Myhphone – Mobile Phone Info Center

TerreStar is hoping to change the commucation industry and offer more mobility to handheld device users. They launch a satellite that will fly around about 22,000 miles above North America, providing satellite voice and data service to the United Sates, including Alaska, Havaii, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The data speed will be at 64K bps. Their plans are to merge normal cellular communications with satellite into one hybrid device.

AT&T is the chosen carrier for the United States with hybrid phones that switch between satellite and 3G coverage. This means no more rediculous roaming charges. The satellite charges will probably be much higher than regular service until other competition brings the prices of this service to a more affordable level. These hybrid satellite phones will also more expensive than even the pricey smartphones, estimating at about $700 without a plan and will no be available at retail stores. The initial market aimed for will be federal, state, and local government agencies. Expect the men in black, your local sheriff, and the border patrol in the middle of the desert to be able to order pizza from practically anywhere in North America. There’s no contracted carrier in Canada just yet. We think Bell will make the first move.

While satellite phones aren’t anything new but what separates traditional satellite phones and these new phones powered by TerreStar is SDR (software-defned radio) chips. These chips are coming from Qualcomm and Infineon and can allow cellular processors to have satellite capabilities. While the merger is only between satellite and 3G as of now, there’s talk about a satellite and CDMA (Code-Division Mulitiple Access) marriage. This will bring forth Verizon, Sprint, and Nextell into the picture. Who knows, perhaps with this and fiber optics we can do away with ugly towers and power lines and replace them with windmills.

Infineon SDR phones is said to be out about at the end of 2010 while Qualcomm’s SDR phones is expected a little later. This is good news for folks who live in the boonies and always get their service dropped when visiting their parents in the sticks.

Source: WorldGoneMobile via MobilePhoneBlog