Dear Marconi and Carl Lee
Follows should answer your question
Best Regards, Mad2
Copyright 1998 Phillips Business Information, Inc.
TELECOMS STANDARDS & APPROVALS REVIEW
October 1, 1998
SECTION: Vol. 3, No. 11
LENGTH: 1273 words
HEADLINE:
Miscellany
BODY:
Satellite services delayed
The opening of the first global mobile phone service, scheduled
for September, has been delayed due to 'technical problems'. The
revised opening date, announced by Iridium, the system operator, is 1
November. The company claims that it has received some 400, 000
enquiries from potential customers. Handsets are being supplied by
Motorola and Kyocera, a Japanese manufacturer.
The handsets have been awarded the GMPCS-MOU Registry Mark by
the ITU. The GMPCS-MOU is an international framework, to which more
than 100 organisations are signatories, designed to promote the
introduction of GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communications by
Satellite) (see TSAR Vol. 2 No. 2, November 1996 and Vol. 2 No. 10,
July/August 1997). The Mark is intended to ensure the goal of
unrestricted circulation of GMPCS terminals across international
borders. The Mark indicates that the handset and the GMPCS system
comply with the GMPCS-MOU implementation arrangements.
The Iridium system already has 66 operational satellites in
orbit at a height of some 500 miles and several others have been
launched to provide a set of 'spares' which can be manoeuvred into
position if required to replace a faulty satellite. Planning is based
upon a failure rate of six per year and a five-year life for the
satellites.
Meanwhile the rival Globalstar system, scheduled to open in late
1999, received a major setback when it lost 12 of its satellites due
to a launch rocket failure.
A third rival system, operated by ICO, is scheduled to open in
2000.
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