Thread: Possible End of N900 era on t-mobile US
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biketool is offline biketool
2020-08-02 , 07:58
Posts: 1,432 | Thanked: 2,630 times | Joined on Jan 2011 @ Touring
#19
Originally Posted by ka9yhd View Post
I know that some of the remote areas of Alaska are using microwave links for phone service in the small towns.
And going to such a remote area, you might need a satellite phone.
Yes there will be cell coverage in the large cities such as Fairbanks.
Much of the western US used to be linked by mountain top microwave horn emplacements. I think most are replaced by fiber now.
When you get high enough even the up to 45 degree LEO sats like Globalstar get hard to access, forget geostationary orbit inmarsat to low on the useful horizon and I guess only Iridium with its LEO polar coverage comes into it's prime. IDK most of the time I would be in Anchorage but yea if I have to go north I guess it is wireline, QRP HF amateur radio or Iridium along with all of the offline data I can stuff into flash drives.

I noticed inmarsat recently tossed up data package on three Molinya orbit birds to give virtual geostationary coverage to the norther polar area. No idea how mobile the equipment is, probably is a steered dish antenna or a phased array pizza box like starlink.
https://paxex.aero/2019/07/inmarsat-gx-arctic-coverage/
that has to be some wicked doppler.
 

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