Op-ed | LEO broadband: Will this time be different?

In the late 1990s, I spent three years advising Teledesic on the business plan and customer requirements for the first LEO broadband satellite constellation. We had hoped to serve millions of small businesses and high-end consumers with a cost-effective broadband solution for suburban, rural, and remote areas. However, the Teledesic project was canceled during the dot-com bust when Craig McCaw could not convince himself that the proposed $10 billion satellite system would deliver on its business plan. The terminals were too expensive, and it was far from clear that traditional satellite contractors like Boeing and Motorola could meet either the timescales or budget.