Stratellite

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Image of Sanswire One, a prototype Stratellite.

Stratellite is a brand name (Stratellite is a trademark of Sanswire Network, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of GlobeTel Communications Corp.) for a proposed high-altitude stratospheric airship that would provide a stationary communications platform for various types of wireless signals currently carried by communications towers or satellites.

1 Details
2 Specifications
3 Company details
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Details

High-altitude airships, like the Stratellite, would hover lower than an orbiting satellite, but far above the jet stream and most weather, in the stratosphere approximately 13 mi (20 km) above the Earth. A single unit could then send broadband, mobile phone and digital television and radio signals to a large area.

In comparison, lag times would reduced by a factor of nearly 2000 for geostationary satellites, and 15 for low orbiting satellites but with a smaller coverage area. When compared to terrestrial communications towers, Stratellite coverage would be larger, with lag times being more a function of internal communications equipment rather than distance.^{[citation needed]}

Broadband coverage of 300,000 m² (777,000 km²), roughly the size of Texas or France, is planned, however strong demand will probably require multiple units for an area this size. Wireless signals could be transmitted to and from a 200 mi (320 km) diameter, but terrain features and man-made structures could partially or locally interfere with the signal.^{[citation needed]} ^{[dubious — see talk page]}

Since the Stratellite is designed for regular returns to the surface for maintenance (see below), some overlap and redundancy would be required to maintain continuous service. Sanswire Networks, the company behind the Stratellite, initially plans to deploy this technology over major metropolitan areas.^{[citation needed]}

Proponents claim a high-altitude communications platform, like the Stratellite, could make terrestrial broadcast towers obsolete, reducing the cost and time required for hardware updates. An update made to a single unit would effectively cascade to an entire grid of virtual broadcast towers. It will be possible to bring broadband service to a wide area currently without terrestrial towers quickly and with relative ease.^{[citation needed]}

The unmanned Stratellite would be powered by solar cells and propelled by electric motors. When complete, it will resemble a 245 ft (75 m) blue whale, only twice as long and and roughly eight times the volume.^{[citation needed]}

Engineers currently doubt Sanswire's ability to maintain duration aloft as stated.

[edit] Specifications

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Length: 245 ft (75 m)
Width: 145 ft (44 m)
Height: 87 ft (26.5 m)
Volume: 1.3 million ft³ (37,000 m³)
Dual envelopes, made of Dyneema (sometimes called Spectra)
Propulsion: electric motors powered by photovoltaic solar units covering outer envelope manufactured by Iowa Thin Film
Navigation: 6 onboard GPS units connected to the ship's engines
Payload capacity: 3,000 lb (1,400 kg)
Maximum altitude: 70,000 ft (21,000 m)
Cruising altitude: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)
Lifting gas: Helium and Nitrogen
Line-of-sight: 300,000 mile² (777,000 km²)
Maximum duration aloft: 18 months
Maximum duration of Shareprice spike: 2-3 days

[edit] Company details

The word Stratellite is a trademark of Sanswire Network, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of GlobeTel Communications Corp. Formerly (AMEX:GTE) as of October 11, 2006 (GTEM.PK)[1] The company held a summit in January 2005 to discuss commercial, international and military opportunities. On April 12th, 2005, Sanswire 1 was shown to the public. The company announced on October 19th, 2006 that its Sanswire 2A technology demonstrator completed its first outdoor, low altitude, float test. Sanswire expects to test the airship over a period of at least 90 days.

The company currently developing the Stratellite, Globetel was delisted from the American Stock Exchange on October 10th, 2006.[2] The Securities & Exchange Commission is currently investigating the company.[3] Many investors have claimed to have lost large sums of money investing in the Stratellite Technology to date. It has been alleged that the company and its products are not going to succeed, the management is weak, and soon the Stratellite program will be closed down or disbanded.[4][5] These allegations come in the wake of multiple class action lawsuits filed against the company stemming from a previous agreement the company allegedly formed with previously unknown entity Internafta. [6][7][8] It is important to note certain of these allegations originate from individual investors, therefore, actual losses are difficult to verify.

The company, Globetel, as of October 11, 2006 now trades under the symbol GTEM.pk on the pinksheets.[9] Stocks trading on the Pink Sheets (recognizable with a .PK suffix) have little to no regulatory or listing requirements whatsoever, at least compared to major markets. There are no minimum accounting standards, change in notification of ownership of shares, and reported other material changes affecting the financial viability of a company, all of which are designed to protect shareholders.[10][11][12][13]

On October 12th, 2006 Timothy Huff stepped down from his position of CEO and also resigned from the Board of Directors.[14] J. Randolph Dumas stepped down as Chairman of the Board. Independent directors Dorian Klein and Ambassador Ferdinando Salleo have also agreed to resign.[15] Przemyslaw L. Kostro, former Chairman of GlobeTel Communications, returns to that position in the interim, succeeding J. Randolph Dumas. Peter Khoury has been named interim Chief Executive Officer and a director, succeeding Timothy Huff.[16] On November 2nd, 2006 in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, GTEM announced that Lawrence Lynch was no longer the Company's acting Chief Financial Officer.[17]

Sanswire is not the first company to propose such a craft. Similar proposals have been made by Advanced Technologies Group (ATG) in Bedford, England, SkyLINK, Inc, in England, and SkyTower Inc., a subsidiary of AeroVironment Inc. in Monrovia, California, in the United States.