Liberty to Get All of Astrolink

[Steve Mehs]

Liberty Satellite said it reached an agreement with Astrolink partners - Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Telespazio - that will allow it to acquire substantially all of the assets of the Ka-Band licensee.

Astrolink was formed in 1999 to operate a global Ka-Band system that will deliver next-generation satellite broadband services. Liberty Satellite previously held 31.5 percent of Astrolink, with the remainder owned directly or indirectly by the other three companies.

The Astrolink agreement follows Liberty Satellite's announcement in December that it would increase its investment in another Ka-Band licensee, WildBlue Communications.

Astrolink said it signed agreements with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for completion of two satellites. The parties also reached an agreement on the settlement of claims related to the previous termination of Astrolink's major procurement contracts and all other major third party creditor claims, the company said.

Liberty Satellite's acquisition of the Astrolink business is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, including Liberty obtaining funding from additional investors, third party sources of financing, or firm capacity commitments from prospective customers. Closing is expected to occur around October.

From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/jan2003/012403.shtm#one) (Used with Permission)

[AJ2086]

So if Liberty and News Corp purchase D* like they planned they will probably use all of the Ka band for Internet. If they could provide a fast 2 way internet at a reasonable price I would switch instantly. My only option in this area is Dial Up and Adelphia Powerlink, both are crap.

[davhol]

You know, no matter the infrastructure, speeds, reliability, etc., satellite internet will not be the "nirvana" that a lot of people are hoping it to be. The bottom line is LATENCY -- the time it takes a TCP packet to get from your computer, up to the satellite, down to the ground station and then to it's destination. Yes, a satellite internet connection might be able to deliver 1Mbps in each direction, but the time it takes to send or receive that first packet is what will be most noticeable. If you're in to internet gaming (multi-user shoot-em-up type of games), satellite internet will be a nightmare for you. From the time you click the mouse until the server on the remote side "sees" the click and then sends the response back, you could be waiting for 1/3 second or more. If the speed of light is 186Kmiles/s, that means it travels 186 miles/millisecond. The satellite is 22,500 miles (roughly) away, so 22500/186=121 milliseconds EACH direction. Now comes all the other traffic slowdowns that are inevitable. That makes for a potentially disappointing internet experience for some people. If you're only websurfing or reading email, or downloading something, then the time it takes to "fill the pipe" might be noticeable, but after the pipe is full, the inherent speed of the pipe delivers it's load to you and you've forgotten about the initial "hit". Just something to think about. The numbers above are VERY BEST case.