Mobile Satellite Communications Handbook, 2nd Edition

Chapter 9Other Important Mobile Satellite Communications Systems

While the purpose of this book is to review and describe mobile satellite communications systems, as noted previously, quite a few satellite communications systems that are primarily designed for fixed satellite services (FSS) are also used for mobile satellite services (MSS). Two notable examples of this have already been described: OmniTRACS' use of Ku-band satellites, including those of Societe Europeenne des Satellites (SES), and Intelsat's planned Ka-/Ku-/C-band Epic system, which is evidently being designed in substantial part for MSS. There are several others however, including both domestic and international satellite systems and systems that use both geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO) and medium earth orbit (MEO) orbits. In this chapter, we examine several satellite systems that offer services relevant to any examination of mobile satellite communications systems.

Any chapter of this sort could address a very long list of satellite communications systems which in one way or another provide mobile services or services to mobile users. Our purpose here is to describe those that for market, regulatory, technological, or other reasons require some commentary and description in any balanced review of mobile satellite communications in second decade of the 21st century. These include domestic and international, GEO and MEO, L-band, Ku-band, and Ka-band systems.

9.1 O3b

O3b, which stands for the term “other ...