Motorola says it plans to launch a $12billion satellite system to provide high speed multimedia data and video services for business and private users in 2002.
This brings to $23billion the company's total investment in satellite systems.
The Celestri system will comprise a world-spanning constellation of 63 satellites in different low Earth orbit planes. Motorola has filed its formal application to the US Federal Communications Commission to operate the system.
The company will lease Celestri services to telecommunications companies, which will then provide them to business and private customers. Motorola says it doesn't anticipate selling services to end users.
The Celestri project will compete with a number of other planned international multimedia satellite systems, including the Skybridge from Alcatel, which announced at the show that it has been joined by the US company Loral for the project.
Increased
The announcement about the Celestri system came as Motorola said the scope of its Iridium world-wide mobile phone satellite system had been increased to 12 orbiting spacecraft with the launch of seven satellites aboard a Russian Proton rocket from Baikonur on 17 June.
"The satellites are all parked in orbit and are talking with each other," says Cathy Dorman of Motorola.
The $5billion Iridium venture will eventually employ 66 satellites in low Earth orbit constellations. The company is also planning another venture, the $6billion M-Star project to provide specialist data communications for businesses.
Source: Flight Daily News