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Who is AEROSTAR ?
A quick check of their website also shows no mention of the demo in Roswell. I did see some cute RC blimps like you see in sports stadiums. But I also found this> http://www.aerostar.com/protective_wear.htm <. I am guessing that they have done business with the DoD before.
Multivalue, I like your attitude.
IMHO This is another example of conflicting DoD programs. The AirForce was just trying to take advantage of the collected dignitaries @ Palmdale. I hope they were minding their budgets & booked their flights at the same time. But this will always be the case when dealing with the branches of the military/industrial complex. In light of the current budget cuts all GTErs would be wise to curb their expectations regarding military contracts. I'm sure Bob Jones is well aware of funding ficklness in the government arena (X-37).
SwRI has many irons in that fire. My immediate check of their website showed zero info on this event. Bad PR coordination.
Some new acronyms & players to consider.
November 18, 2005 11:04 AM US Eastern Timezone
SwRI News: Airship Reaches Near-space Altitude During Flight
SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2005--A team led by Southwest Research Institute(R) (SwRI(R)) successfully demonstrated powered flight of the HiSentinel stratospheric airship at an altitude of 74,000 feet. The development team of Aerostar International, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and SwRI launched the airship on November 8 from Roswell, N.M., for a five-hour technology demonstration flight. The 146-foot-long airship carried a 60-pound equipment pod and propulsion system. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, the flight was the culmination of a six-month preparation effort.
"There are a number of stratospheric airship programs being promoted around the world, but this is the first of these programs to successfully fly a real airship in near-space," says William Perry, assistant director of Space Systems in the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division.
SwRI designed the airship and provided the telemetry, flight control, power and propulsion systems. Aerostar International fabricated the hull and participated in the integration and test flight. AFRL developed the innovative launch system, provided facilities, and supported the launch and recovery. Each of the four organizations contributed funding, manpower, equipment and facilities for the collaborative effort.
HiSentinel is the first airship developed under the Composite Hull High Altitude Powered Platform (CHHAPP) program. CHHAPP is a spiral development program for a family of long-endurance autonomous solar-electric, stratospheric airships. These low-cost systems will be capable of lifting small- to medium-payloads (20 to 200 pounds) to near-space altitudes for durations of longer than 30 days for communications, military and science applications.
Designed for launch from remote sites, these airships will not require large hangars or special facilities. Unlike most stratospheric airship concepts, HiSentinel is launched flaccid with the hull only partially inflated with helium. As the airship rises, the helium expands until it completely inflates the hull to the rigid aerodynamic shape required for operation.
Editors: An image to accompany this story is available at http://www.swri.org/press/HiSentinel.htm.
SwRI is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organization based in San Antonio, with more than 3,000 employees and an annual research volume of more than $399 million. For more information about Southwest Research Institute, please visit www.swri.org.
Welcome to the world of NPOV aka Wiki.
The Stratelite page was started over 10 months ago.
Check the pages history. Get involved. U can make editorial contributions to the wikipedia article. Caution: content only survives the Neutral Point Of View benchmark,kinda like DD.
ROCKy , I truly appreciate your concise analytical synopsis of current facts. You have taught me the true meaning of DD.
I know this is a little late, but is there anyone near Long Beach who could attend:
Aerospace Testing Expo 2005 North America
Long Beach Convention Center
300 Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach
CA 90802
8,9,10 November 2005
Dear MR jimCognito
VIP Letter of Entitlement for MR jimCognito at Aerospace Testing Expo 2005 North America
This letter entitles you to specific VIP privileges.
PLEASE BRING A COPY OF THIS LETTER TO SUBMIT AT THE SHOW.
There is no mention of Sanswire @ the event but with all the good reporting I've seen here maybe someone could dig up a little info on ROAs , Walrus, HAA's
jimcognito posted #15960 regarding RAND report.
From PRAVDA
USA develops gigantic airships to spy on Chinese and Iranian submarines
10/29/2005 01:00
The Pentagon has evinced great interest in the erstwhile popular technology
The US Congress has approved the program for the construction of airships within the scope of the Walrus HULA project (Hybrid Ultra Large Aircraft). The technical data of the future air monster are very impressive: from 500 to 1,000 tons of carrying capacity, over 22,000 kilometers of range and not less than a week of flying non-stop.
The largest dirigible in the world, Akron (USA), which used to float in the air in the 1930s, had the volume of 184,000 cubic meters, could carry up to seven planes and 200 passengers on board at the distance of 17,000 kilometers without landing.
The history of lighter-than-air engineering shows that airships were prospering in the 1920s and 1930s. This type of aircraft was extremely popular in the world back then: there was even a special governmental dirigible-building department established in the USSR. However, a series of accidents put an end to the further growth of the industry, when quite a number of US, British and French airships crashed. It seemed afterwards that dirigibles would never be used in serious projects.
However, a research department of the Pentagon, DAPRA, has evinced great interest in the erstwhile popular technology.
Defense specialists do not conceal that they find dirigibles technically attractive due to their excellent carrying and flying capacities. The airship as ordered by the Pentagon will combine the qualities of a space satellite and a spy plane.
However, there is a big political problem linked with the project. Unlike space, the Earth's stratosphere is not considered the zone free for international flights. The stratosphere above each state can be described as air space, a sovereign territory of every country.
An academician from the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics, Valentin Belokon, believes that American specialists decided to develop the project to spy on Chinese and Iranian submarines to strengthen the USA's domination in the world.
