The Skybridge uplink (2Mpbs) will be via an ultrasat (9" in diameter) and a sat card in the pc or set top box. The orbits will cover the globe, and will be circular (10 planes, 8 LEOs). I have seen the SkyCache model, but think the Skybridge model is more effective because of the 200 ground stations it will have to promote delivery to the end user.
Ellipso I think is using sort of a Molniya orbit, where the sats hover over populated areas, true. But it seems that they have decided to perhaps modify that proposal because a Molniya orbit really does not get you to Latin America, as you know. America On Line is looking to make a major push in Brasil (a friend of mine there tells me that AOL is already sending out the CDs), and will be helped dramatically with satellite delivery since that gets rid of the problems about delivery where there is no fiber or copper, where fiber and copper can't go, but where there are populated areas. Also, in those areas AOL will be paying a lower price to deliver its content. As I said before, however, the Netscape portion of AOL for intranets throughout various parts of Latin America (the intranet capacity there is almost totally by satellite in some areas) is what is going to get a lot of push.
These are areas where analysts have not figured the numbers yet. I see the numbers for AOL usage as rising beyond analyst's projections, and at some point I think the analyst numbers will be rising once the Netscape/intranet model in Latin America is worked out. |
