On a cold winter night, a mother driving with her children loses control of her car, plows off the road and crunches into a rock. Everyone is belted in, so injuries are minor. But the car is damaged and stuck, and help is miles away.

A fierce tornado tears up a small town. Homes and businesses are smashed, phone and power poles down. Many people are hurt, several are critically injured.

A Border Patrol officer spots suspicious activity in a remote area. Shadowy figures are sneaking into the country...illegal immigrants, maybe terrorists. He'll need backup.

These scenarios share one critically important need: fast, reliable communications. Injured victims, witnesses, emergency responders, medical personnel, family members and media of all types will be trying to communicate to and from the affected areas.

And--as so many discovered to their dismay on Sept. 11, 2001--the cellular phones on which most of us rely may not do the job. Transmitting towers, switches and land lines may be down, and the sudden overload ("surge") of thousands of simultaneous calls may bog down or crash terrestrial systems. And cellular service is not even available in many remote areas.

What is the answer to cellular's remaining weaknesses? Reliable, affordable satellite-based telecommunications.

A New North American System

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently ruled that mobile satellite operators can also provide terrestrial wireless services for "ubiquitous" (available everywhere) coverage and awarded Boeing Satellite Systems the frequencies needed for such a system. This enables Boeing to build a telecommunications satellite system that is fully interoperable with terrestrial wireless networks. A two-satellite system (one primary, one backup) will provide complete coverage for the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

One of the first and most important applications will be to enhance the fast-growing field of automotive telematics, which combines the mobility provided by the automobile with the connectivity of modern communications. Systems such as GM's OnStar already provide personal security and driving support, navigation and traffic information, accident and breakdown notification, vehicle telediagnostics and repair, theft protection and vehicle tracking, remote unlocking service and additional services to millions of customers nationwide. Additional telematics applications that will benefit greatly from anytime, anywhere connectivity include fleet management for large commercial vehicle fleets and fail-safe communications for emergency first-responders, the U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security.

The third-generation (3G) satellite system Boeing is currently designing and planning to launch in about three years to serve North America is the next step beyond Thuraya, its first GEO-mobile telecommunications satellite system. Thuraya includes a GPS receiver in its handset and can transmit data at 144 kilobytes per second, three times the rate of land-based phone modems. "We can leverage from what we've already done and take that design to the next generation," says Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) Senior Vice President Charles Toups.

Boeing believes it has a lot to offer the automotive telematics industry by bringing satellite capability to augment terrestrial systems. "OnStar, for example, operates off a terrestrial system," Toups says. "Satellites will be an excellent complement to that because they will provide ubiquitous coverage across the U.S. or, in fact, all of North America. It would be very expensive to build a terrestrial system to cover all of that area."

Satellites will also provide surge capability. "If you're in an area where the terrestrial systems are overwhelmed," Toups says, "you can have a satellite system smart enough that the telematics in your vehicle will uplink to it. Whether it's in a dense urban area or the middle of nowhere, you will have assured connectivity."

Toups points out that his wife's car has OnStar, and he appreciates the security it provides. "And the more robust that system is," he says, "the more value it will provide. OnStar--and others such as ATX, which supports Nissan, Infiniti and a few others--can continue to evolve in terms of what applications and services they provide, and we can evolve along with them. We're not trying to create our own telematics system; we're working to create a system that complements and enhances the connectivity of existing systems. We see this as a natural extension."

Partnerships

Availability for '06-model vehicles will depend on completion of partnership agreements with telecommunications companies ("telcos"), automakers, suppliers, handset makers, chip builders and others by mid-2003. "It takes about two and a half years to develop a new satellite and three to four years to have it up and running," Toups explains. "We have a major design review this July, and we're working very aggressively to put this together by then."