Two well-known corporations, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Aeros Aeronautical Systems Corp., will spend millions of dollars on the project during the first stage of the development of the flying Walrus.
The US project contains rather curious technological aspects, not to mention its military significance. The concept stipulates the construction of a heavier-than-air aircraft. The lifting force will be created owing to the unique combination of aerodynamic components, engines and gas inside the balloon of the airship.
"The mentioning of aerodynamic components in the message from the Pentagon is not incidental. The geometry of this aircraft is the central peculiar feature of the entire project. Soviet specialists used to develop a similar airship in the middle of the 1970s: it was supposed to look like a flattened bagel or a ring, a flying ring. The project was ready to go, but eventually found itself in a wastebasket because of the death of the leading specialist," Valentin Belokon said.
Mathematical calculations and aerodynamic experiments showed that the flattened bagel created the lifting effect of a ring-wing. It is a highly effective construction from the point of view of aerodynamics.
The American Walrus dirigible will have a classic, cigar-like shape, according to preliminary outlines. The cross-section of the dirigible will look like an isosceles triangle with rounded corners.
It seems that the Pentagon decided not to flitter away its energy. Another US company, JP Aerospace, develops yet another monstrous dirigible: the project is entitled Dark Sky Station, which actually reminds the title of a science fiction movie. This dirigible is planned to be 1.8 kilometers long; the aircraft is set to reach the height of 30-42 kilometers above the ground. Another shuttle dirigible will probably travel back and forth between planet Earth and a near-Earth space station.
Read the original in Russian: (Translated by: Dmitry Sudakov)
Pravda.Ru
DATE:01/11/05
SOURCE:Flight International
Europe set to fly internet airship
Successful trials pave way for development of high-altitude platform able to fly for three years and transmit data
A European-Japanese prototype high-altitude platform could be flown next year following successful trials last month of associated radio link technology.
The work is being carried out under the €6 million ($7.2 million) European Union Sixth Framework research project Capanina, which aims to develop a high-altitude airship able to transmit broadband internet data to stationary and moving users, at rates of up to 120Mb/s. The airship could be 200m (655ft) long and weigh 30t, with a payload of 1t. It would be able to stabilise its position to within 1km (0.5nm) and fly for three years, with some power generated from on-board solar cells.
"With Capanina, we are trying to stimulate interest from the aeronautical sector in Europe in high-altitude platform development," says UK University of York project leader Alan Gobbi. US company Sanswire Networks already has technology that could be of interest, Gobbi says. Its unmanned Stratellite platform has solar-powered engines and proprietary "lifting-gas technology" to maintain position at a target altitude of 65,000ft, which is above the jet stream for stability reasons.
Capanina has 13 partners, including its Japanese participants, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and Japan Stratosphere Communications. They are involved in a similar Japanese government-funded high-altitude platform project.
ROB COPPINGER/LONDON
G@@D read from WIRED about the facts & future of wireless.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/wireless_special/0,2914,69032,00.html
Serious1 just google your name for that link.
www.StratePhone.com
Very slick.
NOW I am ready to inve$t.
Finally all the right bells @ GTE
L@@Ks GOOD.
*boy are U happy now ?
Yes a Russian contractor & LockMart were awarded the development funds. Hasn't LockMart gotten enough FedFunds for the promise of an LTA? L@@ks like Ohio Airships & others are on hold if they were planning on any government funds.
Interesting that both companies also have HAA plans. Aeros is the ship builder for the South Koreans.
http://www.rand.org/publications/TR/TR234/
The pdf download is free. Many interesting points in summary. I'm just starting to dig into the full report. It will give you some clear insight into what the military Strat is expected to overcome. ENJOY
Very Informative Report from Rand on HAA's.
released 10/06/05 <@> RAND_TR234.sum.pdf
High-Altitude Airships for the Future Force Army
Lewis Jamison, Geoffrey Sommer and Isaac R. Porche
$20.00 (Paperback, 74 pp.)
ISBN: 0-8330-3759-5
TR-234-A, ©2005
Chapter One:
Introduction
Chapter Two:
Research and Development
Chapter Three:
Missions and Payloads
Chapter Four:
Airship Limitations and Vulnerabilities
Chapter Five:
Alternatives
Chapter Six:
Conclusions
Appendix:
The Tradeoff Between Airship Volume and Operating Altitude
The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Army and conducted by the RAND Arroyo Center.High-Altitude
Abstract:
Across the services, there is an increasing demand for overhead communications capacity. New, lighter-than-air (LTA) vehicles that operate at very high altitudes have an obvious attraction; the ability to see to a more distant horizon results in greatly expanded surveillance volumes. This report informs the U.S. Army about the usefulness and limitations of high-altitude airships (HAA) in the role of platforms for communications and surveillance suites in theater battlespace.
direct link to follow
10-4 on that.
The STRATEvoip site makes the company look and feel Worldclass. Starboys complaints were valid. I'm glad to see such a fast/interactive/informative site. I'm still investigating all its nooks & corners.
Pagan, Great Article on the Communications in NO,LA after Kat.
...The Internet connection also was extended dozens of miles via the emerging standard called WiMax, which has mostly been deployed in limited trials and offers data transfer speeds of 45 megabits per second.
At the end of the WiMax link, Wi-Fi was again used so that laptops and Internet phones could connect."
