Iridium's Star-Crossed Service - Iridium LLC's satellite phone service - Brief Article

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, July, 1999 by Scott Bernard Nelson

Among the problems: static, signal lapses and a superhigh price.

It's not hard to imagine the day when we'll all keep tiny wireless phones tucked into pockets and purses. The pintsize communicators will provide dial-up service anywhere in the world while doubling as organizers, Web surfers and keypads to turn the lights on and off in our smart houses.

That day seemed a lot closer when Washington, D.C.-based Iridium LLC launched its much-anticipated satellite phone service last fall. Iridium was meant to solve the frustrations that globe-trotting travelers experience with the current generation of wireless phones: Service fades out as soon as you wander outside the range of your provider's landlocked transmitters and receivers. Moreover, different wireless technologies make it impossible to use your cell phone in other parts of the world.

Iridium sidestepped the issue by creating a grid of 66 low-orbiting satellites designed to be in range of all places at all times. When you make a call, Iridium zaps the signal to the nearest system satellite, bounces it to the orbiter closest to the person you're calling and then beams it back down to earth. If the call recipient also has Iridium service, the signal goes directly to his or her phone. If not, the call is routed through a traditional, ground-based system. Either way, should the urge strike you, you could check your voice mail from the summit of Mount Everest or join a conference call from the wilds of Easter Island.

I recently put Iridium service to the test by schlepping Motorola's new Satellite Series 9500 phone and pager (www .motorolasatellite.com; 888-647-9988) on a Caribbean cruise. (Motorola and Kyocera both make phones and pagers that work with the Iridium technology.) My conclusions: The Iridium phone is too clunky and fickle for the price, and seamless global communication from a single phone appears to be a long way off.

TRANSMISSION TROUBLES. Iridium irritations began before my wife and I left our Florida home. The hang-up? The phone can't connect with the satellites unless it has a clear path to the sky, unimpeded by buildings or trees. I couldn't even get a connection standing in the middle of my street, surrounded by sport utility vehicles and three-story bungalows. Eventually, I climbed atop a nearby helicopter pad to verify that the phone worked at all.

Iridium's service didn't impress me any more at sea than it had on land. Despite assurances from a Motorola spokeswoman that the phone and pager would work on the high seas, I couldn't get a connection for the first four days. Later, I found out that territories, which explains the signal lapse. Service is offered in more than 150 countries worldwide, but is still pending in dozens of others.

There are other drawbacks, too. Once I did link up with the satellites, the signal quality was second-rate. It faded in and out, worked on a several-second delay and was difficult to hear, even with the volume turned up all the way.

COSTLY AND CUMBERSOME. Then there's the price. The phone, sold by service providers such as Sprint PCS, costs roughly $2,300, and calls are priced at $1.75 to $7 per minute, depending on whether you're using cellular or satellite service. The pager, which you can buy separately, retails for about $500, plus $140 per month for service.

If you plan only to make phone calls, you could skip the pricey pager. If you also need to receive transmissions, though, it becomes a key accessory. The pager is designed to receive 80-character alphanumeric messages anywhere on the planet--which you can promptly return with the accompanying phone. But beware the "dead zones" where Iridium service isn't offered: I never did receive a dozen pages sent my way during the Caribbean tour.

Both the phone and pager are heftier than their terrestrial counterparts, too. The handset is 7.5 inches long folded up, but nearly 2 feet long with the mouthpiece and satellite antenna fully extended. And at more than a pound, it feels like a throwback to the cellular Stone Age. The pager comes with more bells and whistles than conventional models, including a travel alarm, a clock that keeps time in multiple time zones and phonebook memory. But it's too big to fit inconspicuously on your belt.

As competitors such as Globalstar and ICO Global Communications enter the market in the years ahead, satellite communications will evolve and become smaller, better and cheaper. But industry analysts don't expect worldwide rivals on the scene for at least 18 months, which means the few people who need global phone service are stuck with Iridium for the time being, 21st-century warts and all.