Designing, developing and launching this very robust two-satellite system will cost about $2 billion. Partners in the venture--who might also be owners, depending on their agreements and contributions--could include a variety of companies that stand to benefit and profit from it:

Automakers-One or a group of original equipment manufacturers (QEMs) could market ubiquitous connectivity to consumers as a competitive advantage and eventually offer it to other QEMs, as GM has with OnStar. "Would I be willing to pay a few extra bucks to know that when my wife is out with my family she has guaranteed access if something happens?" Toups asks. "I would sign up for that in a heartbeat. I really think it will be an advantage that will influence purchasing decisions." QEMs might also want to sell it to fleet customers as a fleet management tool for scheduling, dispatching, routing, even service and maintenance, and as fail-safe communications in many thousands of emergency vehicles.

Suppliers--Companies that build components for onboard telematics should be very interested in getting on board. "When DIRECTV started, RCA had an agreement to develop and build a large number of the receivers before Sony and others could make them," Toups points out. "We certainly should have strategic suppliers who want to hook up and get the competitive advantage, help set the standard and influence where it's going."

Telecommunications companies-"We have been talking to a number of telcos," Toups says. "It could be several, or one may want to do the whole thing with us and be the only one."

Handset makers, chip makers, etc.--"The potential market is huge, so when you have that big a market, you will have companies who want to be part of the original partnership."

The Federal Government-What if Homeland Security wanted fail-safe mobile communications in all of its vehicles, including the fighter jets that go up in crisis situations? What if the Border Patrol wanted OnStar in all of its vehicles? "There are a lot of borders, including the Michigan/Canada border, where telcos are forbidden to install towers," says Toups. "The satellite could fill those holes. The Federal Government doesn't tend to put money into commercial ventures like this," he adds. "But they do buy time later."

Partnership agreements would vary depending on what each player brings to the table and what it expects from the deal. Automakers and suppliers might contribute--some investment up front, some down the road--based on exclusivity and expected volume. "There are different ways to do it," Toups explains. "You can structure a partnership where the investors are the owners. Another capability that Boeing brings to the table is Boeing Capital Corp., which can provide financing to partners who invest and are committed to the system."

One of the key factors that will make this venture successful where others have failed is that the satellites will be in geosynchronous orbit--a 24-hour orbit that keeps them in exactly the same spot relative to Earth. Boeing's DIRECTV satellites are geosynchronous, as are Boeing's XM Radio and Thuraya satellites. "It's a much more cost-effective way to provide satellite service," Toups asserts. "We're the pioneers and leaders in geosynchronous satellites, we've been doing it for 40 years, and we have more than 150 satellites in geosynchronous orbit today."

Another of Boeing's strengths is system integration of "network-centric" operations, including signal processing and security. "It's not just a box in the car and a satellite," Toups explains. "It's the whole system, how you put it together, the software and processing power that make the network work. The expertise we have from our government business--in which Boeing is extremely strong--coupled with our commercial expertise give us a tremendous advantage in designing, building and launching this system."

How It Works

John Sullivan, BSS's Chief Engineer, End-to-End Systems, explains that today's terrestrial cellular systems cover somewhere between 82% and 95% of the populated areas of the U.S. Most of their expensive base stations, switches and transmitters have naturally been installed where the most people are and the most calls are made. Far fewer are in remote, less populated areas, resulting in major gaps in service availability.

Boeing's new satellite system will supplement these systems by filling in those gaps. Its primary attraction for millions of mobile phone users will be ubiquitous coverage. It will also provide critically important backup capability during system surges and situations where land-based systems experience interruptions and outages. And, like Fhuraya, it will include GPS positioning and high-speed data transmission capability. Today's cell phone providers are very interested in being involved, Sullivan says, "because they see it as one of the few economical ways of covering sparsely populated areas."

Such ubiquitous coverage will have tremendous importance for mobile security and convenience systems such as OnStar, as well as for police, fire, Border Patrol, Homeland Security and others needing reliable communications during emergencies and in remote as well as highly populated areas.

"We are planning to deploy new satellites that will provide two-way communication links from wherever you are to wherever you want to connect," Sullivan says. "In the city, your equipment will detect the presence of the terrestrial system and connect to it. It may also detect the satellite, but will choose the terrestrial system when that's available. When you leave an area covered by your terrestrial system, your equipment will see the satellite and switch to that link. You'll have a seamless transition to satellite coverage. There will be no second phone number or second bill and no need to buy an additional phone."

