Iridium profits up
Rising from the dead. The satellite phone company Iridium, once bankrupt, reports strong growth in sales and subscribers.
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Rising from the dead. The satellite phone company Iridium, once bankrupt, reports strong growth in sales and subscribers.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Still have trouble seeing how they can keep and upgrade a multi-billion $ fleet of sats, on subscriber revenuews of under $100M a year.
Must be getting a big grant from the mil.
Frankly, if I was a deepwater boater or middle of nowhere hiker – these would be a must have!
I strongly considered renting a sat phone for a caving expedition to Mexico last year but found it to be cost prohibitive. Much to my surprise we had cell reception at our camp which was about a 6 hour 4WD drive from the nearest town! With ever expanding cell coverage I would imagine the consumer demand for sat phones would be in decline. As Kelly said it must be a military order.
> With ever expanding cell coverage I would imagine the consumer demand for sat phones would be in decline.<
Iridium (and other sat networks) origionally hoped to get to the market before the continents were wired with fiber adn cell towers, but weer sandbagged by regulations. I often wonder how the world would be with a global phone and internet networks? Course I suppose you'ld still need back up cells in downtowns.