA allows Globalstar to use "rake" receivers in
customer handsets and satellites. Each finger on the rake can pick up a different signal,
increasing the chances that a connection will be made and maintained. CDMA allows
Globalstar to more efficiently use the capacity of its satellite network and will give a
better signal quality. CDMA also means Globalstar's network will use less power, cost
less and have a greater capacity than its competitors, the company believes.
Some research used in the Globalstar network has piggybacked in part on
developments in terrestrial wireless networks. For example, Vodafone Group Plc of
England and Qualcomm of San Diego, Calif., two Globalstar partners, completed tests
on Vodafone's network using CDMA as the technology that carries signals through
the air to a GSM base station.
The tests were done, in part, to ensure Globalstar could authenticate calls made over a
GSM network, says Janet McVeigh, director of product management for GSM-CDMA
at Qualcomm in San Diego.
"It was seen as a way to investigate some of the technical issues involving Globalstar
and reduce some of the risk," McVeigh says. "The main one for Globalstar was GSM
security. We did full GSM authentication, no problem."
Globalstar, based in San Jose, Calif., has launched eight satellites so far this year and
plans to have 44 low-Earth-orbiting, or LEO, satellites in space by year's end as part of
its $2.6 billion network.
The company also plans to ship 37 of its 38 Qualcomm-built gateways this year. "Our
hope is by the middle of the first quarter they will have 10 to 12 of those in the network
doing the system test," says Globalstar president Doug Dwyre. Service should begin
by mid-1999.
To make sure its footprint looks like that of a Sasquatch, Globalstar is continuing to
sign new companies that will provide service around the world. In early May, the
company announced that Al-Murjan, a Saudi Arabian company, will distribute
Globalstar services in the Middle East. At the time, that meant Globalstar had deals in
114 countries, accounting for about 90 per cent of the company's planned coverage
area.
Moving ahead
Iridium and ICO also are moving ahead. ICO plans to launch its first satellites later this
year from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Eventually, the company will have 10 satellites in a
medium-Earth-orbit, or MEO, constellation as part of its $4.5 billion network.
In May, ICO signed up its 60th investor, the Arab Satellite Communications
Organization, which invested $3 million in the company. ICO expects to begin
commercial service in 2000.
Iridium, another low-Earth-orbit system backed largely by Motorola Inc. of Illinois, had
launched 67 of its satellites and launched its remaining five from Vandenberg Air Force
Base in California on May 17.
The launch completes Iridium's batch of 72 of satellites - 66 for its main system and
six spares - in its $4.4 billion network. The company has deals with 180 partners which
provide service to 51 million subscribers. Iridium plans to begin service Sept. 23.
To reach the largest number of users, satellite companies are signing deals with
wireless carriers that use different technologies on various frequencies. That means
Globalstar and the other systems must have several different phones.
Globalstar, ICO and Iridium have hired big-name manufacturers to design and build
handsets that can bounce calls off satellites or connect them through one or more
terrestrial wireless carriers, including those operating CDMA networks at 800 MHz,
GSM at 900 MHz, AMPS, digital AMPS and PDC networks in Japan.
"From the very beginning we planned multimode phones," says Globalstar president
Dwyre. "We take our name Globalstar seriously." In other words, you can't reach a
worldwide audience with just one phone.
In April, Globalstar said it had signed three deals worth a total of $353 million. The
manufacturers will build mobile and fixed satellite phones for the Globalstar network.
Qualcomm's phones will work in the satellite, CDMA and AMPS modes. Ericsson
OMC, Ltd., a subsidiary of Ericsson Telecommunications, and Telital of Trieste, Italy
will build dual-mode phones that work as satellite/GSM 900 MHz phones.
Globalstar expects its phones will cost less than Iridium's but more than ICO's. "We at
Globalstar think they will be about $750 (U.S.)," a company spokesman says. "But that
will change from market to market. Some subscribers will subsidize the cost of the
phone."
AirTouch Communications Inc. of San Francisco, a Globalstar investor which operates
an 800 MHz CDMA network in the United States and has interests in international
wireless companies, is telling customers calls will cost more than $1 a minute for mobile
phone users. Fixed satellite phones, such as those located in villages without any
wireline phone service, will cost less than $1 a minute.
Motorola Inc., Iridium's main backer, will supply phones that work on different wireless
networks by inserting a "cassette," technically called an Iridium Interoperability Unit,
or IIU.
Larry Mishler, vice president and director of Motorola's satellite subscriber products
division in Libertyville, Ill., says the company's first phones will combine satellite and
either GSM 900 MHz or CDMA 800 MHz service. The CDMA phones are dual-mode
and will also work on AMPS or NAMPs networks.