Existing cell phones should be easily adaptable to work with the satellite system. "We would make minor changes to allow the phone to operate at the additional frequency that the satellite uses," Sullivan says. "On Thuraya, we have a phone that does both, and we're getting to where we can minimize what we have to do to enable both."

New handsets designed to work with the satellite will be small, attractive and versatile. "We'll be going from a 12-1/4-meter reflector on the satellite to one roughly twice as big, which will provide greater performance and enable the user equipment to go from larger, less attractive and satellite specific to a compact unit indistinguishable from a regular cell phone. It will also make it easier for an automotive designer to blend an antenna into a car in a very cosmetically appealing way."

Why does a larger satellite allow smaller equipment? "As you make the phone smaller," Sullivan explains, "you're decreasing its power and performance. You're making the phone antenna and power amplifier smaller, maybe going from a 2-watt to a 1/4-watt amplifier, which extends battery life and allows a smaller battery. When you make the satellite bigger, you can put a bigger antenna on it for a more powerful signal and use larger, more powerful amplifiers. The system's job is to close a communications link If you increase performance on one side of the link, you can afford to decrease performance on the other side."

Larger satellites require a somewhat larger investment up front, but the potential payoff is huge. "To close the gap from the low-volume niche market to the high-volume mass market," Sullivan says, "we need to close the gap in the equipment the consumer is touching. To make the transition in service transparent to the customer, we need to ensure the same quality or better service and the same rich set of features regardless of which system you're using."

Sullivan points out that today's terrestrial cell phone systems are migrating to 3G systems. "We intend to deploy a satellite that will be 3G and anticipating where 4G is going to make sure we're there. In the satellite business, you have to be capable of supporting future technologies."

RELATED ARTICLE: What Is a Satellite?

A satellite is something that goes around and around something larger, like the earth or another planet. The moon is a natural satellite of the earth. Man-made satellites travel around the earth and do many kinds of jobs.

Some satellites send and receive television signals. A station on the earth's surface sends the signal to the satellite, which receives the signal and rebroadcasts it to other places on the earth.

Also, some satellites send and receive telephone, fax, and computer communications. They make it possible to communicate by telephone, fax, Internet, or computer with anyone in the world.

A satellite can carry a camera as it travels in its orbit and take pictures of the whole earth. Satellite pictures can help experts predict the weather, because from the satellite, the camera can actually see the weather coming. The weather reporters on TV get their information from these scientists.

Satellites also take very accurate images and measurements of the earth's surface, sending back information that tells scientists about changes going on around the world and about crops, water, and other resources.

The Boeing 376 satellite, built by Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS), is used mostly for broadcast and cable television.

A larger BSS-built satellite, the Boeing 601, serves many purposes, including direct broadcast TV such as DIRECTV. The Boeing 601 satellite relays the TV signal from the ground to a very small satellite dish. It also relays telephone, fax, and computer communications. The Boeing 601 has a box-shaped center with several antenna reflectors that look like big dinner plates. Long, wing-like structures attach on two sides. These are the solar panels. The outside of the solar panels or wings is covered with solar cells, which convert the sun's energy to electricity.

The Boeing 702 is the most powerful commercial satellite in the world. This giant has a wingspan of nearly 133 feet--more than a Boeing 737 jet plane.

A kind of rocket-powered taxicab called a launch vehicle carries a satellite from earth into space. The satellite starts out circling the earth in a temporary orbit. Then one or more motors attached to the satellite move it into its permanent orbit, where it points toward earth and its antennas and solar panels deploy--that is, they unfold and spread out so the satellite can begin sending and receiving signals.

Satellites improve communication, and that helps people, businesses, and countries all over the world.

Satellite Terms

Attitude control--Keeping a satellite exactly. where it belongs, pointed at exactly the right place on the earth. A jiggling or wandering satellite would interrupt the television program or telephone call it's transmitting to you. When the satellite gets out of position, the attitude control system tells the satellite propulsion system to fire a thruster that moves the satellite back where it belongs.

