Satgen 554 Mobile Phone Satellites by GM4IHJ (BID SGEN554) 1999-11-06 The past few months have seen a very abrupt reversal of fortune for the several commercial groups engaged in the introduction of satellite mobile phone services from low earth orbit (LEO). Inaugurated in September 98 the Iridium consortium has been beset by difficulties in both an operational and a technical sense. Such that Iridium recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Signs of difficulties emerged in early 99, when francisers such as Orange in UK, reported overall system technical difficulties delaying their offering the service to customers. Whilst at the same time, failure to get agreement to ground station licenses in some countries, meant that no fixed terrestrial or mobile terrestrial telephones could be connected to Iridium users. Unless extremely lengthy land line connections could be made to the nearest of the operational Iridium ground stations. This placed a serious strain on the system , whereby the large separation between the Iridium user and the nearest ground station severely curtailed the length of time any one satellite could simultaneously be in range of both of them. Public pronouncements made little mention of these technical problems. Instead they have suggested that far higher than expected penetration of the market by widespread terrestrial mobile phone networks , had reduced the number of customers likely to need the extra flexibility of satellite mobile phones. A feature which, if it eventually does prove to be the case , could inhibit the success of the systems following Iridium into the market place. One such system , Globalstar began limited operation in October 99. This is a simpler system than Iridium , and it should suffer far less problems than Iridium . But that will hardly matter, if customers do not materialise. That a pronounced domino effect, whereby successive systems fail to capture a market because the first in the field has not had much success, is already evident. In that ICO Global Communications , who were due to be the 3rd entrant in the mobile phone satellite field, having spent a great deal of money preparing their entry , now find that venture capital is not available to continue financing further developement. So along with Iridium , they too have sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.Hoping that Globalstar will suceed and venture capital will one day be persuaded to return. Thoughts for radio amateurs emerging from this saga are - 1. Strong opposition to Iridiums choice of downlink frequency did seriously delay licensing of ground stations. Would be LEO take overs or shares of amateur radio VHF and UHF frequencies will require ground station licenses in countries throughout the world . The Radio Astronomers made their point about Iridium by combining together. Radio Amateurs may one day need to do the same. 2. Proposed constellations of high speed wide band internet connection satellites, may suffer the domino effect presently affecting mobile phone satellite financing.