With over 2.8 million phones out(FCC) we were all wondering what rabbit the telcos were gonna pull out of there hats?
We see WiMax & WiFi as the quick connect by those in the KNOW. To bad FEMA gets another black mark for lack of prepaREDness.
I know a group from New York who set up the same kind of MESH networks in Algeris, LA.
Link to Airdock fire from local news.
JCF has sent you a story: "NewsNet5.com - Akron-Canton News - Welding Spark Sends Firefighters To Akron Airship Factory"
the link:
http://www.newsnet5.com/akroncanton/5020175/detail.html
Message from JCF: What's cook'in Akron ?
VOIP, that's LockMart's HAA they got $60 million earlier this year to build it. Good graphics but those birds are for anti-missle defense and UAV-ROA access 5 style interoperability. The brochure was published last year for their bid for more funding.
A few days ago there was a news item posted related to a small fire in the old Goodyear Airdock in Akron, Ohio where they are building them.
My old friend The Economist tells it like it is. GlobeTel mentioned in last paragraph.The Global Observer is certainly on the short list for FAA approval.
+ The cover story this week is How the internet killed the phone business I'll be back after I've read it.
Held aloft by hydrogen
Publication Date:17-September-2005
07:58 AM US Eastern Timezone
Source:The Economist
An unmanned aircraft powered by hydrogen has taken to the air for the first time. Such aircraft could have both military and civilian uses
BLAME it on the Hindenburg. Ever since the hydrogen-filled German airship exploded in 1937, hydrogen and aviation have not had much to do with each other. But a new aircraft, which made its first flight in May, could change that. Global Observer, the world's first liquid-hydrogen powered, unmanned-aerial vehicle (UAV), is not an airship, but an aeroplane that uses hydrogen as a fuel. It was built by AeroVironment, a firm based in Monrovia, California, which announced at a UAV conference in June that Global Observer had made its first flight above the desert sands of Yuma, Arizona.
Having pioneered solar-powered flight in the 1990s with America's space agency, NASA, AeroVironment has since refocused its efforts towards fuelled UAVs. Solar-powered UAVs promise potentially unlimited hours in the sky, but they have limitations. At latitudes above 45°, and during the winter, the sun is too weak to keep the aircraft flying. Liquid hydrogen is an attractive fuel for a high-altitude, long-endurance vehicle, since it has around three times as much energy per unit of mass as conventional jet fuel. The difficulty is keeping it liquid, since hydrogen boils at -253°C. Global Observer has a special insulated storage tank that can hold enough liquid hydrogen to keep the plane aloft for 24 hours. The hydrogen is combined with oxygen from the air in a fuel cell, producing electricity that drives the aircraft's propellers and powers its onboard systems. The aircraft is a scaled-down version of a much larger aircraft that would be able to stay aloft for more than a week.
Such an aircraft would have a number of uses as a low-cost alternative to satellites. Equipped with wireless-broadband relays, imaging equipment or monitoring devices, it could be used for surveillance, weather monitoring and telecommunications. In 2002, AeroVironment demonstrated the use of a solar-powered UAV as a mobile-phone relay and a TV broadcasting platform, in conjunction with NEC, Toshiba and other Japanese firms.
Ted Wierzbanowski, AeroVironment's managing director, admits that many people were sceptical about the switch to hydrogen. "Building the prototype was the only way to put the hydrogen bogeyman to bed," he says. "We think this is a big paradigm shift in the aerospace and space industry." The prototype aircraft has a 15-metre wingspan, but he expects two production versions, with 46-metre and 76-metre wingspans. Loitering at altitudes of between 18,000 and 21,000 metres, they would work in threes: as one plane started to run out of fuel, another would take off, to ensure continuous broadband or TV coverage.
But several challenges remain. One of the biggest is reliability, according to John Del Frate, the former manager of NASA's Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology project. "Most commercial aircraft have to be inspected every 100 or 200 hours," he says. "In one flight of these hydrogen and solar-powered vehicles, we'll easily exceed that amount." Worse, the aircraft must be able to withstand ultraviolet radiation, freezing temperatures and high winds, says Mr Del Frate, though AeroVironment claims to have addressed these problems.
Then there is the small matter of convincing potential buyers, such as Colonel Patrick Rhodes, the commander in charge of America's Air Force Space Command "Battlelab", which tests new technologies for the military. For the moment, he says, "hydrogen-powered lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air vehicles that will provide significant persistence over an area are not there yet." But Major-General Douglas Fraser, director of air and space operations for Air Force Space Command, is optimistic that the new UAVs will eventually prove themselves.
The new aircraft also faces competition from rival technologies, such as the "Stratellite", a helium-filled airship being developed as a communications relay by GlobeTel Communications, a firm based in Florida. Mr Wierzbanowski reckons his approach has lower running costs, but airships can lift larger payloads. So there may be room in the stratosphere for both technologies.
Bors, check this post #14943 to link to info & pictures from a german company that was vaguely refered to on the Kestrel site a few months ago. Since that time I tried to get a bearing on Evolution. However the Kestrel site nolonger shows any detailed mention or pictures of their "airship" efforts. Your post points today to only a simple statement that K is working on something that can only stay on station for 2 weeks.
In the shifting sands of internet websites I have found it necessary to backup my findings on a regular basis to make sure I am not imagining things. That is why I like this board so much. I can count on people like you to add relevant observations to this Rocky301 solid due diligence data base.
