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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (2248)	10/24/1998 9:19:00 AM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

Is Telecom's Future Up in the Air? Forget about satellites and high-speed optical links. When it comes to metropolitan networks, telecom's future could very well be based on a technology that hasn't been viewed as leading-edge for more than 60 years: airships. Sky Station International, a Washington, D.C.-based startup, is planning to launch a series of high-tech blimps that will float in geostationary positions above major cities to provide a low-cost array of telecom services. The company's strategy calls for launching 250 blimp platforms worldwide, each operating independently and connected via ground stations and existing public networks. Future plans include the capability for platform-to-platform links. Sky Station will deploy its helium-filled platforms at 70,000 feet, well above commercial air space and weather, but low enough to provide high-capacity, high-density telecom services to large metropolitan regions. The platforms are designed to remain self-sufficient throughout their operational life--about 5 to 10 years--thanks to on-board solar and fuel cells. Additional platforms can be floated into position to provide backup support and technology enhancements without disrupting service to customers. Lightweight propellers, powered by an electrical motor, are used to move each platform into position and to retain its geostationary post. Sky Station platforms will be loaded with enough hardware to supply a wide range of telecom services. A 47GHz broadband system will provide support to a coverage area of about 19,000 square kilometers. A paired band with 100MHz of spectrum in both the uplink and downlink can provide up to 1 million virtual T1/E1 subscribers with data bursts ranging up to 2M bps uplink and 10M bps downlink. According to Sky Station's blueprint, the system will have subscribers transmit information directly to the platform, where the incoming traffic will be switched on board and then routed from the platform directly to other designated subscribers. Traffic destined for non-subscribers will be directed to ground stations for switching onto public networks. The ground stations will also route traffic to platforms serving nearby cities. Sky Station says its technology will be targeted to two types of customers: telecom service providers, which would benefit from the system's ability to deliver an immediate build-out of "last-mile" infrastructure; and individual subscribers, which would be able take advantage of an array of services, ranging from mobile voice and data to portable broadband. Sky Station hasn't yet announced when it plans to begin offering service, but the system faces potential competition from at least two other sky-high ventures. Angel Technologies, located in St. Louis, is testing a high-altitude plane that would fly at 50,000 feet to offer metropolitan area broadband service. To provide 24-hour service in each market, the company plans to use a fleet of three planes with two-pilot crews operating on eight-hour shifts. Service is set to begin in around 2000. Meanwhile, Monrovia, Calif.-based Aerovironment is developing an unmanned solar-powered plane that could remain aloft at around 100,000-feet for several months. A prototype was recently tested and service could begin sometime in the first years of the next century. As they used to say in sci-fi movies: "Look to the skies!" _________________________________ By John Edwards. Mr. Edwards is a freelance technology writer based in Mount Laurel, N.J. He can be reached via email at EdWords@prodigy.net.