SkyTerra

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SkyTerra (formerly Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV or MSVLP)) is a Reston, VA company that develops telecommunications systems that integrate satellite and terrestrial radio communication technologies into one system.

Contents 1 History 2 MSV satellite telephony 3 Planned satellites 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

Motient Corporation was founded in 1988 as American Mobile Satellite Corporation. Its acquisition of ARDIS was completed on March 31, 1998. In April 2000, the company changed its name to Motient, with its stock traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol "MTNT". MSV changed its name to SkyTerra in December 2008. The company is traded Over-the-Counter and is listed on the OTCBB: SKYT.

TerreStar Corporation, formerly Motient Corporation, is the controlling shareholder of TerreStar Networks Inc. and TerreStar Global Ltd., and a shareholder of SkyTerra Communications.

AMSC initially provided GEO based satellite services based on its MSAT satellite.

• Elements of MSV were previously known as Motient.

• Motient was one of the founders of XM Satellite Radio.

[edit] MSV satellite telephony

This section is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this section from a neutral point of view. (May 2008)

Most of current products and services are aimed at emergency services, law enforcement, and companies that specialize in transportation. However, MSV and Boeing are developing a satellite telephony network for consumers.

The use of Boeing's GeoMobile platform will allow for coverage of the entire United States with a single satellite. This new approach to satellite telephony has already been validated with the Thuraya network. MSV's satellite will use an even bigger antenna than the Thuraya spacecraft (over 20 meters in diameter, it will be the largest reflector dish ever used in space)^{[citation needed]}, allowing it to communicate with phones no larger than modern cell phones. This is now possible since the FCC allowed satellite operators to create terrestrial cellular networks using spectrum previously restricted to satellite use.^[1][2][3]

This means that phones can be compatible with both the upcoming MSV satphone network and local cellular networks, allowing a user to communicate over the regular cellular network, and only rely on the satellites in areas outside the range of cell towers. MSV has earned patents around this set-up. It will be useful in sparsely populated areas where the construction of cell towers is not cost-effective, as well as to emergency-response services which must remain operational even when the local cellular network is out of service.

[edit] Planned satellites

The SkyTerra1 and SkyTerra2 satellites, based on the Boeing 702 Geo-Mobile bus, are scheduled for in-orbit delivery during 2010 via ILS Proton and SeaLaunch respectively.^[4]

SkyTerra system is based on GMR standard.

[edit] See also

• ICO Global Communications
• Land Mobile Radio Service
• MSAT
• Satellite phone
• Solaris Mobile
• TerreStar Networks
• XM Satellite Radio

[edit] References

1. ^ Free Preview - WSJ.com
2. ^ MSV Moving Ahead With Second-Generation System Plans
3. ^ OnTheCommons.org | The Looting Continues
4. ^ "Boeing Satellite Launch Schedule". Boeing. 2008-03-21. http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/bss/launch/launch_sched.html. 

[edit] External links

• SkyTerra
• MSV satellite telephony - press releases; MSV, Boeing
• MSV satellite telephony - fact sheet
• MSV satellite telephony - video (MOV, WMV)