Thoughts & prayers to all the victims of excessive force from man & nature!
Hot off My GoogleBot:
Sanswire, Kashiwabara Token in comms system deal
Telecom Paper (subscription) - Houten,Netherlands
... of a terrestrial ground-based wireless broadband and comms system, a prelude to the deployment of the Sanswire Stratellite Airship broadband network in Japan. ...
I did not subscribe to read the story but it is nice to see newspaper(?or digipaper) stories from other countries about GTE & its partners. If anyone does; let us know if it varies from the PR we've already seen.
@> http://www.telecom.paper.nl/site/news_ta.asp?type=abstract&id=95272
I found this link to the German company that was pictured on Kestrel's website after they bumped Sanswire.
http://www.evo.aero/english/evolution_skyagency.htm
NOTE: I just tried the link. It's a little buggy so once you get to the page look for > FS-200 manned airship or try >
http://www.evo.aero/english/1_3_2_bemannt.htm
Opportunity Lost
Too bad HotZone products were not ready to meet this call for HELP even if they had to use a good old tethered aerostat.
I found this post @ BoingBoing
Friday, September 2, 2005
FCC COORDINATING TECH AID FOR KATRINA DISASTER
Quick notes from conference call hosted by the FCC today about urgently coordinating resources and personnel from internet/wireless service providers to get communications networks up and running in in gulf states.
Lack of communications systems has been identified as a critical issue holding back aid, missing persons, law enforcement, etc. in crisis areas.
FCC personnel are working throughout the weekend to coordinate these efforts with private industry, with wireless technology groups, FEMA, and state governments in Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.
COMPANIES WITH TECH ASSETS AND/OR HUMAN RESOURCES TO DONATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AID IN KATRINA-IMPACTED AREAS SHOULD DO THE FOLLOWING
FCC Chief of Staff Dan Gonzalez (daniel dot gonzales at fcc dot gov) says
FCC needs the following information from would be tech donors BY NOON EASTERN ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 3.
1) identify the provider (name of your company or group)
2) identify assets you are willing to commit
3) state clearly what assets you are technologically capable of providing (IP? data? voice?)
4) what your logistical requirements are to bring that to the affected area.
5) can you bring generators? if so what size? capacity? power levels?
SUBMIT THIS INFORMATION TO
PART-15.ORG (they have an online submission form to collect this data)
or wireless@part-15.org
contacts: Michael Anderson (wireless@part-15.org) 630-466-9090, and Claudia Crowley (ccrowley at gmail dot com), 817-292-0230.
Snip from part-15.org website:
The FCC and FEMA is in a desperate need to reestablish communications in the disaster area. More specifically, the metropolitan area of New Orleans and it's surrounding areas. What can Wireless access internet service providers do to help? We can reestablish internal communications and provide connectivity to all disaster relief efforts by installing point to point, point to multipoint links, IP Web cams to assist the police and fire departments who can not be everywhere in such a large area, VoIP phones to provide voice communications to relief personnel in remote areas and many other types of normal everyday communications that most people take for granted.
To accomplish these goals, we will need not only the License Exempt Industry as a whole, but local communities, major companies, and all others that can provide even the slightest of assistance to our teams.
Link
* One of the challenges the FCC faces is fact that the coordination effort involves multiple layers of bureaucracies -- also, that there has been no central point for directing available assets offered by private industry. Participants on the call included folks from Cisco, Intel, and wireless organizations.
* Another challenge: working with FEMA and local governments to ascertain whether it is more immediately effective to get old systems up and running, or create new temporary ones. Depends on tech behind communications system in question. * FCC reps on the conference call also said they may relax some regulations (power restrictions, etc) but are concerned that the effort be coordinated centrally, carefully, so that various emergency communications "efforts don't end up stepping on each other" and causing more of a tech mess.
* Quote from call participant Jim Duncan, Cisco Critical Infrastructure Insurance group:
"Operational issue number one is fuel and energy. Convoy accident happened today with fuel truck heading into one area... getting fuel and power in is critical, nothing can happen in terms of communications without that. Communications priorities will include law enforcement issues, but also missing persons -- getting refugees access to webpages to unite missing families... Cisco is working with Red Cross to help them figure out how to get backhaul connectivity to hundreds of tent cities they're setting up..."
* Some call participants also noted that any volunteers who end up being assigned in the affected area should bring sleeping bags, water, food so as not to strain resources. Hotel rooms, cars are hard to come by. Tech experts who end up coming to the area (by way of coordinated aid efforts) should be prepared to camp out.
* SBC and other companies are working to get voice and data service set up for refugees at the Houston Astrodome. One provider of digital TV service will also be applying its technology to text messaging tools, so that people there can reconnect with families.
* Jeffrey Citron, CEO of Vonage, says his company has been donating gear and just got a hospital back online with voice services. They've been trying to round up a large number of wireless VoIP phones to distribute to first responders.
posted by Xeni Jardin at 11:48:43 AM permalink | Other blogs commenting on this post
Good Work Starboy
I hope GTE & their new PR firm pays attention.
A unified web make over for GTE/Sanswire is over due.
This board's front page is more informative sans~graphics.
Good intuitive navigation & graphics are worth more than alot of speculative Press Releases with no direct links to the parties mentioned.
As you can see in some of todays earlier posts those of us who want to know are not afraid to track down and contact those mentioned (ie. communication with Proton clarifying todays PR).
