openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA | What's Wrong With
Iridium? Investment has already been made for the infrastructure, now they just need the customers. |
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printscreen
join:2003-11-01
Juana Diaz, PR
 ·Choice Cable TV
 ·Coqui/PRTC
| I was asking the same thing myself. This seems like they are inventing the wheel when Iridium has been up almost since the beginning of time...  Well not quite but probably since almost 10 years ago. |
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scots
Can we have Twinkies?
Premium
join:1999-12-06
Raleigh, NC
 ·AT&T U-Verse
 ·ooma
·RoadRunner Cable
·AT&T CallVantage
| It hasn't quite been 10 years yet. Iridium was launched on Nov 1, 1998. It went bankrupt less than a year later. The service was (and still is) way too expensive for most people. The phones are huge with biga$$ antennas, and as with any other type of satellite service they only work outdoors with a clear line of site to the sky. |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
·AT&T Southeast
| said by scots  :The service was (and still is) way too expensive for most people. But the only real benefactor of this type of service will be emergency response teams, where cost typically isn't a concern. Besides, I don't see TerreStar's service plans being too awfully affordable considering the relatively large cost of launching satellites into orbit.said by scots :The phones are huge with biga$$ antennas, and as with any other type of satellite service they only work outdoors with a clear line of site to the sky. And what would you expect these new terminals to be like for TerreStar's network? |
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voipdabbler
join:2006-04-27
Kalispell, MT
| Money is an issue for rural government budgets
openbox,
Cost will be a factor in rural counties, especially those out West with a large federal presence that doesn't pay property or state income taxes on the property it holds or federal revenues generated by fees or services (yes, eminent domain means Uncle Sam can take, but don't expect him to give in return). I'm in a mountainous region in the northern Rockies and we have no problems with first responder communications via radio. This proposed solution isn't needed, is too expensive and putting yet more junk to orbit in space around us. |
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