AT&T and Terrestar show off dual-mode satphone

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AT&T and Terrestar show off dual-mode satphone

By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 30 September, 2009

AT&T and mobile satellite (MSS) operator Terrestar Networks have unveiled the first fruits of a project to create next generation satellite/terrestrial devices, which could finally bring cellphone economics to MSS.

A project was launched in March - between satellite operators Terrestar and SkyTerra plus chipmakers Infineon and Qualcomm - to create dual-mode handsets that would approach the cost level and roaming capability of a cellular phone. This week, AT&T - which is to resell Terrestar's satellite services in remote areas - announced the Genus, a smartphone that uses the MSS network only when cellular coverage is unavailable. This offers connections when the terrestrial network is unavailable or disrupted, but does not impose the higher satellite charges on users who can get onto a cellular system.

Previously, MSS subscribers had to have a separate device - usually heavy and expensive - and a separate phone number for the satellite network, but the Genus supports a single number and looks pretty much like a 3G handset, though the price tag is still fairly hefty, at between $800 and $900 (though far less than the $3,000 or so of first generation satphones). It is not clear whether AT&T will subsidize the device at all.

Users will sign up for existing AT&T 3G voice and data plans plus an additional $25 a month per device for satellite service, and then pay extra for satellite calls (65 cents a minute for voice, $5 a megabyte for data). Terrestar says those rates are about 50% lower than MSS-only offerings available in the US.

The Genus will ship in the first quarter of 2010, when AT&T will start to market dual-mode services to corporate and public safety customers as well as travellers or residents in very remote areas. Coverage will be available over the whole of north America including Puerto Rico and many far-flung islands. AT&T is also talking up the added value that data services like MMS bring to satphones - for instance, MMS could deliver schematic drawings of pipelines or electrical lines to utility workers to visualize trouble spots on the phone's 2.6-inch touchscreen, said the firm.

The Genus runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, which is just about to launch, and does not require an external antenna like most satphones. It has full Qwerty keyboard below the screen, with support for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS, microSD storage up to 16Gb, a 3-megapixel camera and Microsoft Office Mobile apps pre-loaded. The device connects to the Terrestar-1 satellite, launched in July into geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles above north America. The AT&T deal is not exclusive and Terrestar may look to work with other cellcos.