As soon as I read todays PR I googled ZSW looking for any mention of the LOI > nothing. This has happened many times before.(Kestrel being the only exception.)
GTE should coordinate their PRs with their partners.
Ahhh wishful thinking. Updating websites is not always as easy as it should be.
<Insight into Wireless Last Mile>
The company mentioned Tower Stream is the same one that is hooking up with Vonage. Tower Stream offers 1.5 mbps UP & DOWN(that's the same speed as a T1 line) for $500.00/month here in Chicago.
WiMAX, Local Access Saviorfrom WiFi Planet
By Jerry Hodgen
A couple of months ago, I discussed the proliferation of Wi-Fi across the US and the world. A super technology to be sure but there's a complimentary partner just waiting around the corner.
WiMAX has the range to provide the backhaul requirements for Wi-Fi, which has a much smaller footprint. However, I see a much bigger role for WiMax: local access. The coveted "last mile" wired network technology that the regional bell operating companies (RBOCs) have hoarded and capitalized on since the divestiture of AT&T in 1984.
Local Access Challenges
Local access to the long haul carriers such as AT&T, MCI, and Sprint has been a dilemma for these providers and end users since the divestiture. Although it takes only a couple of key strokes at an RBOC network operations center, or punching down a couple of cables on the frame at the network center, it still takes 30 to 45 business days to install a point-to-point frame relay or broadband circuit. Add to that the jaw-dropping price the RBOC charges for the access circuit, many times greater than the actual long haul transport from point A to point B.
Why? Here are a couple of reasons.
Bureaucracy, red tape, and rules of engagement between the long haul carriers and the RBOC are the biggest culprit. These machinations are complex and have established "intervals" for any order, be it a simple speed upgrade or a new circuit. Frankly, the paper pushers on both sides have absolutely no sense of urgency. In the end, if an established interval is 30 days, you can bet that it will take at least that much, more than likely stretching to 45 days.
Obsolete and erroneous plant engineering documentation and systems are equally to blame. Most of these systems are dependent upon databases, which have hooks into the POTS line inventory. And you guessed it; if a POTS line has not been installed at a location it is highly likely you will be told that the address simply doesn't exist.
Can you believe that? You have a facility that the US Postal Service, city hall and cartographers are aware of and yet Ma Bell says it doesn't exist. Well it happens on a daily basis and it is a nightmare getting the providers to adjust their records.
The RBOCS are not going to correct the problem. Why should they? These access circuits are cash cows, which bring in significant revenue despite the delivery issues customers face.
The Solution
Clearly the solution is to take the middlemen out of the equation. To date, that has been easier said than done because as a result of divestiture, the RBOCs monopolize the ownership and operation of the last mile cable infrastructure that connects the long haul company's switching centers to residential and business facilities.
But there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.
WiMAX is here, albeit in the early stages. Simply speaking, WiMAX is a wireless technology that can transmit at broadband and T1 Speeds, is impervious to weather such as rain or fog, and can penetrate structural walls much like standard radio and TV broadcasts do today. Typically the range is 10 miles; however, depending on the density of receivers and the aggregate data transmission rate this could be extended up to 30 miles. This is a huge opportunity for AT&T, MCI, and Sprint to cut out the middleman and extend their networks to residences and business.
Consumer Friendly
Once the equipment is readily available, it is reasonable to expect one could visit their local consumer electronics center, procure a receiver device and then order service much like you do with cell phones today. Imagine that, Frame Relay or high speed broadband service which has the potential to be implemented in less than a week. I predict this will be the reality within the next two years and will be prevalent by the year 2009.
The Future
The technology has been a long time coming but advancements combined with international standards such as 802.11.16 has made it feasible. Add to this the slice of licensed spectrum that will become available in 2007 when the broadcasting companies have to give up these frequencies due to a FCC mandate to digitize TV transmissions. The decisive factor here will be for the FCC to enforce the mandate rather than succumbing to political pressures to extend the deadline.
There are already a few pioneers offering High Speed Broadband via WiMAX. One example is Tower Stream. The company currently offers up to 1000MB broadband service in seven major markets that include New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. AT&T has recently announced plans to test the waters in this market, and Bell South has deployed this technology in Athens GA, a university town just northeast of Atlanta.
I have heard the executives from AT&T, Sprint, and MCI lament about how local access has prevented them from being quick to market and competitive for both data and voice services. To a certain extent, I have sympathized with them. However, with the advent of WiMAX, my sympathies are quickly dissipating.
The solution is there now, all they need to do is to implement and market it wisely.
August 16, 2005
Please delete post#14593
Its is redundant to #14595
Wireless broadband _ Why wait for WiMax?
Here is some good insight into what is going on in the wireless broadband markets worldwide. I really like the last paragraph in the article. Right where GTE is focused!
Aug 18th 2005
From The Economist print edition
Wireless broadband access is taking off, even before WiMax arrives
WHAT has become of WiMax? This is the wireless technology that is supposed to be about to take over the world, by extending Wi-Fi-like broadband internet access, now available only in small "hotspots", to whole cities, or even whole countries. But, like most new wireless technologies, WiMax is late: testing to make sure gear from different vendors works together is taking longer than expected, and the first WiMax products will not be available until early next year. Even then, WiMax seems unlikely to live up to the initial hype from its proponents, foremost among them Intel. A recent report by Forrester, a consultancy, called for a "reality check" and predicted that the real impact of WiMax will not be felt before 2010.
