Ministry of Education and Youth of Moldova

Technical University of Moldova

The Speciality of Engineering and Management in Electronics and Telecommunications
Report
Theme: Satellite Phone Systems


Made by student: Srbu Nicolae , gr. E-131
Checked by: Ababii Mariana




Plan :

1.) Definition.Classification
2.) History
3.) Structure
4.) Conclusion
5.) Sources


Key words:
Satellite- In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an artificial object which has been
intentionally placed into orbit. Its used for send an receive information from earth.
Telephone - A telephone, or phone, is a telecommunications device that permits two or
more users to conduct a conversation when they are not in the same vicinity of each other to be
heard directly.

DEFINITION


Satellite Phone- is a type of mobile phone that connects to orbiting satellites instead of
terrestrial cell sites. They provide similar functionality to terrestrial mobile telephones; voice, short
messaging service and low-bandwidth internet access are supported through most systems.

Classification
Geosynchronous satellites
All satellite phones use satellites in geostationary orbit, which are meant to remain in a fixed
position in the sky. These systems can maintain near-continuous global coverage with only three or
four satellites, reducing the launch costs. The satellites used for these systems are very heavy
(approx. 5000 kg) and expensive to build and launch. The satellites sit at an altitude of 35,786
kilometres.
Geostationary satellites have a limitation of use in latitude, generally 70 degrees north of the
equator to 70 degrees south of the equator. This is a result of look angles being so low on the
horizon increasing the chances of terrestrial and other interference from sources in the same
frequency bands.
Another disadvantage of geostationary satellite systems is that in many areaseven where a
large amount of open sky is presentthe line-of-sight between the phone and the satellite is broken
by obstacles such as steep hills and forest. The user will need to find an area with line-of-sight
before using the phone.

Low Earth orbit
LEO telephones utilize LEO (low Earth orbit) satellite technology. The advantages include
providing worldwide wireless coverage with no gaps. LEO satellites orbit the earth in highspeed,
low altitude orbits with an orbital time of 70100 minutes, an altitude of 640 to 1120 kilometers (400
to 700 miles), and provide coverage cells of about (at a 100-minute orbital period) 2800 km in radius
(about 1740 mi). Since the satellites are not geosynchronous, they must fly complete orbits. At least
one satellite must have line-of-sight to every coverage area at all times to guarantee coverage.

Tracking
LEO systems have the ability to track a mobile unit's location using doppler shift calculations from
the satellite. However, this method can be inaccurate by tens of kilometers. On some Iridium
hardware the coordinates can be extracted using AT commands, while recent Globalstar handsets
will display them on the screen.



HISTORY
The year 1996 can be considered as the golden years of the satellite communications industry as this
was the revolutionary phase for this industry. During this time the mini-M terminal of Inmarsat was
launched. The mini-M terminal or satellite phone is the first portable satphone designed by Inmarsat.

In 1998, another leader in satellite communications emerged. This was the Iridium satellite terminals.
The Iridium phone is widely recognized as the first ever potable satellite phone in the world. Iridium
uses 77 active satellites as constellation which made it one of the most effective tools for communication.
These satellites orbit freely from pole to pole. f earlier models of phones for satellite communications
industry were bag-sized, Iridium shrunk it to a size not much larger than today's mobile phones. It has
also become more affordable as it can now be bought for $1,000. Anyone who travels a lot has now a
new communication alternative if landline or cellular service is not permitted.

Globalstar is a new company that is involved with satellite communications. It has 48 low orbiting
satellites. Like the satellites on the past, Gloablstar's satellites do not cover the polar regions. The system
used by Globalstar is a new system called the bent pipe system. This is gives a better quality the ones
employed by Iridium, which uses a satellite link, as it uses networks of ground stations which can connect
to landlines and cellular networks. This is also one of the reasons why Globalstar can't cover the rest of
the world as inter-satellite link is needed for a planetary coverage.































Satellite phones send radio signals to a satellite which then transmits back down to earth where a
station will then route the call to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In some cases the
satellite phone provider will transmit from one satellite to another satellite which has a connection to
an Earth station. Outbound calls are relayed from the satellite phone on the ground to one of the
satellites within the line of sight. Next the call is relayed from one satellite to another at which it
reaches the correct satellite to then connect back down to the appropriate ground station. The call is
then transferred to the public voice network or Internet when it reaches the recipient.








STRUCTURE

Locations banning satellite phones
In some countries, possession of a satellite phone is illegal. These countries tend to score low on
the Democracy index, with the exception of India, so a ban can be the result of the state's desire
for mass surveillance or that it lacks the technology to intercept satellite phone traffic.

Calling cost
The cost of making voice calls from a satellite phone varies from around $0.15 to $2 per minute,
while calling them from landlines and regular mobile phones is more expensive. Costs for data
transmissions (particularly broadband data) can be much higher. Rates from landlines and mobile
phones range from $3 to $14 per minute with Iridium, Thuraya

and INMARSAT being some of the
most expensive networks to call. The receiver of the call pays nothing, unless he is being called via
a special reverse-charge service.

Making calls between different satellite phone networks is often similarly expensive, with calling
rates of up to $15 per minute.
Calls from satellite phones to landlines are usually around $0.80 to $1.50 per minute unless
special offers are used. Such promotions are usually bound to a particular geographic area where
traffic is low.
Most satellite phone networks have pre-paid plans, with vouchers ranging from $100 to $5,000.


CONCLUSION
~I think this invention changed the comunication at long distances and allow us to
make calls from anywhere on the earth.















SOURCES



1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_phone
2) http://www.voipmechanic.com/satellite-phone.htm
3) http://www.kddi.com/english/business/cloud-network-
voice/satellite/iridium/mobile/
4) http://www.globalcomsatphone.com/phone-articles/history-of-the-handheld