AT&T to go live with TerreStar sat phone services this year

We've known that TerreStar Networks and AT&T Mobility were in bed together for quite some time, but evidently the honeymoon phase is finally reaching its logical end. Reportedly, the carrier is gearing up to go live with an extension of service that'll involve satellites and a pinch of luck, giving select customers the ability to roam between its GSM network and TerreStar's satellite network. If all goes to plan (we're not holding our breath, for the record), AT&T will begin to resell satellite service and phones soon after the bird is launched some 22,000 miles above North America on July 1st. Once perched, it'll provide coverage across Canada and the US, including the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. There's no definitive word on pricing, but we're hearing that sat phone service will run around $1 per minute while hybrid handsets will go for around $700 (unsubsidized). Pricey, sure, but how else do you plan to phone home on your next visit to the Pitcairn Islands?

[Aaron @ Jun 24th 2009 11:14AM]

Does it have copy and paste?

[Michael @ Jun 24th 2009 11:21AM]

and Flash??

[LondonConsultant @ Jun 24th 2009 11:14AM]

$1 per minute. It must be based on an O2 iPhone contract.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA1 Plumbing @ Jun 24th 2009 11:17AM]

$1 per minute!

AT&T has found a way to time travel back to 1990... Where is my Nokia flip and a Moto star tac?

[tom @ Jun 24th 2009 11:28AM]

Welcome to Rogers wireless in Canada. We have a buck a minute on US Roaming.

[Mike @ Jun 24th 2009 11:30AM]

Sattellite phones have always been this expensive, or more.

And making a hybrid model one that runs on two diff plans should be even more so.

[AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA1 Plumbing @ Jun 24th 2009 12:07PM]

You mean Rogers AT&T?

That is when they were chargin $1 a minute.

[tom @ Jun 24th 2009 12:18PM]

I mean Rogers Wreless in 2009
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/06/23/rogers-introduces-travel-packages/
$15 for 15 Minutes

And plan w/o voice package, voice call is buck a minute
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-plans/iphone_phones_plans

"Voice calls are $1 per minute if a Voice Plan is not subscribed to separately."


Proof

[wuduhel @ Jun 24th 2009 11:20AM]

I've been to Pitcairn!!!

[Stephen @ Jun 24th 2009 11:20AM]

So what, $30 or $40 to call my family and talk with all of them? Kinda pricey there... but beats not being able to talk at all i suppose.

[kjb434 @ Jun 24th 2009 11:21AM]

So is this another try at what Iridium couldn't do? At least the phone isn't the size of a ice chest anymore.

[spam_free @ Jun 24th 2009 11:23AM]

TerreStar... Did they hire Jammie Thomas as their spokesperson?

[dan @ Jun 24th 2009 2:07PM]

dammit, dammit, dammit. i knew i'd be too late for that joke.

[lxuke @ Jun 24th 2009 11:24AM]

does it get reception in Bin Laden's cave?

[Jeff Snugglebutton @ Jun 24th 2009 11:27AM]

Service will not be available to the Pitcairns or Tristan da Cunha sorry, though it might be possible to reach Georgetown if the bounces are just right.

[jon @ Jun 24th 2009 11:42AM]

People can complain about $1 per minute all they want, but the ability to make an emergency call from just about anywhere in the continental US is worth a lot more than that to me.

I'm in Colorado, half the state has no coverage outside of satphones.

[slibus @ Jun 24th 2009 11:45AM]

If the unsubsidized price is around 300 id pick this up easily, hell if the subsidized price is around 300 id pick it up anyway. If you travel a lot over seas it would be cheaper to pay ATT a dollar a minute then roam on someone else networks and pay anywhere from 2 - 4 dollars a minute depending on where you are.

[jonbruck @ Jun 24th 2009 11:49AM]

I heard tethering will be available eventually, but not at launch.

[mellsworth @ Jun 24th 2009 11:51AM]

I know of some ranchers that are just outside of town that this would save them hundreds a month from their current sat phone that is nearly 10 years old. Less than 25 miles from the beaten trail and you are on your own, haveing the sat phone has saved their lives literally a few times, but the one they have is dying and no longer reliable.

[Dankoozy @ Jun 24th 2009 7:45PM]

You mean like globalstar? they are launching new satellites this year and the reliability issues should be fixed. faster data too

[Magallanes @ Jun 24th 2009 11:54AM]

YAY for Puerto Rico

:-/

[dan2600 @ Jun 24th 2009 12:07PM]

is it a requirement that all satellite phones must be ugly as sin?

/I'm all for "Industrial" designer...i think thinkpads are hot...but this looks like a TV remote.

