Satellite phone
A
satellite telephone,
satellite phone, or
satphone is a
mobile phone that communicates directly with
orbiting
communications satellites. Depending on the architecture of a particular system, coverage may include the entire
Earth, or only specific regions.
The mobile equipment, also known as a terminal or
earth station, varies widely. A satellite phone handset has a size and weight comparable to that of a late
1980s or early
1990s mobile phone, but with a large retractable
antenna. These are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service is unavailable.
A fixed installation, such as used shipboard, may include large, rugged, rack-mounted electronics, and a steerable
microwave antenna on the mast that automatically tracks the overhead satellites.
Some satellite phones use satellites in
geostationary orbit. These systems can maintain near-continuous global coverage with only three or four satellites, reducing the
launch costs. The major satellite system in civilian use is
Inmarsat.
The disadvantage of geostationary satellite systems is that because the satellite is so far away (approx. 22,000 miles), a comparatively large antenna system is required for signal transmission and reception. The phone system must therefore be quite physically large that is similar to the size of terrestrial mobile phones in the past, compared to the current tiny terrestrial mobile phones.
LEO telephones utilizes LEO (low
Earth orbit)
satellite technology. The advantages include providing
worldwide wireless coverage with no gaps. Newer satellite phones tend to be LEOs. LEO satellites orbit the earth at high
speed, low
altitude orbits with an orbital time of 70–90
minutes, an altitude of 640 to 1120 kilometres (400 to 700
miles), and provide coverage cells. Since the satellites are not
geosynchronous, they must fly complete orbits and thus further guarantee complete coverage over every area by at least one satellite at all times.
Blimps are being considered as an alternative to satellites.
The two deployed LEO satellite systems are
Iridium and
Globalstar. Customer numbers for both systems never matched the levels required to fund the large number of satellite launch costs, and both went into
bankruptcy. They are now operated by new owners who bought the
assets for a fraction of their original cost.
There are
several models of satellite phones available.
In the movie
Jurassic Park III,
Alan Grant lends his satellite phone (Globalstar handset) to Nash. Then, the
dinosaur eats him and the phone is found in the dinosaur's
feces. The satellite phone was also used many times on the show
Relic Hunter. The main
character, Sydney Fox, would use it to communicate back home when she found interesting
relics.Also such phones are said to be difficult to trace which makes them a popular favorite for criminals.
Phones both identified as Satellite Phones and those that appear to be Satellite Phones are often used on the television drama
24.
