June 2009
Iridium has launched the world’s only global broadband service, after extensive beta-testing that included sending five terminals round the world in boats competing in the Vendee Globe single-handed sailboat race.
Called OpenPort, the new service provides three independent phone lines and internet connection at anything up to 128 kilobytes per second, while the low orbits of Iridium’s 66-satellite constellation mean that it can achieve this through an antenna that is just 22 inches in diameter and 9 inches high.
Like the deals on ordinary cellphones, the price of an Openport terminal varies -- and most of them are in the "if you have to ask the price you probably can't afford it" bracket. Selex is one of few UK service providers who are up-front about their prices, quoting hardware at "from $4,900" airtime at $1.05 and data at $15.50 per MB. US-based Globe Wireless quoted a similar pay-as-you-go arrangement with a terminal and antenna priced at about $4000, airtime at 86c per minute and data at $12 per MB, and suggested that buying a few pre-pay “Crew Cards” at $21.20 each, would reduce the rate for voice calls to just 53c per minute.
www.iridiumopenport.com