[danimaldan @ Jun 24th 2009 12:14PM]

A sat phone is not about appeal at all. It is about functionality and being able to use it anywhere in emergencies or for terrorists, or if your stuck in a park with killer raptors. Which i can see where the price to use it justifies an emergency but still to much for me to own one.

[danimaldan @ Jun 24th 2009 12:07PM]

Did they not learn from any other type of sat phones back in the past????

They all failed because it was to expensive. Come on a dollar a minute?

This sat phone endeavor is going to fail like all the rest, especially in these economic times.

[BeyondtheTech @ Jun 24th 2009 12:10PM]

So, let's recap...

AT&T releases wireless phones that don't work well in a lot of indoor places.

So, they release a satellite phone that won't work well in a lot of indoor places.


Make sense to me.

[Allen @ Jun 24th 2009 12:28PM]

Of course, Iridium used 66 satellites covering the world, TerreStar is using one satellite to cover the US from a much higher elevation. Overall, coverage might be as spotty as... AT&T's coverage.

[CityZen @ Jun 24th 2009 1:58PM]

Yeah, I was wondering about this. My first thought was how can TerreStar afford a bunch of satellites (to be like Iridium). Once I saw that they're just using one satellite, my second thought was how can this possibly work?

To put this in context, compare to other communications satellites that use geostationary orbit. For C-band, ground-based antennas are at least 6 feet across, and DirecTV/Dish antennas are still at least 18" across. How can a pocketable device possibly receive and transmit to a satellite that's 22,000 miles away?

To find the answer, I went to TerreStar's website. Here it is: the satellite itself will have a 60 foot diameter antenna! This will unfold from the satellite body and be much larger than the satellite itself (in extent, anyway).

They also mention that it has 500 dynamically configurable spot beams (so that they don't have to blast signals over the whole continent all the time). This also suggests capacity limitations, though it depends upon the spot sizes & configurations, of course.

[Allen @ Jun 24th 2009 12:28PM]

Isn't it a bit premature to announce the service and phones when the satellite doesn't even launch til July 1st? Its not like every satellite launch has gone perfectly. You might want to wait before you buy that $700 phone.

[davelogan77 @ Jun 24th 2009 12:27PM]

Nice MAN HAND.

[Timmy @ Jun 24th 2009 12:56PM]

How much for texting?

[Engadgetier @ Jun 24th 2009 12:56PM]

why are satellite phones so ugly. They should turn the iphone into a satellite phone so it can work everywhere, and still keep its 3G goodness...... Imagine service everywhere you go!! =O

[Dakota @ Jun 24th 2009 3:09PM]

Not really. I could see myself toting the Thuraya SO-2510. Not only can it use satellite networks, but also roam on GSM networks.
http://www.highspeedsat.com/so-2510.htm

Or maybe the Elektrorbit phone is more your taste:
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/02/19/elektrobits-satellite-gsm-hybrid-smartphone-reference-design-in/

Or maybe MSV's offering:
http://gizmodo.com/376436/touchscreen-satellite-phone-is-as-beautiful-as-a-normal-cellphone

[BT @ Jun 24th 2009 1:15PM]

Guess AT&T is living up to their motto of "more bars in more places".

[uberfu @ Jun 24th 2009 1:32PM]

Give it about 2-5 years. That will be Apple's next big revolutionary announcement - Satellite Network service via the iPhone.

I can see it now - the Jailbreak community starts building satellite capable Apps - tying them into Google Maps and some real time imagery - let the Spy Games begin.

[steve @ Jun 25th 2009 3:50PM]

Pitcairn Islands¿¿¿

They only have regulatory approvals for the US and Canada? It won't work in Cancun or the Bahamas.. Let alone the Pitcairn Islands.

And don't look for ATT to offer these phones anytime soon. As of this post.. There have been no FCC authorized phones for the Terrestar frequencies according to the FCC OET Equipment Authorization Web Site.

[Xoyuji @ Jun 24th 2009 5:01PM]

If it only gives coverage in US, Canada, USVI & Puerto Rico how does this help anyone on Pitcairn Island ?

[CityZen @ Jun 25th 2009 12:01AM]

I guess they'll have to wait until some future satellite is up over there, if that ever happens.

Assuming TerreStar gets the first bird up & running, and that they have some financial success, I wonder where they'd plan to put a second satellite?

[reefdweller @ Jun 25th 2009 7:24AM]

Geosync sat will have horrible roundtrip delay, due to distance of the signal alone.
Itidium and Globalstar use Low Earth Orbit for a reason, hope they can retask the sat when this fails.