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SkyBridge Expands Satellite Constellation
Washington DC - June 2, 1998 - SkyBridge Limited Partnership, a satellite-based telecommunications system providing global broadband access via local operators, today announced that it is increasing its global system capacity by almost 50 percent. The growth from 144 Gbps to over 200 Gbps will enable SkyBridge to serve more than 20 million users worldwide when the full system is operational. Service will begin in 2001. The decision to expand the constellation was made in light of the results of global market studies that estimate that the market for broadband services will be approximately 400 million users by 2005, a substantial portion of which will use satellite technologies. All of the major design characteristics of the SkyBridge system have been maintained. The increase in the number of satellites, resulting in more satellites in view from any given point on the earth, allows for an increase in capacity without modifying any of the system's original technical and service objectives. In particular, the expanded system will continue to avoid all harmful interference to satellite and terrestrial communications systems. ``Our market forecasts and the conclusions drawn from meetings we have had with telecom operators from around the world convinced us that the demand for bandwidth will be far higher than we had originally anticipated,'' said Pascale Sourisse, president and CEO of SkyBridge. ``By making the decision to expand the constellation now, we are minimizing the impact on system cost, keeping it under $4.2 billion; a 20-percent increase in system cost results in a 50-percent increase in capacity. The resulting configuration boosts predicted revenue streams dramatically and makes SkyBridge even more compelling.'' According to Mrs. Sourisse, ``This decision was made, in consultation with our strategic partners, during the final phase of the system design optimization process, prior to entering the construction phase. It is fully in line with our development roadmap.'' A large industrial team is now in place under the leadership of Alcatel to design and develop SkyBridge. More than 400 engineers currently work on the program. These large-scale engineering activities have enabled SkyBridge to finalize the design characteristics of the system. Editor's notes Alcatel is the General Partner of SkyBridge LP. The other partners of SkyBridge include the following group of leading industrial companies: Loral Space & Communications of the United States; Toshiba Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Sharp Corporation of Japan; SPAR Aerospace Limited of Canada; Aerospatiale and CNES of France; and SRIW, a Belgian investment entity. Based on a constellation of 80 Low-Earth-Orbiting (LEO) satellites, SkyBridge will deliver global connectivity to business and residential users worldwide with performance comparable to that of future terrestrial broadband technologies:
SkyBridge will complement and extend terrestrial networks and help them solve the ``last mile'' problem by providing an instant broadband connection to users that previously only had narrowband access. The SkyBridge system will optimize the use of the radio frequency spectrum by operating in the Ku-band, while fully protecting geostationary satellite systems and terrestrial services within the Ku-band through an innovative frequency re-use concept. The 1997 World Radiocommunication Conference approved this approach. SkyBridge services will be delivered locally through national and regional telecommunications operators and other service providers.
Boeing Forms New Subsidiary To Pursue Growing Space Operations Services Market
Houston, June 2, 1998- The Boeing Company today announced the formation of a wholly-owned subsidiary dedicated to providing cost-efficient space operations mission and data services to government and commercial space customers. |
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