Providing the rocket doesn’t blow up, Mobile Broadcasting Corp. here, and SK Telecom in Korea should start a 70-channel satellite-to-mobile S-Band (2.6GHz) broadcasting service this June. We sort of wrote this company off last year, but Samsung’s announcement that it is developing a cell phone for the service has peaked our interest a little.
After the consolidation of digital satellite broadcasting in the Japanese market a few years ago, huge competition from state broadcaster NHK and the blossoming potential of 3G, WWJ can’t see where a satellite-based system fits into the picture.
This company was launched as part of Toshiba Corp.’s plans to improve the fortunes of its former space systems division, which gained noteriety in Japan through the 90s for its malfunctioning components, which ruined several extremely expensive Japanese research satellites. Until the late 90s, it appeared that satellite-based services presented a solution to high-bandwidth global telecomminications, and even Bill Gates got caught up in the hype.
Anyone remember the Teledesic Internet in the Sky constellation? That’s right because if you do, you might remember that it never got off the ground, and if you don’t, it’s because the promised satellite based communications revolution proved so many pies in the sky.
Anyway MBCO are boldly going where other people have gone before and failed, or taken a closer look and run away.
Check out this article for the latest skinny.
In the mean time, fingers crossed for them for the lauch.
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