Asian Tsunami Means Big Sales For Japanese Satellite Phone Service

SPACEMART

Tokyo (AFP) Jun 17, 2005
A series of disasters including the Indian Ocean tsunamis has meant strong sales for the Iridium global satellite telephone service which has been launched in Japan.

A unit of Japan's second-largest telecom carrier KDDI launched the service in Japan this month, selling an initial stock of handsets to government offices, utilities and hospitals as an emergency communications tool.

Japan has extensive mobile phone networks but it is feared that a big earthquake could knock out relay stations and paralyze both landlines and cellphone services.

The company had been offering Japanese customers the Iridium service available overseas since March 2003, but began coverage in Japan in response to many inquiries, the official said but declined to disclose any sales figures.

"After the earthquakes in Japan and the tsunami off Indonesia late last year, we have seen strong demand," said Kazuaki Watanabe, senior manager of MSAT business division at KDDI Network and Solutions.

"We also see needs among people working in remote spots in Japan that are not covered by the existing mobile phone networks," he said.

Iridium Satellite LLC, based in the US state of Maryland, launched the current service in March 2001 that provides global coverage using handheld phones and low-earth orbit satellites.

The handset kit is priced at 241,500 yen (2,210 dollars) including tax.

The basic monthly charge is 6,000 yen, including free communication up to 2,000 yen.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

CONSTELLATIONS

Iridium Satellite Constellation Passes Milestone for Longevity

Bethesda MD (SPX) Mar 23, 2005
Iridium Satellite has reported that its constellation of low-earth-orbit communication satellites has achieved a world record of more than 500 satellite-years of in-orbit performance.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.