Re:Darpa begins work on 100Gbps wireless tech with 120-mile ...
by dnu on Monday December 17, 2012 @03:16PM
(#4934121)
Well, if it's DARPA, then probably the main purpose of the network will be military. And I'm pretty sure that they have much more money than Iridium.
Re:Darpa begins work on 100Gbps wireless tech with 120-mile ...
by leoedin on Monday December 17, 2012 @04:43PM
(#4934559)
Obviously military use is quite different from civilian use. I was really trying to address the part of the original article which suggested that this technology might make its way into civil life.
It's certainly not impossible, but I would be surprised if the economics of satellite based internet can compete with fibre based networks. The areas where fibre isn't feasible are also probably the areas with few people, and so the potential to make money is limited.
Iridium has shown that (once you disregard capital costs), there is a niche for satellite based telecom services, but it's a fairly niche area.
[1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridium_Communications_Inc.