INMARSAT P COMPANY has received $1.4 billion in investment commitments to implement the building of a global hand-held satellite-telephone system.
The investment figure, which has been promised by 35 countries, exceeds the $1 billion target and represents the total projected equity requirements for the project at this stage, according to parent company Inmarsat.
Countries involved include Australia, China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the USA.
The intermediate-circular-orbit satellite system will cost $2.6 billion and is expected to be fully operational in 2000.
The company "...has stolen the march in the global hand-held satellite-telephone race", claims Olof Lundberg, Inmarsat's director-general. The organisation, has invested $150 million in Inmarsat P, giving it two seats on the affiliate company's board.
When operations start in 1999, Inmarsat P will provide low-cost telephone, data, facsimile and paging services to hand-held pocket-sized terminals.
Users with a handset, which will cost around $1,000, will be able to make calls at a rate of about $2 a minute worldwide.
The system will consist of ten operational and two spare satellites. Contracts for the manufacturing of the satellites and Earth stations will be made in "the next few months", says Inmarsat.
Source: Flight International
