SWANsat

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SWANsat to Turn Earth into Wi-Fi Hotspot Imagine a series of at least three geosynchronous orbital satellites providing wireless Internet access to the entire world. That’s exactly what a project called SWANsat or Super-Wide Area Network Satellite plans to do by the year 2011. They intend to be a global broadband Internet service provider that can facilitate up to 600 million connections per satellite. All you need is a handheld mobile device to connect to the system. The system is being designed by a collective of inventors, builders, GPS and Iridium satellite owners including the CEO of Western Digital. Many more companies and individuals are also driving the SWANsat project including a UN task force. As a business model it will provide the following services to subscribers for about an average cost of US $100 per month. Benefits to SWANsat Subscribers: Telephone services (with no tariffs whatsoever for local, domestic long-distance, or international long-distance calls) Fax services (with no tariffs whatsoever for local, domestic long-distance, or international long-distance calls) VoIP-based audio teleconferencing services (with a virtually unlimited number of parties) Video conferencing services (full-motion, 30 frames FPS) Super-high speed internet (1 Megabit/second) Email with integrated free user web pages for individuals Hundreds of educational and entertainment Direct Broadcast Service channels DVD-quality video CD-quality audio (both commercially-sponsored and non-commercial) It’ll be seen as an all inclusive data system accessible from anywhere in the world. There will also be a non-profit element to SWANsat called the Shareware Model aimed at advancing the developing world. The Shareware Model states that after meeting the goals of the business model SWANsat will be able to afford to provide data services to previously unserved nations. Residents of developing countries could get the satellite service for as little as $1 per month. It’s being hailed as a way to bridge the third world’s digital divide and bring new markets and technology to struggling nations. Turning the Earth into a global wireless network by 2011 will be the ultimate feat of engineering for the information age. But watch out when you start vacationing to the Mars colony, those roaming fees are going to be a killer.