WASHINGTON-Motorola Inc. has revealed a plan to build, launch and operate a satellite-based video and data network aimed at going head-to-head with the Bill Gates/Craig McCaw-backed Teledesic Corp. Paperwork filed at the Federal Communications Commission June 13 asked permission to compete against Teledesic on the same frequencies with a 63-orbiter configuration that will cost an estimated $12.9 billion. Both companies say they will commence operations by 2002.
Business users and consumers alike stand to benefit from “Celestri,” Motorola’s sister venture to the long-awaited Iridium L.L.C. project, which launched seven of 66 planned satellites from a Russian Proton rocket last Wednesday, and its M-Star system for data communications. Celestri eventually will absorb M-Star and another little-known Motorola satellite project, Millenium.
While Iridium is designed to serve the wireless community, Celestri will deliver broadcast, text and multimedia services to subscribers who buy a $700-plus roof-mounted dish that can be attached to a computer or TV set. Businesses reportedly will have to pay much more for their hardware, in that it must be integrated into an existing company network, including the backup system.
According to the company, data will be delivered up to 1,000 times faster than is possible today-up to a reported 1.5 million bits per second. Billing will be based on the amount of data sent or received.
Motorola itself will not market Celestri to users; rather, it will lease wholesale transponder space to carriers and service suppliers who then will sell to end users.
While to Motorola this new network is just part of its overall plans for exploiting the space market, Teledesic’s reply to the news was short, with McCaw saying in part, “This just doesn’t make sense.” Motorola had been in the running to partner with Teledesic but lost out to Boeing, perhaps contributing to a “sour grapes” response.
According to Teledesic spokesman Roger Nyhus, “We had hoped to have Motorola as a partner but now it looks like we will be competing against them. We don’t know what Motorola’s motivation is, but we think imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
Teledesic does have the upper hand, Nyhus contended, because it has been pursuing this opportunity for seven years, including the three-year licensing process at the commission. “Motorola has $24 billion floating in satellite proposals,” Nyhus told RCR. “They are starting late and with the burden of debt.”
While Teledesic officials have not scrutinized Motorola’s proposal, there could be a problem regarding Celestri’s frequency-sharing plan. Teledesic is licensed in the Ka band for an upload frequency of 30 GHz and a download frequency of 20 GHz.
“We have to make sure that Motorola doesn’t interfere with Teledesic, and Motorola cannot claim any interference from us,” Nyhus said. “We welcome the challenge, but they are starting the game very late with a big weight on their shoulders. We wish them the best of luck.”
