Boost for Union’s Internet satellite system

Date: 20/11/1997

By Peter Chapman

THE EU's answer to Bill Gates' 'Internet in the sky' Teledesic satellite system is set to get a massive boost this week, with governments expected to support moves to give the necessary slice of the airwaves to a French rival.

Sources close to the negotiations at the World Radiocommunications Conference '97 (WRC '97) in Geneva say a last-minute deal between countries taking part in the rival schemes will be sewn up, allowing French company Alcatel Alsthom's Skybridge system - a 3-billion-ecu project for a constellation of 64 earth-encircling satellites - to go ahead.

In a trade-off between the parties, both Teledesic and Skybridge are now set to win the parts of the radio frequencies they need for their systems.

The move follows months of tension, amid fears that a coalition of countries would back calls from supporters of the US government-backed Teledesic project to block the competing Skybridge plan at this month's conference, even though the two systems can work alongside each other without a problem.

"There's no problem in terms of radio frequency. It was more a case of the other systems planning to try to block their competitors. The rumours now are that they have come to an agreement," said one source.

A Skybridge success would wipe out the bitter memory of the WRC '95 conference two years ago, when a US delegation led by Vice-President Al Gore pushed Teledesic to the top of the agenda, much to the annoyance of EU industry, governments and Telecoms Commissioner Martin Bangemann.

This time, Skybridge mobilised its own lobbying campaign led by the French government with the support of the EU and the 43-country European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT).

If its bid for radio frequency is confirmed tomorrow (21 November) as expected, Skybridge will launch the 64 'low earth-orbiting' satellites in time for services to begin in 2001 - a year ahead of Teledesic's 8-billion-ecu rival system.

Like Teledesic, Skybridge will offer business and personal customers fast global Internet access and data transmission delivered through national and regional operators.

It is not, however, designed to compete with the crop of satellite telephony systems, such as the Motorola-backed Iridium system, which is also expected to hit the market over the next three years.