List of satellite phones

There are several commercial satellite Phone Systems operating in 2007.

List of handsets by network

Iridium

• Motorola 9500
• Motorola 9505
• Kyocera SD-66K
• Kyocera SS-66K
• Iridium 9505A (manufactured by OEM)

Note: All have been discontinued except the 9505A

Thuraya

• Ascom 21
• Hughes 7100
• Hughes 7101
• Thuraya SO-2510
• Thuraya SG-2520

Note: The Ascom 21 and Hughes 7100 have been discontinued

Globalstar

• Quallcom SAT 550
• Ericsson R290
• GSP 1600
• GSP 1700 (current model)

ACeS

• ACeS R190

Global providers

• Inmarsat is a long-respected "industrial-grade" provider, with voice and fax equipment installed in most sea-going vessels and many aircraft. They also provide ISDN services, famously used for news reporters' videophones during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.

• Globalstar and Iridium are recent entries to the market, having Undergone financial restructuring since The Dot-com collapse of the late 20th century. Most users access these systems using handheld phones for voice and low-speed data.

Regional providers

• MSat provides telephone, low-speed data, and voice dispatch service to North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The bulky equipment is similar to that used by Inmarsat. MSat users are assigned a number in the North American Numbering Plan.

• Thuraya has a coverage area focusing on Europe, northern and central Africa, and from the Middle East to Asia. Most handsets used for the service are also compatible with GSM networks, and contain GPS receivers. Thuraya also offers internet services with its ThurayaDSL (1.2 kg or 2.5 pounds) at speeds up to 144 kbit/s all over its footprint. A new satellite is planned for launch on October 15th and will bring coverage to east Asia and Australia.

• ACeS (Asia Cellular Satellite) has coverage around Asia, it covers three of the major countries in Asia,China, India, and Indonesia, along with other countries (Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, etc) around these three countries. The handsets used for ACeS' services can be used in ACeS network or any available local GSM network that participated with ACES.

Other providers

• Teledesic was a proposed system supported by a partnership of many large players in the industry including Microsoft, Motorola, Nextel, Boeing, Matra Marconi Space and McCaw Cellular Communications. Motorola is The Primary contractor. There were to be 288 satellites at an altitude of less than 800 miles and a data access of 64 megabits per second. It is particularly significant in its huge potential for broadband internet. As of November 2004 Teledesic has not gathered the required funding for satellite launches to begin.

Special services

• Orbcomm
• VSAT

See also

• satellite phone
• mobile phone

External links

• University of Surrey pages with information on some satellite systems, including currently planned, and defunct proposals such as Teledesic. (non-commercial)
• Nasa's Teledesic quicklook