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Thursday April 3, 2008
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The satellite phone used by the "freighter folk" on Lost looks like no satellite phone out there ... yet. But a new sat-phone company, MSV (Mobile Satellite Ventures) has developed a prototype phone that looks strikingly like the touch-screen satphone Naomi used to call for help when she fell into the hands of the Oceanic 815 survivors.
The L-Series satellite phone will be available in 2010, according to MSV spokesman Tom Surface. It will use a new hybrid satellite/cellular system based on two satellites that MSV is launching in 2009, and it will slide between cellular coverage when it's in range and satellite coverage when no cell service is available. MSV will make a deal with a US-based cellular carrier to sell satellite/cellular service under the carrier's brand, Surface said.
MSV had non-working models of the L-Series at its booth. According to the phone's spec sheet, it will have a 320-by-480 multi-touch screen; smartphone style applications; high-speed Internet access with Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite connectivity; a Web cam; and a speakerphone. Unlike most satellite phones, it will be only .6-inches thick.
There's one big difference between MSV's phone and Lost's, though. The MSV phone will get satellite access only in North America, because that's where MSV's two satellites will cover, Surface said.
MSV is also developing a ruggedized satellite phone, the R-Series. Shots of the L-Series and R-series prototypes below. (Last photo credit to Lostpedia.)
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April 3, 2008 8:20 PM
LOOKS NOTHING LIKE IT!!!!
Touch pad is somewhat similar though.
April 4, 2008 6:58 PM
Its funny that they use the [b]Mac iCal[/b] icon :p
April 5, 2008 12:55 PM
Well, obviously it's not going to look exactly like the satellite phone we see on Lost; I'm sure MSV wanted to design something a bit different to make it their own!
April 7, 2008 5:36 PM
Obviously the author of this story doesnt know much about the satellite industry as MSV is not a "new" sat-phone company but the remnants of two failed satellite companies from the mid 90s....
April 27, 2008 8:30 AM
Mobile Satellite Ventures at present mostly sells voice services to people like oil companies and emergency services working either in remote locations or disaster areas -- that is, customers willing and able to pay a lot for communications where no infrastructure is available. The phone with its antenna is carried in a case about the size of a standard briefcase.
Their new satellites, scheduled to be launched in 2009 and 2010, will have much more capacity and greater signal strength (thus enabling smaller phones). But the really novel element of their business model is that like XM Satellite Radio they plan to combine satellite coverage of rural areas with terrestrial base stations in dense urban and suburban areas, thus offering far more capacity than satellite alone could provide (because frequencies can be re-used just as with current cellular networks). However, this hybrid technology ALSO means the satellites will represent just PART of the needed capital investment for a nationwide build-out so their business model involves partnering with other companies who will build the terrestrial part of the network they envision. So it's gonna take quite a while before anything like their prototype will be available to consumers, and I expect the real purpose of their prototype is inducing companies to sign on with them. The technology sounds amazing but the business model sounds challenging. I don't think anybody has managed to make a profit from a satellite voice network, I believe most of the current players are the products of prior bankruptcies.
You can learn more about this outfit at their web site www.msvlp.com and particularly a technical white paper at http://www.msvlp.com/news_docs/papers/ATCREVFeb2.pdf