Posts Tagged ‘leo satellites’

Iridium’s Hot Spot

Tuesday, February 4th, 2014

Nice job by the marketing folks at Iridium! No, I’m not talking about their cheesy video production. I’m talking about getting their story picked up by the traffic-mongers at Gizmodo.

Iridium GO! is a small Wi-Fi device that connects to the LEO system for connectivity anywhere in the world.

That’s hot.

Their write-up is practical and spot-on:

Satellite data speeds typically max out around 2.4 to 2.8Kbps (that’s KILObits). We’re talking early ’90s dial-up speeds here. So, you can send a picture, but it had better be very compressed, and you may require the patience of a zen master. SMS speeds, though, should be comparable to what you’re used to here in your bustling metropolis, and it should be fine for text-based emails, too.

The Iridium GO! will be rolling out sometime in the first half of 2014. The price will depend on retailers, but Iridium expects it to be under $800. Yeah, that’s steep, and don’t forget you’re going to need a plan in order to connect. Again, plan pricing will be set by retailers but Iridium estimates that they will begin around $35/month on the low end, and about $130/month on the high end for unlimited data.

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