In This
Issue
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Wavelengths
By Donny
Jackson
If all goes well tomorrow, TerreStar Networks will launch a
new satellite that is so big that the traditionally large antennas found
on satellite devices no longer will be necessary. With these
next-generation satellites, device antennas can be small enough to fit
into the form factors of traditional commercial wireless handsets.
TerreStar is not alone in launching such satellites, but the company is
the first to have announced a reciprocal roaming agreement with a major
carrier — AT&T Mobility. By the end of the year, consumers should
be able to buy an HSPA handset that also provides communications via the
new TerreStar satellite when outside the range of AT&T’s terrestrial
network.
For the satellite industry, seeing this vision become a reality is huge,
because it allows the sector — traditionally a niche-market player
— to tap into the commercial wireless market’s massive economies
of scale. Instead of customers having to buy dedicated (and typically
expensive) equipment and learn specialized operating procedures to
access a satellite network, they can use the same devices they use every
day.
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More
A note to our readers: We will not publish Urgent
Communications Today on Thursday because of the holiday. We will resume
our regular publishing schedule next week. In the meantime, have a happy
and safe Fourth of July.
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In the
News
By Donny
Jackson
New FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski was sworn in today,
providing the agency with its first permanent chairman in five months
and marking the end of Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein's tenure on the
commission.
Read
More
By Donny
Jackson
Satellite-communications provider TerreStar Networks is
scheduled to launch a next-generation satellite tomorrow that is
expected to bring satellite functionality to everyday devices, including
consumer wireless handsets and — eventually — LMR radios
used by public-safety personnel.
Read
More
By Mary Rose
Roberts
OnStar has developed an Injury Severity Prediction system
that will let OnStar advisors alert first responders when a vehicle
crash is likely to have caused serious injury to the occupants, said
Catherine McCormick, the service line manager for the company's
Emergency Services division.
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More
By Mary Rose
Roberts
States and cities at risk of natural disasters and terrorism
will receive nearly $1.8 billion in federal preparedness grants to
protect, prevent, respond and recover from potential calamities this
fiscal year, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Also, news from Digi International, Etherstack, EF Johnson, Klein and
Freewave.
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More
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