THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 25, 1996 TAG: 9603240289
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
YOU ARE READY to trek to tundra, to ice floe, to Amazonian rain forest - far from the electric hum of modern life. But you aren't quite ready to lose complete touch.
Maybe you're ready for Planet 1, the world's first go-anywhere global telephone.
Planet 1's developer, Comsat Mobile Communications of Bethesda, Md., calls its creation a ``personal satellite terminal.'' The device, the size of a laptop computer, will bounce tightly focused telephonic signals off a new generation of satellites known as Inmarsat-3s.
Callers can simply flip open Planet 1's lid, point it roughly toward the equator and, when an indicator light comes on, commence jawboning.
Planet 1 doesn't require any plugs, jacks or special antennas. A lithium-ion battery will permit uninterrupted chats for up to an hour and a half. And, at less than 6 pounds, Planet 1 can be easily hefted, whether you or your Sherpa guide is doing the portage.
Should you get close enough to civilization, connections for sending and receiving faxes are built in. There is a pager function, and you can hook the Planet to a computer to send and receive electronic mail.
Planet 1 even comes with an optional adapter into which users can plug a cigarette lighter. Which means Arctic explorers could stop for a smoke before calling the office to check on the progress of the next grant application.
The company says that ``business travelers, multinational corporations, broadcasters and journalists'' (I'm hoping my bosses have read this far) are natural customers. Although, at nearly $3,000 per unit and $3 a minute per call, you better have a generous expense account.
Key to Planet 1's success will be the Inmarsat satellite network, sponsored by a 70-country consortium that includes Comsat. The first satellite launches are scheduled for later this month, with several more before the end of the year. Comsat hopes to have Planet 1 in the hands of users by June.
Until the satellites are up, though, Planet 1 won't be anything more than a fancy paperweight. MEMO: ``Tech Track'' appears every Monday in the Daily Break. Readers with
ideas for future columns are invited to contact staff science and
technology writer James Schultz at (804) 446-2599, or via e-mail at
schultz(AT)infi.net
by CNB