SWANsat to cover the world

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Here's a blog with some interesting news - not covered anywhere else.

SWANsat to Turn Earth into Wi-Fi Hotspot

Imagine a series of at least three geosynchronous orbital satellites providing wireless Internet access to the entire world. That’s exactly what a project called SWANsat or Super-Wide Area Network Satellite plans to do by the year 2011. They intend to be a global broadband Internet service provider that can facilitate up to 600 million connections per satellite. All you need is a handheld mobile device to connect to the system.

The system is being designed by a collective of inventors, builders, GPS and Iridium satellite owners including the CEO of Western Digital. Many more companies and individuals are also driving the SWANsat project including a UN task force.

As a business model it will provide the following services to subscribers for about an average cost of US $100 per month.

Benefits to SWANsat Subscribers:

Telephone services (with no tariffs whatsoever for local, domestic long-distance, or international long-distance calls)
Fax services (with no tariffs whatsoever for local, domestic long-distance, or international long-distance calls)
VoIP-based audio teleconferencing services (with a virtually unlimited number of parties)
Video conferencing services (full-motion, 30 frames FPS)
Super-high speed internet (>1 Megabit/second)
Email with integrated free user web pages for individuals
Hundreds of educational and entertainment Direct Broadcast Service channels
DVD-quality video
CD-quality audio (both commercially-sponsored and non-commercial)

It’ll be seen as an all inclusive data system accessible from anywhere in the world. There will also be a non-profit element to SWANsat called the Shareware Model aimed at advancing the developing world.

The Shareware Model states that after meeting the goals of the business model SWANsat will be able to afford to provide data services to previously unserved nations. Residents of developing countries could get the satellite service for as little as $1 per month. It’s being hailed as a way to bridge the third world’s digital divide and bring new markets and technology to struggling nations.

Turning the Earth into a global wireless network by 2011 will be the ultimate feat of engineering for the information age. But watch out when you start vacationing to the Mars colony, those roaming fees are going to be a killer.
Click to expand...

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http://www.gizmocafe.com/blogs/gizmo_wayde...8/21/96546.aspx


http://www.swansat.com & http://www.iostarcorp.com
 
Surprised they can do it with so few satellites, didn't Iridium need about 40?
 
How would national regulations governing telecommunications locally impact on the provision of such a service?
 
Now that is thinking globally ;)
This could be big if they pull it off. Very exciting just to think of all the possible implications.
 
SWAN does not seem to add up technically. Voice communications is going away from satelity to cable, cos a Geo stationary satelite is 30 000 kM away. London in only 12 000 by cable. = via satelity is 5 times as far. Also when I spot that they offer multi level marketing, then I hear alarm bells.
Steev
 
5 times?
You must also include the wire to each and every person in the world and remember that you then have a fixed line at a fixed location.
 
latency latency latecy and more latency... Gaming is not the only latency intensive applications... Even a VPN with 1s latency could cause problems. My motto, stay the fsck away from satellites
 
Just because it won't work with all applications is no reason to disregard it completely. Use it if it works, don't if it doesn't.
 
savage said:
latency latency latecy and more latency... Gaming is not the only latency intensive applications... Even a VPN with 1s latency could cause problems. My motto, stay the fsck away from satellites
Click to expand...

I'm aware of that, the point is that if you have no access to internet, satellite is still a whole lot better than nothing.
 
Stopping SWANsat: Telekom should watch this video

The link below is a 20 minute multimedia/video briefing. It deals with Regional Telecoms. SWANsat says it is not in competition with them; how every government's communication ministry should not be threatened by the non-profit SWANsat (Digital TV platform in exchange for landing rights); and how 3rd world country citizens can received the SWANsat service for as little as $1 per month. The speaker was a member of the UN's ICT Task Force. It's worth a look, if you get the chance.

As some have mentioned on this site, latency will be an issue (apprx. 1/2 sec delay with onboard satellite data processing/switching/routing) but 1 GEO sat can cover 1/3rd of the globe.

Iridium is Low Earth Orbit needing 66 sats. Teledesic engineers wanted 200+ low earth orbit sats. It seems that the engineers of both these systems now part of SWANsat think that 'SWANsat to a handset' is a pretty good balance, all things considered. Looking at the IOSTAR website it also looks like the President of the United States must approve the satellite power-payload prior to launch ... its a serious project. I don't think a pre-launch marketing budget of which 30% of gross revenue goes directly to existiing subscribers should be considered a disreputable tactic.

http://tinyurl.com/gu3ph
 
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Why is Satellite Better?

· Rapid Deployment: Satellite networks can be rolled out quickly to locations where terrestrial alternatives are not available, unreliable or are too expensive
· Better Network Performance: Satellite connections enhance performance by linking directly to the Internet backbone, bypassing congested terrestrial lines and numerous router hops.
· Lower Network Costs: Satellites allow simultaneous information delivery to wide geographic areas without regard to terrestrial infrastructure or geographic barriers. This results in a pricing structure that is distance insensitive. In addition, satellite capacity is easily matched to actual traffic patterns, meaning ISP’s or companies pay only for what they need.
· Scalable: Satellite technology provides a convenient environment for accommodating network and bandwidth expansion.
· Flexible: Satellite’s inherent strength as a broadcast medium makes it well suited for the distribution of bandwidth-intensive information to large numbers of remote locations
 
wmt said:
· Rapid Deployment: Satellite networks can be rolled out quickly to locations where terrestrial alternatives are not available, unreliable or are too expensive
· Better Network Performance: Satellite connections enhance performance by linking directly to the Internet backbone, bypassing congested terrestrial lines and numerous router hops.
· Lower Network Costs: Satellites allow simultaneous information delivery to wide geographic areas without regard to terrestrial infrastructure or geographic barriers. This results in a pricing structure that is distance insensitive. In addition, satellite capacity is easily matched to actual traffic patterns, meaning ISP’s or companies pay only for what they need.
· Scalable: Satellite technology provides a convenient environment for accommodating network and bandwidth expansion.
· Flexible: Satellite’s inherent strength as a broadcast medium makes it well suited for the distribution of bandwidth-intensive information to large numbers of remote locations
Click to expand...

Reliable? Sunspot effect on ADSL as IS is having right now?
 
does not sound like they have the funding to launch this project... pie in the skie if you ask me
 
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