Boeing will take a 10% share in communications consortium Teledesic, with an investment of $100 million. It will lead the $9 billion venture as prime contractor, to design, build and launch an initial 288-satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit, providing global multi-media services, starting in 2002. The system will allow Internet users to download information and graphics 1,000 times faster than today's fastest modems can and would also provide global video-conferencing, paging, faxing and voice communications. Seattle-based Teledesic was formed by Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, and Craig McCaw, who sold McCaw Cellular Communications to AT&T in 1994 for $11.5 billion.
Source: Flight International
