Our pals over at Engadget are onto someting I've been meaning to start following: The emergence of satellite-based data services, the latest being Inmarsat's Broadband Global Area Network. For years, I've been meaning to invest in a just-in-case satellite telephone. But, I've been put off, not so much by the hardware prices, but the sometimes ongoing monthy service charges whether you use the phone or not. I want to start writing about those, too.

As for satellite data, like Engadget, I am concerned about coverage and reliability issues. The 500 kbps speed, while nothing to sneeze at, isn't incredibly fast. On the other hand, I've been spec-ing out a ham radio-to-Internet emergency communications tool where 9,600 bps is still considered a decent data rate.