Subject: [NEXTEL-1] High-Flying Ideas for Wireless Net

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December 19, 2002

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The prototype Stratellite, seen here, reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. Developers say Stratellites about the height of a 26-story building will be able to carry wireless communication gear as high as 13 miles — over 68,000 feet.

(21st Century Airships)

New Heights for Wireless Net Access?

High-Flying Blimps and Planes to Deliver Fast Web Everywhere

By Paul Eng

Dec. 20

— Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's… your high-speed wireless Internet access provider?

It sounds a bit farfetched, but several companies have been trying to develop high-flying alternatives to limited, land-based Net services.

The problem with conventional fast Internet connections, such as digital cable modems or digital subscriber line (DSL) services, is that such wired networks typically don't reach many suburban and rural areas of the country.

And even in urban areas, where cable TV and telephone networks are prevalent, such services still might not be available if the local service provider hasn't upgraded the wires and cables into a particular neighborhood or building — the so-called last mile.

That's why several companies, including Sanswire Technologies of Atlanta, say the answer to providing ubiquitous broadband Net access is up in the air — literally.

The company is working with a Canadian airship maker called 21st Century Airships to develop so-called Stratellites.

These high-tech blimps could carry up to 4,000 pounds of telecommunications gear and float it up to 13 miles into the stratosphere. At that height, far above any conventional commercial air traffic or turbulent weather patterns, the Stratellite would act as a wireless communications hub to provide wireless voice and data services for an area of up to 300,000 square miles.

"It's perfect for outlying areas that can't get broadband telephone or cable [TV] access," says Sanswire CEO Michael K. Molen. "[Subscribers] just put up a small antenna and they're in business."

Building a Better Blimp?

Sanswire's Stratellite concept is similar to other high-flying proposals that have been floated among the telecommunication industry in recent years. Sky Station International, based in Washington, D.C., had proposed similar airship-based systems, but has yet to get off the ground.

But Molen says Sanswire's Stratellite solution is different from Sky Station's and other companies' schemes in several ways.

The key differentiator is the airships themselves.

Stratellites are perfect spheres with all of the electronic communication equipment carried within the special Kevlar fabric of the round airship. Since the blimps don't have any external gondolas or control fins, the airships are extremely efficient and aerodynamic — especially at high altitudes.

"Existing airships that are cigar-shaped have to make big wide turns to remain 'on-station,' or over one area," says Molen. "And it's difficult to transmit from a moving target like that."

Hokan Colting, chief executive officer of 21st Century Airships in Newmarket, Ontario, says the round blimps have already been proven to go higher than any other lighter-than-air craft.

"We have flown numerous prototypes to 10,000 feet — that's double the normal altitude of most conventional blimps," says Colting. And next year, he says the company plans to test a spherical airship capable of reaching an altitude of 40,000 feet — more than 7 ½ miles up.

The Wonder of WiFi

The other advantage of Sanswire's setup, says Molen, is that Stratellites will use a wireless connection scheme known as 802.11 or "WiFi."

Wireless WiFi networks have become popular among techies for their ability to deliver fast data transfers between computers over short distances of less than 1,000 feet. And so-called WiFi hot spots have appeared in many public areas such as airport lounges and coffee shops.

But companies such as EtherLinx in Campbell, Calif., are working on developing WiFi systems that can operate over tens of miles. And by using those improved WiFi standards, Molen says the Stratellite could become an inexpensive and easily adopted alternative to other proposed wireless Net systems.

Turbulence Rising

Could Stratellites really take off, or will it end up being another pie-in-the-sky pipe dream?

"The concept is interesting and I don't doubt it will work," says Tim Barajin, president and founder of Creative Strategies, a computer technology consulting firm also located in Campbell. "But there are some pitfalls."

For one, Barajin notes that the Federal Communication Commission has yet to clear WiFi for operation beyond short ranges. And as reported by The New York Times earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Defense may soon seek limitations on WiFi systems arguing that the transmissions may be interfering with commercial and military aviation radar systems.

"[WiFi] and all the work being done on it is one of the most exciting areas we've seen in portable computing and ubiquitous connectivity in a long time," says Bajarin. "But it's way too early to tell what will work and what will not work."

Both Sanswire's Molen and 21st Century Airships' Colting admit that it will take some time before the Stratellite fully takes off the ground.

For one, they still have to prove that the airships can reach the 13-mile altitude and operate all of the wireless equipment as proposed. The companies had originally planned to test that hypothesis last week, but "we had some issues," says Molen.

Taking Wing of a High-Flying Concept

Still, the overall concept is fairly sound and proven to work.

Last July, SkyTower in Monrovia, Calif., had successfully demonstrated its own high-flying communication system using a solar-powered plane called Pathfinder Plus. In those tests, SkyTower's plane circled 65,000 feet — more than 12 miles — above the Hawaiian island of Kauai and beamed down voice, data and video images to handheld cell phones.

Stuart Hindle, vice president of strategy and business development at SkyTower, says that it's taken the company more than two years of development work with NASA to get to the current level of progress. But there are still plenty of challenges to overcome.

For example, to ensure that the high-altitude systems will work continuously for months at a time, new power systems will have to be carried aloft along with the electronics gear. Hindle says the company will try using a modified fuel-cell system that creates electricity from hydrogen and air to try to keep the plane aloft for days at a time.

"We're in discussions and planning for a multi-day flight with a flight-weight fuel cell system next year," says Hindle. If the test goes as planned, Hindle says commercial wireless service could begin as early as 2005.

Both Sanswire and 21st Century Airship also believe that their Stratellite system could be commercially ready in the same time frame.

Both companies are planning to begin the delayed high-altitude test in 2003. But Colting says he won't needlessly rush the development of his high-altitude airships.

"We have to take our time and go step by step," says Colting. "We have to do it properly."

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SUMMARY

Several companies are developing wireless Internet systems that use high-altitude aircraft, including specially designed blimps.

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