Among the first private companies to apply were Hughes, Loral, Motorola, EchoStar, and
Teledesic (Pelton, Oslund, & Marshall, 2004).
LEO satellite networks, such as Iridium [22] and
Teledesic [23], are networks consists of satellites in low earth orbits.
Plans for the ambitious
Teledesic satellite constellation collapsed in the early 2000s.
Teledesic Broadband Center Field Study, CBE Summary Report, April.
"
Teledesic Broadband Center Field Study." University of California, Berkley: Center for the Built Environment.
Owens, USN (Ret.), who served as the third Vice Chairman, is a senior executive with
Teledesic Corporation.
Casualties were high, including such players as ICO,
Teledesic, Ellipso, Odyssey, LeoOne, Starsys, Astrolink and ORBCOMM--and while some are still hanging on, it is questionable whether they will survive over the long term.
New ICO was recently merged with
Teledesic, the spawn of Craig McCaw, Bill Gates, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.
Low-orbiting satellites, provided by companies like
Teledesic, will offer wireless Internet access anytime and anywhere at speeds up to 1,000 times faster than present-day modems.
These satellites will be whizzing a mere 110-540 miles (200 to 1,000 kin) above the Earth with payloads ranging in size from small 220-pound (100 kg) systems to huge 5,500-pound (2,500 kg)
Teledesic satellites.
That is especially true of the exploding business of wireless technology, and the rapid convergence of the personal computer, the Internet, and wireless devices, said Hooper, a former top executive at
Teledesic, AT&T Wireless Services, and McCaw Cellular Communications.