Bluetooth--A globally recognized open standard for wireless, short-range digital voice and data transmission between mobile devices (such as cell phones and laptops) and desktop devices. It's named for Danish King Harald Blatan (Bluetooth), who united Scandinavia in the 10th century. Using radio waves that travel in all directions instead of line-of-sight, Bluetooth can transmit through walls and other non-metal obstacles A Bluetooth personal area network allows one device to control and share data with up to seven others.

Bus--The satellite structure and equipment that protect, support, and transport the payload. The bus supplies a strong, lightweight framework; electrical power from solar panels and batteries; propulsion; attitude control; heat and cold control; and a way for people on the ground to monitor the satellite's health and send it commands.

COMA--code division multiple access. This digital cell phone technology transmits signals by simultaneously spreading them over the full channel bandwidth. Each conversation receives its own unique code. CDMA offers high security and efficient spectrum use.

Digital signal processor--A very powerful satellite computer. Operating from the ground or mounted aboard a satellite, a DSP can change a satellite payload after it's in orbit, reconfiguring the kind of work it does and where it sends signals. Businesses that use satellites with DSP can change their services to keep up with market changes.

Downlink--A signal sent or relayed from a satellite to a ground receiving terminal.

Footprint--The area on the earth's surface blanketed by a satellite's signal. Satellite designers work hard to shape a satellite's signal to fit its owner's chosen ground area. Coverage outside the targeted footprint would be expensive and wasteful, while incomplete coverage would leave some customers with poor or no service.

GPS--Global Positioning System, operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. This satellite-based radio navigation system can pinpoint a receiving unit's location anywhere on earth. Many cars now offer GPS navigation that can even direct drivers to the nearest gas station, restaurant, hotel, or other point of interest.

GSM--Global system for mobile communications. This is the>l,eading digital cell phone technology in Europe. GSM phone owners plug in a Subscriber Identity Module or SIM card containing user account information, making it easy to rent or borrow GSM phones.

Orbit--The kind of path a satellite follows as it goes around the earth. Here are three examples:

* LEO, or low earth orbit--A satellite in low earth orbit circles the earth 100 to 300 miles above the earth's surface. Because it is close to the earth, it must travel very fast to avoid being pulled out of orbit by gravity and crashing into the earth. Satellites in low earth orbit travel about 17,500 miles per hour. These satellites can circle the whole earth in about 1-1/2 hours.

* MED, or medium earth orbit--Satellites circling 6,000 to 12,000 miles above the earth are in medium-altitude orbit. They stay in sight of a ground receiving station for 2 hours or more, compared to about 10 minutes for LEOs. It takes MEO satellites from 4 to 8 hours to go around the earth.

* GEO, or geostationary earth orbit--Satellites in geostationary 'orbit are positioned over the equator and travel in the same direction as the earth rotates, so they appear to hold still over one spot on the earth. GEO satellites circle the earth in 24 hours at an altitude of 22,282 miles. In this high orbit, they are always able to "see" the receiving stations below, and their signals can cover a large part of the planet. Three GEO satellites can cover the globe, except for the parts at the North and South poles.

Orbital slot--A satellite's assigned "parking place" in space. If satellites are located too close together, they interfere with each other's signals. GEO orbital slots along the equator above populated areas are a scarce and valuable resource.

OSGi--Open Services Gateway Initiative. An industry plan for a standard way to connect devices such as Bluetooth wireless, cable modems, alarm systems, TV set-top boxes, and home appliances to Internet sites that can manage them remotely and interactively.

Payload--The electronics equipment, antennas, and sometimes instruments aboard a satellite that deliver communication services.

Signal--An invisible stream of energy. Words, pictures, or computer data are converted into a signal before being sent up through space to a satellite. The signal then travels down to its destination, where it is converted back to a voice message, picture, or data so that the receiver can receive it.

