Iridium Satellites and Global Communication

Iridium Satellite is a communication technology company Based in Bethesda, Maryland. It provides global satellite voice and data communications products that are useable anywhere on Earth, including remote places such as the middle of the ocean or in the Polar Regions.

 

Iridium systems are used in industries such as:

The main advantage of Iridium satellite products is that they allow communication to and from areas where landlines and terrestrial-based wireless services are either unavailable or unreliable.

In 1998, Iridium first launched its 66 communication satellites at an international mobile communications company near Washington, D.C.. At the time, Iridium satellites represented extraordinarily new technology.

 

The mobile company, Motorola, was one of Iridium's largest investors. It was estimated that Motorola owned 18 percent of Iridium and financed the majority of its technology. However, practicality soon took a toll.

 

A combination of Iridium's monster start-up cost and high consumer prices caused the company to go bankrupt in 1999. Economic revival came two years later when a new company, Iridium Satellite LLC, bought out the old company for $25 billion. Compared to the original cost of developing and launching the first Iridium satellites, private investors paid more than four times that amount to take over the communications network.

 

The company's large, boxy phones initially proved to be too awkward for consumer use. They were also very expensive, starting around $500.

Though still expensive for the everyday person, Iridium now offers a myriad of products for aviation, maritime, and defense companies. For example, The United States Department of Defense uses Iridium products. Data and voice communication are available to customers on any part of the globe, whether it be the North Pole or on the Amazon River.

 

Iridium sells everything from data messaging systems to handheld devices. It now has around a quarter of a million subscribers and boasts more than $200 billion profit in recent years.

 

Because of the incredible diversity of product choices and the guarantee that you can receive a call anywhere there's open sky, Iridium's mobile services are beneficial to globetrotters and scientists in the field. Large shipping companies also use Iridium in order to stay in touch with their captains and keep an eye on moving cargo. Iridium's satellite technology also allows for real-time email conversations.

One drawback of using Iridium phones is the constant clicking noise heard in the background. An Iridium phone will ring indoors to alert the customer about a call. However, you may need to make your phone calls outside. This can prove especially inconvenient for people working in the North or South Pole, or on a ship in the middle of the ocean.

 

Cheaper phone calls cost between $1 and $3 a minute, but prices can get up to $14 a minute. Ultimately, the cost per minute depends on where the customer calls from and the region she wishes to call. Nonetheless, these costs are cheaper than most other mobile satellite communications services, which need to use terrestrial-based systems.

 

Certain distributors sell pre-paid minutes or SIM cards. The most popular of these options is a 500 minute call plan, which costs roughly $1.50 per minute. Iridium also offers a post-paid option for its callers. Basically you pay between $30 and $40 for the phone's use, and then you pay around $1.40 per minute used.

 

Generally, the more expensive your post-paid plan the cheaper your call rate will be per minute. You can search for SIM cards, prepaid and post-paid options on eBay, and other auction-based Web sites.

Flares are commonly seen in the night sky. They are a result of shiny panels on the Iridium satellite reflecting the Sun's light. How are these flares possible? The satellites are in low orbit around the Earth, less than 500 miles away.

 

 

 

Iridium Satellite, LLC (2007). Products. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from the Iridium Web site.

 

Motta, Mary (2000). Iridium Attracts Investors. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from the Space.com Web site.