iridium The most infamous of the satellite systems, Iridium was launched in 1998, only to publicly declare bankruptcy a year later in 1999. The brief bankruptcy stint lasted only 2 years, and by 2001, Motorola Inc. had Iridium up and running again. Iridium states its mission is to create a system that provides satellite phone coverage for every single point on the globe, a Herculean feat that has not yet been realized, even by close competition systems like Inmarsat and Globalstar. Some interesting Iridium factoids include: Iridium network uses 66 satellites Satellites orbit the earth on 6 differing planes Satellites travel at speeds up to 16,800 miles/hour Satellites orbit 450 miles above ground Each satellite is capable of circling the globe every 100 minutes This elaborate setup is constructed in a very deliberate way so as to ensure that an Iridium handset is able to send and/or receive calls from any point on the planet. An interesting point to note is that even though some countries/regions are within the Iridium satellite network, they decline the service's availability for political reasons. When using an Iridium handset, you should try and make sure that the antenna has a clear line of sight to the sky to help create a stronger/clearer signal. Iridium makes the claim that as long as you afford yourself this clear line of sight to the sky, you will be in constant contact with at least 2 satellites. Iridium satellite phones can transfer data, but the data rate is no more than 2,400 bps, an extremely low denomination. Cellular phones offer data transfers up to 9,600 bps, and Iridium's competitors such as Globalstar and Inmarsat offer higher data rates. It is also thought that Iridium satellite phones are more likely to lose a signal after transmitting than its competitors, due to the fact that the signal is bounced through more than one satellite. A few of Iridium's products are as follows: 9505 Motorola Portable Phone $1,400.00 Water, shock, dust resistant 21 language choices 9500 Portable Phone $2,100.00 Data capable (with RS232 adapter) Removable satellite antenna 9570 Portable Dock $1,000 Adds features to Iridium 9500 & 9505 portable phones Additional battery power Additional talk time Data port for access to data services ============================================================================ > > > Compare Iridium Satellite Services with GLOBALSTAR SATELLITE SERVICES ============================================================================

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