The Kyocera Corp. of Japan is manufacturing phones for Iridium too. Kyocera's
phones will work as a satellite phone and on GSM, CDMA, AMPS or PDC networks.
When the phones are needed for satellite roaming, they slip into a larger cradle that
contains its own battery and antenna.
Iridium has said its phones will sell for $2,000 to $3,000 (U.S). Phone calls will cost up to
$3 (U.S.) a minute, the company says. Although that's more than other systems, Iridium
says its satellite callers won't have to pay hefty long-distance charges because calls
are bounced satellite to satellite, bypassing most of the existing long-distance wireline
networks which will tack on additional fees.
Motorola also is making a pager for Iridium that will retail for about $500 (U.S.).
London-based ICO, meanwhile, has signed deals with consumer products companies
which have jumped into the phone market following the recent explosion of wireless
networks worldwide.
"At the moment we are concentrating on ICO for GSM, for CDMA, for AMPS, for
digital AMPS and PDC for Japan," says Patrick Chomet, director of handset
development at ICO.
ICO has announced deals with NEC, Samsung and Mitsubishi to develop dual-mode
phones. Prototypes should be available early next year when the company begins
testing its satellite system, Chomet says. The phones should retail for the equivalent of
about $600 (U.S.).
Satellite/TDMA phones, which could be used by carriers such as AT&T Wireless
Services in the United States and a growing number of carriers in Latin America, are
planned, as are CDMA and GSM phones that operate at 1.9 GHz, a frequency used by
companies in the United States and in growing markets such as Africa and China.
Sprint PCS, for example, has more than 1.1 million U.S. customers on its 1.9 GHz CDMA
network, but has not announced any deals with the satellite companies.
Although customers might find themselves in unfamiliar terrain when using a satellite
phone, their phone's features should be familiar to digital wireless phone users. ICO
plans to have voicemail, call forwarding and a locator feature, similar to, but less exact
than, a full global positioning system tracker. Qualcomm's portable Globalstar phones
will deliver short messages, voicemail and a location detector that indicates a user's
latitude and longitude. Kyocera's phones for Iridium will have call forwarding,
conference calling, alarms, four separate memory banks for phone numbers and a map,
among other things. More features will be available as satellite companies add them to
their networks.
The satellite phones are larger than today's incredible shrinking wireless handsets.
Motorola's Iridium phone, for example, will be 453 grams, or about 16 ounces, with the
radio cassette. It will be 410 cubic centimeters, or 25 cubic inches, and have a talk time
of two to four hours. That's about average. Batteries will be lithium ion and be
rechargeable almost anywhere in the world.
As with any new venture, satellite telephone companies face obstacles. On a broad
scale, they need licenses to operate in many countries, says Joseph Pelton, research
professor at the Institute of Applied Space Research at George Washington University
in Washington, D.C. "A number of countries have duties and licenses that say you
must pay $1,000 to $10,000 a year to have a satellite transceiver," Pelton says. That
could be a problem, he says, although it isn't clear whether countries will charge those
fees for a satellite phone.
ICO still does not have a license to operate in the United States. The company has
been talking with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to resolve issues
involving its ownership structure, Inmarsat and international regulators. The FCC also
is concerned about the cost of relocating companies that currently use the 2 GHz band
ICO wants for its satellite links.
As of early May, five of Iridium's satellites were not working, according to a Motorola
executive. Even so, the system should be operational as scheduled in September
because the network was designed to function even if several satellites have technical
difficulties.
Significant
Globalstar announced several significant financial deals in April. Among them was
Loral Space & Communications Ltd.'s offer to up its interest in Globalstar to 42 per cent
by buying out some existing investors. Loral, Globalstar's biggest financial backer, also
proposed establishing a $210 million fund to purchase Globalstar gateways and
handsets. And international financier George Soros agreed to become an investor in
the worldwide satellite system.
Loral's offer to increase its investment should give Hyundai Corp. and Dacom Corp. a
way to liquidate at least a portion of their investment in Globalstar. Continuing
concerns about South Korea's ongoing economic problems, as well as those of eastern
Asia in general, led the companies to say they wanted to sell their Globalstar stake.
Meanwhile, Globalstar is working to make sure its service in India, South Korea and
Chile - the areas for which Hyundai and Dacom were responsible - will move
forward. A deal which gave Hyundai the right to manufacture phones for Globalstar is
dead.
While companies acknowledge ongoing difficulties, none are bailing out of the great
race to circle the globe with satellite phone networks. "It continues to be challenging,"
says Globalstar President Dwyre. "But we do expect to be in service in the second
quarter of 1999. |
