SWANsat
Super-Wide Area Network Satellite (SWANsat) is a Satellite_constellation of at least 3 Geosynchronous_orbiting high powered satellites. It is planned to launch around 2011. Effectively, it will be a global Internet_service_provider. It claims an increase in potential worldwide wireless broadband internet capacity of around 600 million connections per satellite. It states that the end user will only need a handheld Mobile_device to connect to the system.
Licence: SWANsat is licensed by the Republic of Nauru to operate 10 GHz 71-76 (downlink) and 81-86 (uplink) of spectrum in the Extremely_high_frequency Electromagnetic Band.
Corporate Capability: Those involved in the SWANsat project include the inventors, builders and owners of GPS and Iridium_(satellite); a retired Chief of Staff, four-star Army General_(United_States); a former CEO of Western_Digital; satellite architects involved in the Teledesic project as well as Sandia_National_Laboratories. The SWANsat CEO was a member of the UN_ICT_Task_Force and has made numerous presentations in UN sponsored forums and summits.
Shareware Telecommunications Model: SWANsat has published an economic model that could provide developing country residents access to the SWANsat Satellite service for as little as $1 per month. It is hailed as an effective way to bridge the Global_digital_divide. The model argues the path to sustainably development is through Information_and_Communication_Technologies_for_Development. The model claims to be inspired by the concept of Bottom_of_the_pyramid economics.
Specifically, the Shareware model states that after meeting a modest business model target of full paying subscribers in richer countries, it will start to offer the SWANsat service to underserved and unserved countries. One additional full paying subscriber will release 40 shareware accounts & possibly handsets. For example, 10 million full subscriptions will release 400 million shareware accounts.
The model's underlying concept is summarized as:
Kofi_Annan stated that ICT is the pre-cursor to development:
“While education unlocks the door to development, increasingly it is information technologies that can unlock the door to education.”
Developed Countries, who are signatories to the United Nation's Monterrey_Consensus should consider allocating a portion of their Official_development_assistance budget towards Information Communication Infrastructure projects, such as SWANsat.
Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank Group’s Global ICT Department reported: “Two competing assumptions regarding the buildout of information and communications infrastructure (ICI) in developing countries are that ‘the private sector alone is enough’ and ‘the government must take the lead role.’ In fact, both have crucial roles to play”
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ict/resources.nsf/InfoResources/04C3CE1B933921A585256FB60051B8F5 SWANsat (private sector) claims to be the next generation of Information Communication Infrastructure (ICI).
The cost of thee satellite deployment is stated as $10 billion. Calculated as a ratio of "capital expenditure-to-potential subscribers" it is less than $6 per connection.
Related links Categories: Satellites | Telecommunications | Technology | Poverty | Digital Divide activists http://www.algebra.com/algebra/about/history/SWANsat.wikipedia Retrieved from wikipedia.org | 