But while WiMax is still stuck on the starting blocks, rival technologies that do the same sort of thing, but are available now, are taking off. In the past few weeks, T-Mobile has announced that it will build a nationwide wireless broadband network in the Czech Republic, using technology provided by IPWireless. The same technology, already deployed in parts of Germany, Britain and New Zealand, will also be used by Netcom Africa to provide wireless broadband access in Nigeria.
An excerpt of Forrester's report on WiMax is available free. IPWireless has news on how its technology will be used by T-Mobile in the Czech Republic. Qualcomm has just acquired Flarion. Signals Research is a specialist research company.
Meanwhile, a rival technology from Flarion will be used to provide wireless broadband coverage across Finland, initially in rural areas where fixed-line broadband connections are currently unavailable. On August 11th, Qualcomm, the company that pioneered the technology that underpins third-generation (3G) mobile phones, announced that it would buy Flarion for around $600m, chiefly to gain access to its intellectual property, which is widely expected to form the basis of post-3G networks.
Both IPWireless and Flarion technologies combine fast, Wi-Fi-like internet access with the wide-area "works anywhere" coverage of mobile phones. Slot a suitable card into your laptop and you have a broadband connection you can carry around. Hitherto, such technologies have been used in a few regional networks and small-scale trials. Now they have made the crucial breakthrough to deployment in large-scale, national networks.
Paradoxically, one big factor that has spurred interest from operators is WiMax hype. "WiMax has opened up a lot of operators' eyes," says Ronny Haraldsvik of Flarion. But they then realise, he says, that WiMax is not yet available, and even when it is, it will initially only support access from fixed locations. The first WiMax devices will be boxes to be fixed to the outside of homes or offices to provide broadband access, and cannot be moved; mobile WiMax is still years away. As well as being mobile, Flarion and IPWireless "are technologies that work today," says Mike Thelander of Signals Research, a consultancy.
Another factor, says Chris Gilbert, boss of IPWireless, is disappointment with 3G phone networks, which have now been launched in western Europe after much delay. These were expected to provide broadband access over wide areas, but have failed to deliver the high speeds once promised. Operators in eastern Europe, which have yet to build 3G networks, can see that 3G is not the gold mine originally predicted, and are considering alternatives. Roland Mahler, boss of T-Mobile's Czech division, says there was insufficient demand to justify the expense of a 3G network, whereas the IPWireless technology can be marketed as an alternative to fixed broadband, for which demand is clear.
Does this mean that WiMax will be squeezed out by the other technologies it has unwittingly boosted? In fact, it looks as though there is room for a mix of technologies, each with its own strengths, depending on the availability of spectrum, the regulatory regime, and the needs of various types of operators. In several countries, including the Czech Republic, Romania, Nigeria and Argentina, a wireless-broadband technology called CDMA450, which is ideal for rural coverage, is being deployed. In western Europe, mobile operators that are committed to 3G are likely to upgrade to an improved version of it called HSDPA, which will offer higher download speeds, comparable to those of fixed-line broadband.
WiMax, which can be used in unlicensed (and therefore free) spectrum, will particularly appeal to "non traditional" operators such as regional start-ups, but will be just "one among many" technologies, says Mr Thelander. It will also be used by fixed-line operators, which do not require mobility, to plug gaps in their fixed-line broadband coverage, for example in remote and rural areas.
In places with little or no fixed-line broadband, wireless alternatives have obvious appeal. And where fixed-line broadband is available, wireless technologies will offer the bonus of mobility--the ability to take your broadband connection with you. The flavour of technology is not terribly important. What matters is that broadband, like telephony, no longer requires wires--which will help to increase access in rural areas and in the developing world. Let a thousand networks bloom.
Press from South African website> MyADSL.co.za
http://mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=586
Also note that in July the Zepplinn Company announced a 2 year agreement with the DeBeers company to deploy their NT-airship in South Africa for "geological surveying".
Tojamm, Best News Yet from SHM !!!!
To hear that the BobJones Crew is in contact with the Zepplin Co. is music to these old ears. Plus to hear we beat LockMart out of the opportunity is even better.
Could it be a coincidence that the future HotZone deployment in Germany might have helped make this happen ?
Please e-mail me directly so we can discuss this in greater detail.
You beat me to the pin on that one.
Uni-Solar has not been mentioned here, but as you see they are a primary supplier of PV's for the military. Try and buy one for your boat & you will will see why they need to build another fabrication line.
bp2, I can't say I am surprised. Here's why:
1) Right after the public showing of Sanswire 1 Mr. Molen was quoted in various articles detailing long range production plans for the Start.
2) Members of of this board expressed some confusion & surprise over a the mention of Sanswire over GTE in those press articles.
3) Recently some I-Hub posters were speculating on the logic of the co-president positions of Sanswire.
I think what we are seeing here is the final purge of the old gaurd from Sanswire. The xNASA boys are closing the ranks. Just like in Vern Koenig's case loose lips sink ships & affiliations. IMHO I think superior technical experience is has now taken over the final developmment of the stratellite.
Al & Pagan
I posted this ? on 7/22 # 13736+^.
