Subject: [NEXTEL-1] More On Satellite Phones Restricted In Iraq

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2003 14:00:39 -0500

Satellite Phones Restricted In Iraq

Both Iraqi and U.S. officials are restricting the use of satellite phones in the
region. The U.S. military banned phones from the Thuraya Satellite
Telecommunications Company, an Arab-owned provider whose phones have
built-in satellite positioning. Officials saw the GPS technology as potentially
betraying the location of Coalition units. The ban is extended to both military
troops and journalists. Citing an "authorized source," Iraqi television said Iraqis
were advised to surrender their satellite phones so the government could
identify "infiltrating" transmissions. This announcement came shortly after a
statement attributed to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein offering rewards to
those who turn in spies and those working with U.S.-led forces.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updated April 2, 2003 11:54 p.m.

U.S., Iraq Both Impose Bans
On Thuraya Satellite Phones

Associated Press

Both the U.S. military and the Iraqi government are
now restricting the use of satellite phones.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that U.S.
commanders were expanding to all of Iraq a ban on
the use of satellite phones from the Thuraya Satellite
Telecommunications Co. of the United Arab
Emirates. The indefinite ban applies both to U.S.
units and the journalists traveling with them, said
Marine Lt. Col. David Lapan in Washington. Last
week the military had imposed a temporary ban in
some areas, saying they feared the Iraqis could
pinpoint the location of front-line units with Thuraya
phones (www.thuraya.com).

Also Wednesday, Iraqi television carried an official
appeal to the population to hand over their satellite
phones so it is easier to identify "infiltrating"
transmissions. The government appealed to those
"working with the enemy" to surrender their phones
to authorities. Failure to do so, it warned, would
leave authorities with no choice but to treat offenders
as spies.

The U.S. military says units from the Arab-owned
provider with built-in satellite positioning are
potentially betraying the location of its units while
Iraq's government apparently wants to be able to
ferret out American agents and commando units.

Satellite telephones have been a lifeline for reporters
in the region and are also routinely carried by U.S.
troops. Unlike other major satphones, Thurayas can
use the U.S. military's global satellite positioning
system, or GPS, for navigation purposes. The GPS
system relies on radio signals from a constellation of
more than two dozen satellites and has broad military
and civilian uses.

Thuraya says its phones are accurate to within 100
yards, but company Chairman Mohammad Omran
says subscribers must activate the phones' GPS
function to be tracked. With the GPS function
activated, the phone can send a short message with location details.

However, it is theoretically possible to locate a satphone that lacks GPS functions by
measuring the
direction of its signals from at least two locations. It would be "expensive but feasible"
for the Iraqis to
acquire the equipment do so, said Michel Fattouche, chief technology officer at Cell-Loc
Inc., a
Canadian company that makes locating equipment for cellular networks. They could
conceivably locate
satellite phones within about six miles of the locating equipment, with an accuracy of 300
feet to 1,000
feet, he said.

Mr. Fattouche called Iraq's banning of unapproved satellite phones crucial, since they
would otherwise
have no way of telling which transmissions come from the enemy.

Last week's ban by the U.S. left news organizations scrambling. Many journalists have had
to replace
Thurayas with phones from rival carriers, including Iridium Satellite (www.iridium.com),
an Arlington,
Va.-based company whose biggest single client is the U.S. Department of Defense.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB104934033519835600-search,00.html?collection=wsjie%2F30day&vql_string=Satellite+Phones+%3Cin%3E%28article%2Dbody%29

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