The Rise and Fall of Satellite Personal Communication Systems

Satellite personal communications were expected to form a very successful market, reaching many millions of customers. The market functioned, however it has been, instead, a big business failure. The book examines the rise and fall of the Satellite Personal Communication Systems (SPCS) from an interdisciplinary approach. It describes the technology of a market formed on the basis of heavy investment, which traded international personal communication capacity through the use of mobile satellite networks. Moreover, it analyses the main actors and their business strategies that have lead pioneers to failure. In addition, it focuses on the regulatory efforts, which proved unsuccessful in saving the market from collapsing. The analysis, based on the interaction of various parameters (technology, law, actors and market) forms an interesting level-playing field.