Rock& the board had some practical responses.
rdwud ~ The posters @ Slashdot really tore into this subject in great detail. I suggest you dig in there for more answers. There were too many opinions to read last night , but one I saw might shed some new light on your second question >
"Can we get the Strat up in time to be a carrier of choice for Vonage before they sprinkly Wi-Max enabled towers around the major-metros?" One poster expressed concern regarding the real threat of WiMax signals seriously interfearing with the existing WiFi mesh/web.
"Can we get the Strat up in time to grab some of the prime (metro) U.S. WiMax market?" IMHO the commercial US deployment of the Strat will be the last to happen. The Slashdot crowd did a good job picking apart the current Broadband offerings. Big telco competition is not the sea GTE wants to swim in. Plus FAA & ACCESS5 directives have yet to be put in place. Huff is right to sail in the seas of undeveloped infrastructure while the sharks & the powers that be decide how the game will be played.
Forget about Wi-Fi VoIP, Vonage going WiMax
I just picked this up from Slashdot. Go there to to follow the discussion. Looks like the earlier discussion & letter to shareholders re: VoIP is very appropriate,.. plus UMA article.
Rocky thanks for the NAP of America link. I am slowly seeing how this alphabet soup of telecommunications is shaking out.
Posted by timothy on Wednesday August 03, @06:48PM
from the who's-speaking-please dept.
kamikaze-Tech writes "Being reported on the Vonage VoIP Forum in an article entitled Vonage, Wimax Provider Team Up it appears Vonage is partnering with TowerStream to allow you to make calls up to 30 miles away via WiMax. WiMax, another name for the 802.16 standard for wireless broadband, has a range of up to 30 miles and can deliver broadband at a theoretical maximum of 75 megabits per second, which is more than 20 times the speed of the fastest wired broadband available commercially. WiMax serves as a partial successor to the popular Wi-Fi wireless protocol, which works over far shorter distances, measured in feet rather than miles."
The competition narrrows.
Here is a company GTE should buy.
ATG has been pioneering LTA tech. Their Sky Cat design is very innovative. They also have a HAA design(see StratSat).
http://www.atg-airships.com/index_frames.htm
http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=545&ArticleID=1099248
Airship company comes down to earth with a bump
Administrators called in at ATG in Cardington
A world-leading airship developer based at Cardington has called in the administrators after running out of cash.
Advanced Technologies Group Limited (ATG) is known internationally for its work in airship technology, including lighter-than-air (LTA) engineering.
Until a few weeks ago around 50 highly-skilled staff worked for the company, but administrators Begbies Traynor admitted "a handful" had already been let go before they became involved.
Begbies Traynor added that new owners could be in place in the next month.
Investors have pumped in the region of £30million into ATG since it was established in 1996.
The company is currently developing AT-10 airships, and work has also begun on manufacturing SkyCat20 heavy-lift aircraft.
Touted customers for the craft include the Ministry of Defence, travel companies and surveillance firms.
Only 18 months ago ATG had hoped to set up an office in Germany to benefit from more generous government help available on the continent.
That was in response to the "derisory" backing the company claimed was on offer from Whitehall.
A spokesman for Begbies Traynor said: "ATG was on the brink of being able to provide a return on the previous substantial investment. Unfortunately, despite the previous substantial cash injection from investors, it now needs to restructure and seek new investment to turn this British aeroengineering triumph into a profitable commercial venture.
"Although it is very early days, we are delighted to report that a number of parties have already indicated an interest."
28 July 2005
Good Point !!!
Now that GTE/Sanswire is playing ball with NASA @ Edwards AFB the gag orders are probably very tight. Kestrel upgraded their site a couple of months back. Unfortunately they eliminated the fourum page. I would hate to see their technology not fly on the STRAT.
ITF is manufacturing PVs. Daystar is just beginning to assemble a manufacturing plant.
GTE has not made any announcment saying they are not working with Kestrel or ITF.
Remember the old adage "Loose lips, sink Ships."
PS ~ Back in March I could not link to Hot Zone's website. A week later I helped a friend move to Naples, FL. While I was there I tried calling Hot Zone's office to arrange a visit. No reply. On my way to the airport the Tuesday morning I left I stopped by their office in a typical small business strip just east of the airport. I was not impressed. I took a picture. I was going to post it to the board & ask Rocky to take them off the front page! Boy am I glad I did not do that. Look what eventually happened ! GTE bought Hot Zone!
I'll wait for GTE to confirm or deny their business relationships.
G@@D morning all GTE watchers.
Here's a little news about strat competitor Aeros.
Also some bad news. I was checking my GTE related boomarks and Kestrel's site no longer makes any mention of Globe Tel or Sanswire. Rock have you had any contact with Kestrel lately ?
[July 20, 2005]
Aeros 40B-19 Surveillance Platform Successfully Completes Its First Flight
( EMAILWIRE.COM, July 20, 2005 ) Tarzana, California -- In the Caribbean the Aeros 40B-19 Sky Dragon Airship successfully completed its first flight and entered the operational phase. The A40B-19 took off from the assigned base at 6:00 a.m. local time and was captained by Alfred (Corky) Belanger, Aeros Chief Pilot. During today's flight, Corky successfully put the airship through a series of maneuvers to verify its performance.
After landing, the Chief Pilot and Aeros President Mr. Igor Pasternak confirmed that the airship and engines had handled as anticipated. Corky commented: "We had a very successful first flight and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. All systems and engines performed exceptional".
For his part, Aeros President and CEO Igor Pasternak thanked the crew for their performance: "I wish to congratulate Alfred Belanger and the rest of the team for this successful first flight. I also sincerely thank our engineering and production department, as well as the ground crews who, through their ceaseless hard work, have made this day a success".
