EMS Aims for Next Level of Satellite Phone
By ANDY PASZTOR
Wall Street Journal
August 22, 2007; Page B10
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118775060089804974.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news
Canada's EMS Technologies Inc., expanding its airborne-communications
focus, has agreed to develop a new generation of mobile phones for
satellite-operator Inmarsat PLC capable of switching easily between
satellite and ground-based signals.
The pact, slated to be announced today, represents a major push by both
companies into the global market for smaller, less expensive and
more-flexible hand-held phones and mobile devices that can be used whether
the caller is in or out of normal cellular coverage. Intended for military,
government and corporate customers, the technology is expected to be
introduced in early 2009.
"It will create a whole new set of service revenues" for both firms, said
Gary Hebb, a senior EMS official in charge of the initiative.
Plans for a spate of multibillion dollar satellite-phone projects emerged
in the 1990s, but nearly all of them quickly turned into financial debacles
because consumers generally considered the systems unwieldy and more
expensive to use than ground-based cellular phone networks. Investors lost
as much as $15 billion as a result of the satellite industry's misguided
bet on the first round of mobile-satellite services.
Now EMS and its partner have decided to dive into some of the same market
segments -- but with the benefit of more-powerful satellites, advanced
mobile handsets and an entirely different service model aimed at
eliminating the previous shortcomings. Existing competitors include
Globalstar Inc., Iridium Satellite LLC and Thuraya Satellite
Telecommunications Co.
London-based Inmarsat, an entrenched provider of satellite services for
aircraft, ships and government users, previously announced its interest in
this sector. Last September, it teamed up with ACeS International Ltd., a
regional Asian provider of hand-held services, as part of a growth strategy
outside its mature aviation and maritime business.
At the time, Inmarsat also talked about possibly joining with
cellular-phone companies or others to obtain access to ground-based
spectrum. But the latest move indicates that Inmarsat's management instead
is leaning toward upgrading and expanding services provided by its own
orbiting spacecraft.
For EMS, based in Ottawa but with a unit in Atlanta specializing in
satellite antennas and terminals, the venture opens the door to promising
new areas to leverage its expertise in enabling broadband connections to
everything from jetliners to military vehicles to remote corporate offices.
When it comes to the new communication modules, Mr. Hebb said "we are
particularly interested in the military" for introducing enhanced
applications. EMS said the contract has an initial value of $26 million,
but Mr. Hebb projects that the core design will be licensed down the road
for a variety of other applications.
Inmarsat is using "the most powerful [commercial] satellites ever built,"
according to Mr. Hebb, and the new venture expects to grab a big chunk of
an estimated global market for 100,000 new mobile-handset subscribers annually.
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George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