Spectrum allocation--Assigning the right to use a piece of the radio frequency spectrum (9 kHz to 300 GHz, divided in the U.S. into over 450 frequency bands). The amount of RE spectrum available is limited, and demand is strong. The U.S. government manages the spectrum in the U.S. and prevents interference between broadcasts by allocating portions of spectrum to users through licenses and auctions for licenses.

Spectrum reuse--Companies make the most of their assigned RE spectrum by reusing the same spectrum as many times as possible.

Spot beams--Some satellites can divide their signal into many movable spot beams, like many tight, bright flashlight beams. A spot beam can be aimed at an exact small area on earth, then moved elsewhere to reach new or different customers.

Stationkeeping--Maintaining a satellite in its orbital slot and pointed toward its proper area on earth.

TDMA--Time division multiple access. This cell phone and satellite technology enables a number of users to access a single RF channel by assigning individual time slots to each user within each channel. TOMA is used throughout the world.

Telematics--Wireless two-way voice and data communication between a vehicle and information service providers. The vehicle could be a car, truck, ship, aircraft, or other mobile platform.

Telemetry--Automatic measurement and transmission to the ground of data about a satellite's condition, such as voltages, temperatures switch status, and pressures.

Uplink--A signal or command that connects upward from the ground to the satellite.

Voice recognition--Converting spoken words to computer text. This technology allows cell phone users to make calls hands-free via voice commands.

Why Satellites?

Ubiquitous geographic coverage--Serves entire nation without a gap:

* Complements terrestrial systems

* Safety and security increase, un- and underserved regions decrease

* Consumers enjoy additional services and bigger roaming areas

Ubiquitous service coverage--All users receive service quality at the 2.5 to 3G level and beyond

Ubiquitous time coverage--Service operates 24/7, 365 days a year:

* Immune to storms and other natural disasters

Surge capacity--Overcomes congestion of peak hours and urban areas with movable spot beams, additional voice circuits

Service flexibility--Multiple capabilities for consumers, businesses, and government, including:

* Data and Internet services

* Security, safety, and Homeland Defense

* Broadcasting and multicasting

* Entertainment, ranging from satellite radio to pay-per-view movies in cars

Market adaptability--Onboard spot beams and digital signal processing enable operators to reconfigure coverage areas and types of service after satellite is in orbit:

* Can adjust business plans, add new services in response to market and usage changes

* Backup capability, backward and forward compatibility, and uninterrupted service ensure consumer satisfaction, steady revenue stream

Why Boeing?

Several major factors justify confidence that Boeing will succeed with its mobile wireless venture where other reputable companies have not. Boeing:

* Has already achieved technical and financial success in deploying an international space-based mobile phone system (Thuraya)

* Is the world leader in integrating transportation and communication systems

* Has an S-band Mobile Satellite Services license, applicable to terrestrial spectrum reuse and expanded spectrum for a wireless satellite component

* Will work with highly qualified strategic partners to develop a fully integrated solution

* Will serve multiple diverse markets, both mass consumer and vertical, to establish a long-term customer base with growth and meet strong demand for mobile satellite connectively

* Is totally committed to the space business over the long term

Boeing Timeline

1963

Syncom is launched, becoming the first communications satellite in synchronous orbit.

1976

Marisat, the first maritime communications satellite, links ships on Atlantic, pacific and Indian oceans to shore.

1977

Intelsat IVA, the first satellite to reuse frequencies, thereby doubling capacity.

1994

DBS-I delivers the first digital direct-to-home television broadcasting to North America

2000

Thuraya-1 initiates turnkey GEO-mobile telephony with onboard digital signal processing that can handle up to 13,750 simultaneous calls, serving a region with 1.2 billion residents.

2001

XM Satellite Radio provides state-of-the-art program signals directly to car radios nationwide. The 96-kilowatt satellites deliver digital radio programming to subscribers across the contiguous United States.

2005

GPS IIF will sustain the Global Positioning System constellation. GPS provides signals for continuous day/night, all-weather, three-dimensional positioning for worldwide navigation.