The Aeros 40B-19 airship is equipped by the most advanced concept of the lighter-than-air (LTA) aircraft digital flight control system and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The airship will be used as a surveillance platform, which makes this machine first in the history of LTA to be utilized for that exclusive purpose. With the most modern and comprehensive technologies on the market, Aeros is proud to present A40B-19 Surveillance Platform.
About Aeros: AEROS is the world's leading lighter-than-air, FAA-certified aircraft manufacturing company. The Company's operations involve research, development, and marketing of a wide variety of air vehicles. These include rigid Aeroscraft, commercial non-rigid airships, and advanced manned and unmanned tethered aerostatic systems. The airships are available for utilization in a variety of civil and military missions. AEROS has affiliates in eight European and Asian countries, and the company's industry-leading expertise is based on more than 20 years of operations and research in lighter-than-air technologies. For more information about Aeros, please visit its web site at www.aerosml.com.
Here is what the AirForce was testing & buying with that $15 million back in May.
U.S. Air Force Prepares To Buy Near Space Vehicles
By JEREMY SINGER, COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.
May 06, 2005
The U.S. Air Force intends to establish by 2008 a program office for buying high-altitude atmospheric vehicles that provide satellite-type services, according to service officials.
One such vehicle that could be pressed into the field quickly is a balloon-mounted communications relay that could dramatically expand the range of radios used by ground forces, said Maj. Steven Staats, deputy chief of demonstration initiatives at Air Force Space Command's Space Battlelab at Schriever Air Force Base here. A prototype of that vehicle, dubbed Combat SkySat, was demonstrated March 14-17 near Phoenix, he said.
Combat SkySat is part of a recent push by the Air Force to examine operations at an altitude layer it calls near space -- around 20 kilometers to 23 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The Air Force believes relatively inexpensive vehicles flying in this airspace could complement satellites as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.
The new program office also will look at much larger, highly mobile vehicles that could perform longer-duration missions, Staats said during an April 5 interview here. But those systems likely will require considerable research and development before they can be ready for use, he said.
The new Joint Warfighting Space program office will be established within the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center's Detachment 12 at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. In addition to near-space vehicles, the new office would handle the acquisition of small satellites designed for launch on short notice, according to a written statement from the Detachment 12 program office provided by Tonya Racasner, an Air Force spokeswoman.
In the interim, the Air Force has set up a "virtual" program office led by Lt. Col. Randy Riddle at Detachment 12 that includes participation by the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Vehicles Directorate, Space and Missile Systems Center's Transformation Office, and the Space Battlelab, the official said.
While the program office will handle acquisitions, the battlelab will continue fulfilling its charter of conducting demonstrations that assess the military utility of commercially available technology, Staats said.
The Combat Skysat vehicle was built by Space Data Corp. of Chandler, Ariz., which has flown data-relay balloons over the past year for oil and gas companies in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to Philip De Carlo, the company's director of program management. The balloons collect and transmit information such as how much oil is being pumped from rigs in remote areas with little or no communications infrastructure, he said.
The untethered demonstration vehicle basically was a hydrogen-filled balloon carrying a PRC-148 military radio built by Thales Communications of Clarksburg, Md. Using hydrogen for near-space vehicles makes sense because it can be generated from water in the field, and thus does not impose the same logistical burdens as other lighter-than-air gases like helium, Staats said.
The entire platform weighs less than 2.3 kilograms and can be launched by one or two people out of the back of a pickup truck, Staats said. The demonstration vehicle cost about $20,000, but Air Force officials believe production versions could carry a price tag of about $2,000 each, he said.
The March demonstration focused on the utility of high-altitude balloon relays for close air support missions, Staats said. Ground forces often do not have satellite access, and thus must communicate directly with aircraft operating in their line of sight to call in air strikes, he said. This means aircraft need to loiter near the battlefield, increasing their vulnerability, he said. Using the Combat SkySat system, ground-based forces were able to increase their communications range with aircraft from 13 kilometers to some 320 kilometers, he said.
Maj. Gen. Douglas Fraser, director of air and space operations at Air Force Space Command, said vulnerability of near-space vehicles to enemy fire is not a big concern. The balloons are difficult to detect using infrared or radar sensors, and operate at altitudes that are above the range of fighter aircraft, he said in an April 4 interview at Peterson Air Force Base here.
Although ground-based missiles could take out high-altitude relay balloons, the missiles cost perhaps 100 times as much to replace, a tradeoff the Air Force is willing to accept, Staats said.
And because the balloon relays would operate at far lower altitudes than satellites, their transmitters would not have to be nearly as strong as those on satellites to overcome jamming attempts, Staats said.
One factor that might limit the effectiveness of untethered high-altitude balloon relays is wind. But De Carlo said that on a calm day one balloon could provide coverage of a given area for a full day before drifting out of range. On windier days, he said, multiple balloons might have to be launched, he said.
Staats said the Combat SkySat demonstration results indicate that there are several other uses for near-space vehicles besides providing close-air support communications. For example, De Carlo said, federal agencies like the FBI and Department of Homeland Security could use such vehicles for U.S. border surveillance.
ROA = Remotely Operated Aircraft
It is the current popular term for UAV's being used by the ACCESS 5 consortium.
Please excuse SP. It's late......