Disqus
As anyone who has lived through a natural disaster in Japan can attest to, making a cell phone call during, and in the hours following, a disaster is all but impossible. In a country under constant threat (and temblors) of earthquakes, emergency communication is a top priority. And, as such, the Japanese Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has announced plans to launch a satellite dish large enough to pick up a signal from an ordinary handset – with little modification. Emergency calls could be made through satellite-based networks, rather than land-based networks which are likely to be knocked offline. In order to receive signals from the relatively small antennas of mobile phones, the proposed satellite would need an antenna with a 50-meter diameter. In comparison, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s largest satellite, to-date, measured 19-meters in diameter – Kiku No. 8. The new 50-meter satellite is slated to launch sometime in 2015.
If you thought wireless calling plans were expensive. Imagine what the bill for a satellite call might look like!
About The Author
Will Park
Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...
