News of Norway, issue 9, 1996
"We are very exited... and even at this very early stage, trials have been going extremely well," said Telenor satelite services managing director Knut Reed "This product means that all travelers, from aid workers to businessmen, will be able to go literally anywhere in the world secure in the knowledge" that they can keep in touch with each other and the home office.
Through satellites in stationary orbits high above the earth, users of this new "world telephone" may communicate with any telephone user in the world. The price of this phone is around $4,000, and fees for calls are about $3 a minute. The equipment is easy to use and weighs only about four pounds. The new telephone functions just like an ordinary GMS mobile phone and runs on batteries that can be recharged by car generators.
Developing the world smallest satellite phone required teamwork. It started in 1992 as 30 researchers and engineers from NERA, another Norwegian telecommunica-tions company, joined the development team. Telenor also received help from SINTEF and NTNU in Trondheim.
Norwegian Telenor Satellite Services is now cooperating with British Telecom to offer global services. Together they market the new product as Mobiq.
Firm’s History
On January 1, 1995, Televerket AS changed its name to Telenor AS. The company that had been state-owned emerged with a business-orientated organization . With some 18,500 employees and annual revenue of 20 billion kroner,Telenor is one of the biggest companies in Norway. Its operations are divided into seven areas.
The company is Norway’s market leader in the fields of telecommunications, data services and media distribution. Its services cover everything from simple telephone subscriptions to installation and operation of complete information technology systems. Internationally Telenor concentrates on mobile telephony and on strengthening its leading position in satellite communications.
In Europe Telenor AS is now a leading provider of international satellite operations and terrestrial wireless systems. It operates cellular and paging businesses in Norway, Poland, Hungary and Russia, and has the highest traffic earth station within IMMARSAT satellite networks. Telenor has annual revenues of about $3 billion.
NORCOM- Sister Company in the USA
NORCOM Networks Corporation, a subsidiary of Telnor AS, is the first U.S. provider of a high-speed, mobile satellite communications network that serves the commercial vehicle industry. It is located in McLean, Virginia, near the nation’s capital, and its largest shareholder is Telenor. The company’s services branch, NORNET, offers coverage throughout North America.
A mobile satellite network is a wireless communication system that uses satellites to relay signals to and from mobile units such as cars, trucks, ships and airplanes. A satellite network’s use is functionally similar to that of ground-based mobile radio and cellular services. However, because satellite service is largely unaffected by distance or terrain, mobile satellite systems provide communications service to customers with wide-area coverage needs. Truck drivers that deliver goods across long distances, across the United States, for example, may use this system to advantage. I In addition to the commercial vehicle market, NORCOM’s key markets are maritime, aeronautical, governmental and fixed-site. The fixed-site data networks include security systems and natural gas, crude oil, propane and water pipelines. NORCOM will begin commercial operations in early 1997 with a staff of around 40.
NORCOM Networks Corporation
1420 Springhill RD suite 420
McLean VA 22102
Phone: (703) 903-9192
Fax: (703) 903-9528
Telenor AS Head Office:
Universitetsgt.2
P.O. Box 6701 St. Olavs pl.
N-0130 Oslo
Phone: +47 22 77 89 90
Fax: +47 22 77 89 19